On what proved to be a very spooky Saturday, Princeton football (3–4 overall, 2–2 Ivy League) traveled north to Ithaca to battle Ivy league opponent Cornell University (3–4, 2–2) this past weekend.
While the Orange and Black led the Big Red 17–7 going into halftime, costly turnovers and a scoreless second half caused the game to slip away for the Tigers, leading to a 20–17 loss.
From the get-go the Tigers were rolling offensively. Their two touchdowns of the game came in the first quarter, and the Tigers showed no signs of slowing down.
A heroic 75-yard drive ended with a 27-yard touchdown in which first-year receiver Josh Robinson reversed the field, broke several tackles, and reached the endzone. The play also earned a spot on the SportsCenter Top 10.
“It was like one of those NFL plays,” Head Coach Bob Surace ’90 told The Daily Princetonian. “He starts one way, gains a few yards, gets bounced back, somehow keeps his balance. The next thing you know, he‘s running into the end zone.”
On Cornell’s ensuing drive, the Tiger defense stepped up to force a fumble. While the Princeton offense went three-and-out, the two teams ultimately traded punts, giving Princeton the ball back on the Cornell 33-yard line after a short boot from the Big Red.
The Tigers easily capitalized on the short field. A 17-yard rush from sophomore running back Kai Honda set up junior running back Ethan Clark for a 4-yard rushing touchdown, giving the Tigers a 14–0 lead.
Cornell was ready to respond. They commandeered a 57-yard touchdown drive to cut Princeton’s lead in half. The Big Red found a groove in their run game, utilizing just one pass play on the drive. This kicked off a successful ground game, with Cornell rushing 213 total yards.
In the second quarter, the Tiger offense had two more deep drives into Cornell territory. The Tigers came up empty handed in the first, being turned away on a fourth and short from the Cornell 9-yard line. On the second, the Tigers settled for a field goal to take a 17–7 advantage into the half.
Cornell immediately cut into the Tigers’ lead in their opening drive of the second half. Although Princeton forced them into a fourth down situation, an offside penalty allowed the drive to continue. Cornell’s touchdown made the game 17–13 after a blocked PAT.
On the Tigers’ ensuing drive, Clark lost possession of the ball, and Cornell recovered it. This was the beginning of Princeton’s offensive woes that would end them scoreless in the second half.
After the fumble, Cornell was stopped on a fourth-down try and the Tigers took over. The two teams traded punts, and the ball landed back in the Tigers’ hands.
The drive ended when senior quarterback Kai Colón was stripped of the ball on third and eight. Cornell recovered the fumble in Princeton territory. The Big Red took advantage of their field position and finished off the short field with a 14-yard touchdown pass to take the lead 20–17.
“The turnovers were unacceptable, and we got to be better and cleaner,” Colón said to the ‘Prince.’ “We’ll watch the film and correct it.”
On their next drive, the Tigers failed to convert on third and 16. The Tigers struggled on third downs, going just 1/14 during the game after being enormously successful against teams such as Lafayette. The first and only successful third-down conversion did not come until late in the fourth quarter during a two-minute drill.
“Offensively, we got ourselves behind the sticks a little,” Surace said. “We didn’t cover third downs well during the game and have to do better.”
With the lead and the ball, Cornell looked to chew down the clock. Cornell started with the ball with just over eight minutes left in the fourth. While the Princeton defense eventually forced them to punt, a long drive gave the Princeton offense just under two minutes to try to tie the game or take the lead.
Despite two incompletions to start their two-minute offense, the team found a sliver of hope. On third down, Colón stood in the pocket and connected on a deep shot to junior receiver Roman Laurio for a 38-yard completion to move into Cornell territory. Laurio had four catches for 97 yards on the day.
The hope was short-lived, as the team failed to get another first down. The drive ended on three straight incompletions, and Cornell took over to finish the game in victory formation.
Much like their loss to Harvard last week, Princeton succeeded in finding the endzone in the first half, but fell short competing in the second. Turnover ridden and offensively inefficient, Princeton was not able to get into a flow coming out of the break. As they continue Ivy League play, it will be crucial for the Tigers to build and maintain momentum for all four quarters.
Princeton will take the road again to play Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H. next Saturday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m.
Jordan Halagao is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
Read More
‘300 Paintings’ delivers an equally hilarious and human commentary on artistry, mental health, and self-acceptance
Gavin McLoughlinHead Editor for The Prospect Gavin McLoughlin reviews “300 Paintings,” an absurd, intimate, yet wildly funny performance at McCarter.
Head Editor for The Prospect Gavin McLoughlin reviews “300 Paintings,” an absurd, intimate, yet wildly funny performance at McCarter.
Jhumpa Lahiri debuts new work at art museum opening
Oliver WuFormer creative writing professor Jhumpa Lahiri presented two of her works at the Art Museum, marking the 19th hour of the museum’s 24-hour opening event.
Former creative writing professor Jhumpa Lahiri presented two of her works at the Art Museum, marking the 19th hour of the museum’s 24-hour opening event.
Among 208 new courses this spring, seven involve the new art museum: four takeaways from course offerings
Summer BoschThe University released the course offerings for Spring 2026 this Thursday, October 30. The Daily Princetonian broke down the 1,428 classes that will be offered this spring — a decrease of 27 courses compared to Spring 2025. Here are our four takeaways.