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Football looks ahead to Primetime Matchup against Harvard

Vaseline October 11, 2024

Heading into the fourth weekend of the season, Football (1-2, 1-0 Ivy) faces Harvard (2-1, 0-1 Ivy), the defending Ivy League champion.

The Crimson narrowly defeated New Hampshire 28-23 in last week’s game and visits Ithaca under the lights at Schoellkopf Field on Friday evening. Cornell debuts a brand new all-black alternate jersey for the primetime rivalry game.

The Red is coming off a 31-10 loss to the University at Albany, where senior quarterback Jameson Wang recorded 187 yards and a touchdown, while sophomore wide receiver Samuel Musungu led the Red with six receptions for 87 yards. While the Reds led the match 7-6 at halftime, the Great Danes controlled the third and fourth quarters and added 25 points to the total.

Maintaining 60 minutes is something Cornell is constantly working on.

“If you continue to make mistakes in this program and don’t fix them – whether you’re not strong enough or mentally locked up, we’re going to bench you,” said head coach Dan Swanstrom. “We need super high-level execution to get opportunities – and we demand more from our players.”

Despite the short week of preparation and the national TV element of this week’s game, the team practiced normally and reflected on the game against Albany before advancing to Harvard.

“I don’t measure results (this year). I measure it by the growth and the way we compete. I think the way we came out of practice this week and worked through some things shows a lot of where we’re going as a program,” Swanstrom said. “This week’s match will look the same as last week. With the size, speed and power of Harvard, it will be difficult.”

In last year’s game between the two teams, Harvard quarterback Charles DePrima had a career day, throwing for 209 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for a total of 152 yards and three more touchdowns. While DePrima now plays wide receiver for the Crimson, Swanstrom and the Red view him as a threat that needs to be addressed.

“DePrima might be the fastest guy in our league,” Swanstrom said. “He is electric on film and brings a lot of problems – he is dynamic with his speed, and combined with (quarterback Jaden Craig) it will be a challenge.”

Cornell concludes its three-game homestand with one of the most storied rivalries to date, dating back 134 years. Harvard has a substantial lead in the overall standings, and a win over the Crimson on Friday would give the Red their first win against Harvard since 2018. That 28-24 victory came right on Cornell’s home court.

Kickoff is at 6 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field with coverage on ESPN2.

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Football looks ahead to Primetime Matchup against Harvard

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Football looks ahead to Primetime Matchup against Harvard

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