GAME 10: EMPIRE STATE BOWL
COLUMBIA (6-3, 3-3 Ivy League) at CORNELL (2-7, 1-5 Ivy League)
Saturday, November 20, 2021 • 1 p.m. ET • Schoellkopf Field • Ithaca, N.Y.
 
THE FACTS
 
Television: ESPN+ (Barry Leonard and Buck Briggs) | Watch Live
 
Columbia Online Radio: Ryan Young (play-by-play) | Listen Live
 
Live Stats: www.cornellbigred.com | Live Stats Link
 
Coaches: Columbia- Al Bagnoli, 7th year at Columbia (28-31), 39th year overall (263-129). Cornell- David Archer, 8^th year at Cornell (21-58), 8^th year overall (21-58).
 
Complete Game Notes: Click here.
 
Series: Columbia and Cornell meet for the 108th time with the Big Red holding a 66-38-3 advantage. The series dates back to 1889 as the two schools meet for the 100th straight year. Columbia has won two of the last three meetings, including wins in 2017 (18-8 in Ithaca) and 2018 (24-21 in New York).
 
GAME NOTES
 
NEW YORK—Columbia (6-3, 3-3 Ivy League) travels to Ithaca, N.Y. for its final contest of the 2021 season where it will play Cornell (2-7, 1-5 Ivy League) at Schoellkopf Field in the annual Empire State Bowl. Kickoff is slated for a 1 p.m. ET start for a contest televised on ESPN+. At 3-3, Columbia enters the game in fifth place in the Ivy League standings, while Cornell is two games behind in sixth place. Columbia and Cornell meet for the 108th time, 100th consecutive year and 11th time since the series became the Empire State Bowl.
 
TODAY'S TOP STORYLINES

• A win would give Columbia its seventh victory of the year, which would tie for the ninth-most wins in school history and third-most since it joined the Ivy League in 1956.
• Columbia enters its final game with a 6-3 overall record. The Lions are 6-3 or better upon entering their 10th game of a season for the fifth time since it joined the Ivy League. Columbia was also 6-3 in 1961, 6-3 in 1971, 7-2 in 1996, and 7-2 in 2017.
• The contest marks the final contest for 40 Columbia seniors. The Super Senior Class consisting of nine players, which began playing at Columbia in 2017, owns the most wins (23) of any senior class at Columbia since the Lions joined the Ivy League in 1956.
• Columbia has already clinched its third winning season in the last four years. and is 23-16 since 2017.

 
ABOUT THE LIONS
 
After already clinching its third winning season in the last four years, Columbia enters its final game with a 6-3 overall record and 3-3 Ivy League record following four wins in its last six games. Last week, Columbia battled back from a 14-0 third quarter deficit with 23 unanswered points to defeat Brown 23-17 for its sixth win.  The victory snapped a two-game losing streak to both Harvard (49-21) and Yale (37-30). Previously, Columbia won three straight games, including a19-0 shutout win over previously unbeaten and No. 25 Dartmouth, a 23-14 Homecoming win over Penn, and a 22-20 win at Central Connecticut State in its final non-conference matchup.
 
Against Brown, quarterback Joe Green threw a career-high three touchdown passes and Mike Roussos and Ryan Young both totaled over 100 all-purpose yards as Columbia registered a 23-17 come-from-behind home victory on Senior Day. Green finished the day with three touchdown passes and 176 yards while completing 12 of 22 passes, Young totaled 126 all-purpose yards including 60 receiving and 66 rushing, and Roussos completed the day with 120 all-purpose yards (85 on kickoff returns, 13 receiving and 22 in punt returns). Defensively, Columbia held Brown to its fewest points of the season (17), held the Bears 14 points under their season average (30.9 points per game) and limited Brown quarterback EJ Perry to zero touchdowns and a season-low 224 passing yards. Perry's streak of 16 consecutive games with a touchdown pass came to an end. The Lions forced three turnovers (two fumbles and an interception) and compiled its second-highest tackles for loss total on the year with 12.0 for 38 yards.
 
