No. 17/18 Yale vs. Cornell

Saturday, Sept. 26 – 1 p.m.

Schoellkopf Field (Ithaca, N.Y.)

ESPN+ | Live Stats | Yale Game Notes

Team 153 kicked off the season on a high-note, taking down the Holy Cross Crusaders 38-28 on the road behind career days from quarterback Dante Reno and wide receiver Jaxton Santiago. The win marked the first in the Yale career of head coach Kevin Cahill. Now, the Bulldogs will turn their attention to the beginning of Ivy League play against the Cornell Big Red. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. from Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, N.Y.

Bulldog Notes

• Following the team's 38-28 win over Holy Cross, Yale improved its rankings in both national polls, moving to No. 17 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 and No. 18 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll. 
• The game against Holy Cross was Yale's seventh-straight regular season win going back to Oct. 18, 2025. 
• Behind a huge passing performance against the Crusaders, Reno earned both New England Football Writers Gold Helmet and Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week honors. He was the first Bulldog to earn the Gold Helmet Award since quarterback Nolan Grooms received the honor on Oct. 1, 2023.
• Reno's 454 passing yards rank second in Yale single-game history, just 11 yards shy of the program record of 465 set by Griffin O'Connor against Princeton in 2018.
• Santiago's 234 receiving yards left him 24 yards from breaking the Yale single-game receiving yards record (258), set by Ralph Plumb against Brown in 2004. He is now tied with Reed Klubnik for No. 3 on the list. 
• Reno currently ranks No. 1 in the nation in EPA per dropback (min. 40 dropbacks).
• Yale's 524 yards of total offense was the most in a season opener since gaining 507 against Holy Cross to start the 2019 season. 
• Santiago and defensive back Osize Daniyan were also named to the Week One Ivy League Honor Roll. 

The Series

• Yale has opened Ivy League play against the Big Red every season since 2000. The Bulldogs have gone 17-8 against Cornell in that time.
• The Bulldogs are 53-31-2 against Cornell dating back to their first meeting in 1889.
• Yale is 17-17-2 all time when playing at Schoellkopf Field.
• In 2025, Yale took down the Big Red at the Yale Bowl 41-24, behind three rushing touchdowns from Josh Pitsenberger and two interceptions by Abu Kamara, including one returned for the game-sealing touchdown. 

Scouting Cornell

• Cornell was picked to finish fifth in the Ivy League Preseason Poll, tied with Princeton for the position with 46 points. 
• The Big Red kicked off their season this past week with a 20-7 road loss to Colgate. 
• The Cornell offense is led by senior quarterback Garrett Bass-Sulpizio, who currently leads the team in passing yards with 134 and rushing yards with 52. Senior tight end Ryder Kurtz is currently the team's receiving yards leader.
• Kurtz and senior wide receiver Sam Musungu were the only two Big Red players to be named Preseason First Team All-Ivy by Phil Steele. Musungu was also named Phil Steele's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year in the Ivy League.  
• Cornell's pass rush currently ranks second in the Ivy League in sacks after Week One, with four. 
• Big Red football has not had a winning season since the 2005 season, when they went 6-4. Cornell's last .500 season came in 2022. 

Cahill's Corner

"We're excited to be in league play," Cahill said. "We have a lot to correct and fix going into Week Two. Cornell is a very well coached team that uses their talent is productive ways. Our focus remains on Yale, we have a lot of work to do in order to be competitive this week."

Up Next

The Bulldogs will return to New Haven on Saturday, Oct. 3, opening the 2026 home schedule against Merrimack. The game kicks off a three-game home stand at the historic Yale Bowl.