Saturday, October 15
Ithaca, N.Y.
1:00 PM
Lehigh University
at
Cornell
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Mountain Hawks To Visit Cornell Saturday In Final Non-League Tilt
10/11/2022 2:10:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh takes to the road for its final non-league game of the 2022 campaign as the Mountain Hawks travel to Cornell Saturday in the first meeting between the two squads since 2014. The Mountain Hawks are looking to get back on the winning track after dropping four straight. Last week, scores from Lehigh's defense and special teams staked the Mountain Hawks to an early 14-0 lead over Fordham, but the nation's top-ranked offense used a 17-0 third-quarter spurt to rally to top the Brown and White 40-28. Senior Jalen Burbage returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown, while classmate Dean Colton scored his second touchdown in three weeks on a 39-yard fumble return. Cornell is coming off a 35-28 home loss to Harvard last Friday, which dropped the Big Red to 2-2 overall and 0-2 in the Ivy League.
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Senior Jalen Burbage gave the Mountain Hawks an early jolt against Fordham when he returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown. Burbage has had several close calls over the last two seasons and was finally able to take one all the way. Prior to Burbage's touchdown, the last Lehigh kickoff return touchdown came six years ago to the day when Gatlin Casey had a 93-yard return touchdown against Colgate in 2016. The last time a Lehigh player returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown was in 2004 when Gerran Walker scored on an 89-yard return in a 49-18 Lehigh victory.
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Lehigh raced to a 14-0 lead against Fordham before its offense even stepped on the field, thanks to Jalen Burbage's 89-yard kickoff return touchdown to open the game, and Dean Colton's 39-yard fumble return touchdown on Fordham's opening possession. The two scores marked the first time since 2007 that Lehigh scored two non-offensive touchdowns in a game. On Sept. 29, 2007, Brannan Thomas scored on a 54-yard punt return and Paul Bode returned a fumble 27 yards for touchdowns in a 20-13 Lehigh victory over Harvard. Bode's touchdown was the game-winner and came with 30 seconds remaining.
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Lehigh has finished with a negative turnover margin for in seven of the last eight seasons, a trend the Mountain Hawks will look to reverse this fall. The Mountain Hawks were minus-9 during the 2021 season, with nine takeaways via five interceptions and four fumble recoveries. Lehigh was plus-1 in turnover margin against Holy Cross, snapping a 20-game streak in which the Mountain Hawks either lost the turnover battle or were even in turnovers. Lehigh has won the turnover battle in four games under Tom Gilmore, the 2019 season-opener against Saint Francis, back-to-back weeks in 2021 against Holy Cross and Bucknell, and then last week versus Fordham. Lehigh has seven takeaways over its last three games and was plus-2 against Fordham.
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Cornell enters Saturday's game at 2-2 overall. The Big Red are coming off a 35-28 home loss to Ivy preseason favorite Harvard last Friday night. Cornell is 2--0 on the road with wins over VMI and Colgate and 0-2 both at home and in the Ivy League, with losses to Yale and Harvard. Sophomore quarterback Jameson Wang accounted for all four touchdowns in the loss to Harvard on Friday, as he threw for 185 yards and a score and also rushed for 61 yards and three touchdowns. Wang is completing 61 percent of his passes on the season with six touchdowns and just one interception. He is also the leading rusher for the Big Red with 255 yards and five touchdowns on 53 carries. Thomas Glover has been the top receiver for Cornell with 17 catches for 256 yards and two touchdowns. Linebacker Jake Stebbins leads the Cornell defense with 35 tackles. Cornell is plus-3 in turnover margin and has seven sacks in its first four games.
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Lehigh and Cornell have met 26 times with the Big Red leading the series 14-10-2. The Mountain Hawks captured the most recent meeting 31-14 in 2014. Saturday's game will mark just the fifth meeting between Lehigh and Cornell since the year 2000 and just the 10th in the last 40 years. Tom Gilmore has never faced Cornell as a head coach. e Big Red were the opponent for the first game at Goodman Stadium, a 27-14 Lehigh win in 1988.
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Saturday's game kicks off just after 1 p.m. from Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, N.Y. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with audio coverage on Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM and 1230 AM in Easton and online at LVFoxSports.com beginning at noon.
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The Mountain Hawks return to Goodman Stadium for their final game before their bye week. Lehigh will host Bucknell next Saturday on Healthcare Workers Appreciation Day, presented by Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute. Game time is set for noon.