The Lions continue to trend upward as they have registered winning seasons in three of their last four campaigns under seventh-year Head Coach Al Bagnoli. Bagnoli guided Columbia to an 8-2 record (second-place Ivy finish at 5-2) in 2017 and 6-4 record (3-4 Ivy) in 2018. In 2019, Columbia went 3-7 and finished sixth in the Ivy League with a 2-5 conference record.
 
THREE WINNING SEASONS IN LAST FOUR YEARS
 
With three winning seasons in its last four campaigns, Columbia Football is enjoying its most successful four-year run in 73 years as the Lions have compiled a 23-16 record from 2017-21 (.590 winning percentage). It is the most successful run since Columbia joined the Ivy League in 1956.
 
The last time Columbia experienced a run of three winning seasons in four years was from 1945-48, when it went 8-1 in 1945, 6-3 in 1946, 7-2 in 1947, and 4-5 in 1948. Columbia's combined record during that four-year period was 25-11 (.694 winning percentage).
 
FOCUS ON SEVEN WINS
 
Should Columbia defeat Cornell on Saturday, the Lions would finish the year with a 7-3 overall record and seven or more overall wins for just the third time since the school joined the Ivy League in 1956. The only other better two campaigns were a pair of 8-2 records in 1996 and 2017. The seven wins would tie for the ninth-most overall wins in a season in school history.
 
A win would also give Columbia a 4-3 Ivy League record and guarantee the Lions their sixth winning season in Ivy League play since the school joined the conference in 1956. Those winning seasons include a 6-1 record in 1961, 4-3 in 1962, 5-2 in 1971, 5-2 in 1996, and 5-2 in 2017.
 
ANOTHER WINNING SEASON
 
This year, Columbia has clinched its eighth winning season since it joined the Ivy League in 1956. In seven years as head coach, Al Bagnoli has guided the Lions to three of those eight winning seasons.
 
EMPIRE STATE BOWL NOTES
 
Columbia and Cornell compete against each other annually in the Empire State Bowl. The winner takes home the Empire Cup. The rivalry took on the name Empire State Bowl in 2010, emblematic for Ivy League football supremacy in New York State. The two schools have competed on the gridiron since 1889.
 
With its 108th meeting, the rivarly ranks as 15th all-time most played series in the history of college football. The two schools meet for the 100th consecutive year, which ranks as the third-longest uninterrupted series in FCS football.
 
PAIR OF LIONS EARN IVY LEAGUE WEEKLY HONORS
 
Two Columbia football players—senior wide receiver Mike Roussos (Special Teams Player of the Week) and sophomore quarterback Joe Green (Rookie of the Week)—earned respective weekly honors from the Ivy League, the conference office announced Monday morning.
 
Roussos earns his fifth career Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week award and first of the season. In Columbia's 23-17 win over Brown on Saturday, Roussos totaled 120 all-purpose yards, including 85 on kickoff returns, 22 on punt returns, and 13 receiving yards on two catches. With his momentum-changing 57-yard kickoff return in the third quarter, he tied Columbia's school record held by Austin Knowlin (2005-09) for most career 50-yard plays with the seventh of his career. Roussos also caught a four-yard touchdown pass from Joe Green in the third quarter for his second touchdown of the season.
 
Green earns his third Rookie of the Week honor this season. In Columbia's 23-17 win over Brown on Saturday, Green threw a career-high three touchdown passes. He finished the day with 176 passing yards on 12 of 22 completions and one interception. The last time a Columbia player threw three touchdown passes was 33 games ago when Anders Hill threw three vs. Penn on Oct. 14, 2017. On the year, Green has thrown only two interceptions in 242 passing attempts for a 0.008 interception percentage.
 
