After a rousing win against Princeton last weekend, the football team (3-3, 1-2 Ivy League) was unable to keep its momentum going, falling to Cornell in Ithaca (3-3, 2-1) by a final score of 36-14 on Saturday afternoon.
Cornell “played very hard,” Head Coach James Perry ’00 wrote in a message to The Herald via Brown Athletics. “We knew they were a good team and they dictated the game well beyond time of possession.”
The Big Red dominated the Bears in the first half, outscoring them 20-0. Bruno’s offense, entering the day leading the FCS in passing yards per game behind quarterback Jake Willcox ’24, was held in check, managing just two first downs in the half.
“Cornell did a good job of bringing energy and playing disciplined football,” Willcox wrote in a message to The Herald via Brown Athletics. “Looking back on it, there were many opportunities that I, personally, failed to capitalize on, and that is something where you have to look yourself in the mirror and realize you have to be better for your teammates in terms of giving us a chance to win the game.”
“We were on our heels on offense, especially in the first half, and we’re a much better team than that. I was disappointed,” Perry wrote. “We played a little bit better in the second half, but when you put yourself in that kind of hole playing that poorly, it makes it very hard.”
In the third quarter, the Bears found themselves in a 33-0 hole before getting on the board with a pair of touchdowns that brought the score to 33-14. Both came from long passes from Willcox, who aired it out to Solomon Miller ’26 for a 61-yard reception and later found Graham Walker ’24 for a 43-yard score.
Bruno remained at 14 points for the remainder of the game, surrendering a fourth-quarter field goal to conclude the match at 36-14.
Overall, Cornell possessed the ball for 39 minutes and 47 seconds, almost double Brown’s 20 minutes and 13 seconds. Cornell also gained 434 yards to Brown’s 298, led by a career-high 330 passing yards from quarterback Jameson Wang.
“The league has a few athletic quarterbacks and he’s one of the best,” Perry wrote of Wang.
Cornell also picked off Willcox three times, the most interceptions he’s thrown this season.
The Bears will look to bounce back facing off against Penn on the road next Saturday night. The game will begin at 7 p.m. and be televised on ESPNU.
“We have to continue to play fast, work hard every day and continue to have trust in one another,” Willcox wrote. “Penn is a great team, so it is an opportunity that the team could not be more excited about and we are looking forward to the chance to play a game on live television.”
“We have four games coming up against very evenly-matched teams, including a very good Penn team on the road,” Perry wrote. “The kids will use this weekend to fuel themselves in practice to play our best ball next week.”
Linus is a sports editor from New York City. He is a junior concentrating in English, and when he's out of The Herald office you can find him rooting for the Mets, watching Star Wars or listening to The Beach Boys.
