ITHACA, N.Y. (10/13/07) – Nathan Ford connected on 26-of-45 passes for 285 yards and one touchdown to lead Cornell (3-2) to a 17-14 win over Colgate (3-3) Saturday at Schoellkopf Field.

 

Cornell defeats Colgate for the second straight season, which is the first time since the 1978 and 1979 seasons the Bid Red has won back-to-back over the Raiders.

 

Colgate’s Jordan Scott (Hyattsville, MD) carried 33 times for 110 yards to become the second player in school history to rush over 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons.  He has carried 229 times for 1,048 yards in six games.

 

Colgate defense, which gave up just one TD, continues to be tough against the rush limiting Cornell to 36 yards on 36 attempts.  They have given up just four rushing touchdowns on the season.

 

After a scoreless first quarter, Cornell took a 3-0 lead with 6:45 remaining in the first half when Peter Zell kicked a 23-yard field goal, capping a 75-yard, 16-play drive.  Two possessions later, the Raiders finally got some offense started as they marched 76 yards in six plays for a 7-3 lead with 2:29 left in the half.

 

Junior quarterback Alex Relph (Victor, NY) connected with sophomore wide receiver Pat Simonds (Sidney, NY) on a 25-yard scoring strike in the corner of the end zone.  Mike Buck (Basking Ridge, NJ) added the extra point.

 

Cornell had a chance to cut the deficit to one point just before halftime, but Zell missed a 37-yard attempt with five seconds remaining.  Earlier in the first quarter, Zell missed a 50-yard attempt.

 

In the third quarter, Colgate faced a fourth-and-six at the Cornell 32-yard line, but Relph’s pass was picked off by Frank Morand, who returned it 72 yards for a touchdown giving the Big Red a 10-7 lead.

 

After forcing a Cornell punt with 8:04 left in the third quarter, Colgate marched 44 yards on five plays to retake the advantage 14-10, when Relph connected on a 24-yard touchdown pass with Erik Burke (Traverse City, Mich.).

 

Burke caught four passes for 49 yards during the game to move into 10^th in career receiving yardage with 1,486 and 11^th in career receptions with 96.

 

Cornell’s game-winning TD came with 12:01 remaining in the game, when on fourth-and-19, Ford found Bryan Walters in the corner of the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown pass.

 

After stopping Cornell on downs with 4:19 remaining, Colgate made one final attempt to tie the contest, but the Bid Red hauled the drive at the Colgate 40 on downs with 47 seconds remaining.

 

GAME NOTES: Scott had his eighth straight game over 100 yards rushing … Mike Gallihugh (Midlothian, VA) had 13 tackles including one interception and one fumble recovery … Greg Hadley (Fayetteville, NY), Ted Marshall (Melbourne, FL) and Ryan Keller (Colts Neck, NJ) had quarterback sacks, while Marshall had his first collegiate interception … Simonds finished with four receptions for 67 yards and his third TD of the season … Relph completed 10-of-30 passes for 130 yards with one interception.