FINAL GAME FOR 40 SENIORS
 
Saturday's game at Cornell marks Columbia's final collegiate game for 40 seniors. Last week, the Lions honored the senior class with a pre-game ceremony vs. Brown.
 
The 40-member senior class represents the largest senior class in school history. Those seniors include Paul Akere, Will Allen, Cameron Brown, Cameren Carter, Inho Choi, Jordan Colbert, Connor Collins, Cam Dillon, Graham Flinn, John Foreback, John Harris, Devin Hart, Marquis Hubbard, Emerson Kabus, Dante Landolfi, Derric Lee, Evan Loesel, Casey Mariucci, Ben Mathiasmeier, Fara'ad McCombs, Dante Miller, Zach Minch, Drake Morey, Stew Newblatt, Chris Park, Carson Powell, Brandon Radice, Ryan Rhoden, Ernest Robertson, Mike Roussos, Drew Schmid, Mitchell Shinskie, Joshua Smythe-Macaulay, Mitchell Sturgill, Watson Tansil, Broderick Taylor, Xavier Thibault, Justin Woodley, Tyler Worrell, Ryan Young.
 
Depending on individual circumstances, a few of these players could return for the 2022 season.
 
2021 SENIOR CLASS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
 
Columbia Footballs 40-member Class of 2021 is comprised of two different groups: those who began playing at Columbia in 2017 and those that started in 2018.
 
The Super Senior 2017 group includes fifth year seniors such as Emerson Kabus, Justin Woodley, Ben Mathiasmeier, Broderick Taylor, Drew Schmid, Graham Flinn, Will Allen, Cameren Carter, an Casey Mariucci. The group has achieved the following:

• Will become the first Columbia football senior class to graduate with a winning record since joining the Ivy League in 1956. The group is currently 23-16 overall with one more game.
• 23 total victories and counting and 13 Ivy League wins from 2017-21. This group is 13-14 in Ivy League play.
• The 23 victories is currently No. 1 among all-time winningest senior classes since Columbia joined the Ivy League in 1956. Here is the list: 23 wins, 2017-21; 20 wins 2016-19 and 1994-97; 19 wins, 2015-18, 1995-98, and 1996-99; 18 wins, 1960-63.
• Helped Columbia set the record for most wins in back-to-back seasons (since 1956) with 14 total in 2017 (8) and 2018 (6).
• In 2017, helped lead the Lions to an 8-2 overall, 5-2 Ivy League record and second place finish in the league, Columbia's best overall record, best Ivy League season, and highest Ivy League finish in 21 years (since 1996). The eight wins tied for the third most wins in school history.
• Defeated all seven Ivy League opponents at least one time.

 
LIONS EXPERIENCE SUCCESS IN NON-CONFERENCE GAMES
 
In impressive fashion, Columbia has won 11 of its last 13 non-conference games. The Lions completed their 2021 non-conference slate with a perfect 3-0 record for the third time in the last four years. Columbia has now won three consecutive non-conference games with victories over Marist and Georgetown.
 
A 24-10 loss to Georgetown on Sept. 28, 2019 ended Columbia's school-record non-conference win streak at eight games. The streak began at Wagner on Oct. 8, 2016. Previously, the record was four straight non-conference wins from Sept. 28, 1996-Oct. 4, 1997.
 
It marks the fifth time since Columbia joined the Ivy League in 1956 that the Lions went undefeated during non-conference competition: 3-0 in 2021, 2018, 2017, 2006 and 1996.
 
LIONS PUT TOGETHER THREE-GAME WIN STREAK
 
Columbia's previous three-game win streak ranks as its longest since a seven-game win streak from the end of the 2016 season to Oct. 28, 2017. The school-record for most consecutive wins is eight, two times: Sept. 26, 1903-Oct. 31, 1903 and Oct. 28, 1933-Oct. 20, 1934.
 