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Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.Â
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Senior Jalen Burbage gave the Mountain Hawks an early jolt against Fordham when he returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown. Burbage has had several close calls over the last two seasons and was finally able to take one all the way. Prior to Burbage's touchdown, the last Lehigh kickoff return touchdown came six years ago to the day when Gatlin Casey had a 93-yard return touchdown against Colgate in 2016. The last time a Lehigh player returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown was in 2004 when Gerran Walker scored on an 89-yard return in a 49-18 Lehigh victory.
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Lehigh raced to a 14-0 lead against Fordham before its offense even stepped on the field, thanks to Jalen Burbage's 89-yard kickoff return touchdown to open the game, and Dean Colton's 39-yard fumble return touchdown on Fordham's opening possession. The two scores marked the first time since 2007 that Lehigh scored two non-offensive touchdowns in a game. On Sept. 29, 2007, Brannan Thomas scored on a 54-yard punt return and Paul Bode returned a fumble 27 yards for touchdowns in a 20-13 Lehigh victory over Harvard. Bode's touchdown was the game-winner and came with 30 seconds remaining.
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Lehigh has finished with a negative turnover margin for in seven of the last eight seasons, a trend the Mountain Hawks will look to reverse this fall. The Mountain Hawks were minus-9 during the 2021 season, with nine takeaways via five interceptions and four fumble recoveries. Lehigh was plus-1 in turnover margin against Holy Cross, snapping a 20-game streak in which the Mountain Hawks either lost the turnover battle or were even in turnovers. Lehigh has won the turnover battle in four games under Tom Gilmore, the 2019 season-opener against Saint Francis, back-to-back weeks in 2021 against Holy Cross and Bucknell, and then last week versus Fordham. Lehigh has seven takeaways over its last three games and was plus-2 against Fordham.
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Cornell enters Saturday's game at 2-2 overall. The Big Red are coming off a 35-28 home loss to Ivy preseason favorite Harvard last Friday night. Cornell is 2--0 on the road with wins over VMI and Colgate and 0-2 both at home and in the Ivy League, with losses to Yale and Harvard. Sophomore quarterback Jameson Wang accounted for all four touchdowns in the loss to Harvard on Friday, as he threw for 185 yards and a score and also rushed for 61 yards and three touchdowns. Wang is completing 61 percent of his passes on the season with six touchdowns and just one interception. He is also the leading rusher for the Big Red with 255 yards and five touchdowns on 53 carries. Thomas Glover has been the top receiver for Cornell with 17 catches for 256 yards and two touchdowns. Linebacker Jake Stebbins leads the Cornell defense with 35 tackles. Cornell is plus-3 in turnover margin and has seven sacks in its first four games.
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Lehigh and Cornell have met 26 times with the Big Red leading the series 14-10-2. The Mountain Hawks captured the most recent meeting 31-14 in 2014. Saturday's game will mark just the fifth meeting between Lehigh and Cornell since the year 2000 and just the 10th in the last 40 years. Tom Gilmore has never faced Cornell as a head coach. e Big Red were the opponent for the first game at Goodman Stadium, a 27-14 Lehigh win in 1988.
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Saturday's game kicks off just after 1 p.m. from Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, N.Y. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with audio coverage on Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM and 1230 AM in Easton and online at LVFoxSports.com beginning at noon.
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The Mountain Hawks return to Goodman Stadium for their final game before their bye week. Lehigh will host Bucknell next Saturday on Healthcare Workers Appreciation Day, presented by Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute. Game time is set for noon.
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| Date: | October 15, 2022 |
| Opponent: | Cornell Big Red |
| Kickoff: | 1:02 p.m. |
| Stadium: | Schoellkopf Field/21,500/FieldTurf |
| Location: | Ithaca, N.Y. |
| Lehigh's record: | 1-5 overall, 1-1 Patriot League |
| Cornell's record: | 2-2 overall, 0-2 Ivy league |
| Series: | Cornell leads 14-10-2 |
| Video: | ESPN+ |
| Radio: | Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM and 1230 AM and LVFoxSports.com with Matt Kerr, Matt Markus and Steve Lomangino, beginning at 12 p.m. |
| Key Stats: | •Lehigh scored two non-offensive touchdowns against Fordham, marking the first time since 2007 that the Mountain Hawks scored two touchdowns via their defense or special teams in one game. •Junior linebacker Mike DeNucci ranks third in the FCS, averaging 1.33 sacks per game. DeNucci has seven sacks over his last three games. •Lehigh leads the Patriot League with 17 sacks, including 14 over its last four games. |
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.Â
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