DANTE MILLER LEADS IVY LEAGUE, RANKS AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS IN RUSHING
 
With 747 yards rushing on 132 carries, senior Dante Miller enters week 10 ranked among Ivy League's top three leaders in total rushing yards (No. 2 with 747), rushing yards per carry (No. 3 at 5.66), and rushing yards per game (No. 2 at 83.0). In national statistics, he ranks No. 23 in rushing yards per carry (5.66) and No. 27 in rushing yards per game (83.0).
 
In previous back-to-back wins at CCSU and Penn, Miller accumulated 323 rushing yards and two touchdowns (75 yard TD, 65-yard TD) on 23 attempts for a phenomenal a 9.5 yards per carry average. The 323-yards in two games ranks as the third-best total for rushing yards in consecutive games ever at Columbia. The two-game stretch is the first-back-to-back 100-yard rushing performance in 26 games for Columbia.
 
His 187 yards vs. Penn ranks tied for the 11th highest single-game total in school history and his 11.7 yards per carry ranks as the eighth-best game mark in school history.
 
Miller has flair and speed for the big play as he has run for plays of 75 yards, 65 yards, 63 yards, 41 yards and 40 yards on the year.
 
The last time Columbia had a player lead the Ivy League in rushing was Cameron Molina in 2015.
 
COLUMBIA, LIONS AMONG NATIONAL STATISTICAL LEADERS
 
Through nine games, Columbia is ranked among the nation's top-25 FCS teams in 10 different team statistical categories:

• No. 1 in passes had intercepted (2).
• No. 1 in blocked punts allowed (0).
• No. 10 in fourth down conversion percentage (.700).
• No. 10 in fourth down conversion percentage defense (.292).
• No. 11 in kickoff returns (24.9).
• No. 20 in sacks allowed (1.22).
• No. 21 in fewest penalty yards per game (44.0).
• No. 22 in team sacks (2.78)
• No. 24 in team tackles for loss (6.8).
• No. 24 in turnover margin (0.56).
• No. 25 in fumbles lost (4).

 
In addition, Columbia ranks high in first downs defense (No. 27), scoring defense (No. 30), rushing defense (No. 32), and team passing efficiency defense (No. 33).
 
     Individually, the Lions rank among the top-25 national statistical leaders in seven different categories:

• Will Allen, No. 4 in kickoff return touchdowns (1).
• Alex Felkins, No. 9 in field goals per game (1.56).
• Mike Roussos, No. 18 in kickoff returns (26.2).
• Mike Roussos, No. 19 in punt returns (9.1).
• Cam Dillon, No. 19 in sacks (0.89).
• Mike Roussos, No. 22 in combined kick returns (468).
• Dante Miller, No. 23 in rushing yards per carry (5.66).

 
COLUMBIA IN IVY LEAGUE STATS
Several Columbia Lions are ranked among the top-5 Ivy League leaders in several statistical categories:

• Will Allen: No. 1 in kickoff return touchdowns (1); No. 3 in passes defended (1.0).
• Cam Dillon, No. 3 in sacks (0.89); No. 2 in tackles for loss (1.3).
• Alex Felkins: No. 1 in field goals per game (1.56); No. 4 in field goal percentage (63.6).
• Joe Green: No. 4 in passing yards (1,515); No. 4 in passing yards per game (168.3); No. 4 in completion percentage (57.4); No. 4 in completions per game (15.44); No. 5 in passing efficiency (119.3); No. 5 in passing touchdowns (8); No. 5 in passing yards per completion (10.90); No. 5 in total offense (169.4); No. 5 in yards per pass attempt (6.26).
• Ben Mathiasmeier: No. 2 in interceptions per game (0.3).
• Dante Miller: No. 1 in rushing yards (708); No. 1 in rushing yards per carry (6.10); No. 2 in rushing yards per game (88.5); No. 4 in all-purpose yards per game (102.0).
• Mike Roussos: No. 1 in kickoff returns (26.2); No. 1 in combined kick returns (468); No. 3 in punt returns (9.1).
• Drew Schmid: No. 3 in punting (40.0).