MOUNT VERNON – Cornell's football team put up 56 second-half points the past two weekends in Midwest Conference South Division play.
The Rams scored five touchdowns after intermission in Saturday's 49-29 Homecoming triumph over Knox. The team found the end zone on 8-of-11 second-half drives in two division wins.
"Our modus operandi has been start slow and get better as the game goes on," Cornell coach Vince Brautigam said. "As a team, we've yet to put together four full quarters."
Cornell (4-1 overall, 2-0 South Division), which has trailed at the half in three contests this fall, carries a four-game winning streak into Saturday's pivotal division matchup with the Monmouth Fighting Scots (4-2, 1-1 South). Kickoff is 1 p.m. at Zorn Stadium.
The Rams, winners of seven of their last eight overall, are tied with Illinois College (4-2, 2-0) atop the South standings. Monmouth is one game off the pace after falling at Illinois College two weeks ago, 31-24.
"This year, we've handled a fair share of adversity and done everything we can to have an opportunity for this part of the season to be meaningful," Brautigam said. "Now we go into Monmouth, one of two teams in our division projected to win it (in the preseason, along with Illinois College).
"We go there for the second straight year and I know it's going to be an electric atmosphere," Brautigam added. "They have played extremely sound football up to this point. Saturday will be a great challenge for our football team."
Down 15-14 at the break last Saturday, Cornell recovered a Knox fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half. The Rams got the bounce they needed and proceeded to score 35 points during a 26-minute span.
Cornell's Ben Knake (JR/Cedar Rapids, Iowa) was in the middle of it all, delivering three of his four touchdowns in the final half. The junior wound up with 284 all-purpose yards and 187 receiving yards, both career highs.
Knox held an eight-minute advantage in time of possession in the first half. The Prairie Fire won the turnover battle for the game, 3-1.
"Knox controlled the tempo in the first half and didn't allow our offense on the field. We didn't get into a rhythm," Brautigam said. "Fortunately, we were able to get the turnover on the (second-half) kickoff. We took it in for a score and got momentum right off the bat."
About the Fighting Scots – Monmouth is two possessions short of entering Saturday's game at 6-0. The Fighting Scots led Carroll – the MWC's lone remaining unbeaten – in the fourth quarter of a 32-27 road loss Sept. 27. They were tied at Illinois College with less than five minutes to go in the seven-point loss.
Monmouth rolled, 31-7, at Lake Forest last Saturday. Freshman Trent Rains rushed for 105 yards in the win and ranks third in the MWC at 106.7 per game. Michael Buehne is fifth in the league in rushing (97.0 ypg), averaging 6.8 yards per carry.
Defensive end Jack Porter leads the conference with 7.5 sacks and has 10.5 tackles for loss. Jacob Wilson has a league-best five interceptions.
"Monmouth is the most physical team we've matched up with this season," Brautigam said. "They are solid in all three phases of the game. They run the ball well with multiple backs, they have two skilled quarterbacks, and they have one of the better kickers in the league."
Last meeting – Cornell pulled out a 23-20 nail-biter in the final minute of last year's game in Monmouth, Ill. The Rams rallied from a 20-3 deficit midway through the third quarter.
The Rams marched 80 yards on nine plays during the winning drive, capped by Juan Flores' 16-yard touchdown run with 40 seconds to go. Flores finished with 337 yards of total offense and two rushing TDs for Cornell, which overcame a 192-yard rushing effort from Monmouth's Trey Yocum.
The series – Cornell has taken eight of the last nine meetings and owns a 39-31-1 edge in the all-time series that began in 1908.
The last two contests have been decided by a field goal, including a 31-28 road win for Monmouth in 2012. The Rams are 17-6 against Monmouth since 1977.
Road Rams – Cornell has won five consecutive road games, dating back to mid-October of last season. The streak includes decisive wins this year over Grinnell (35-17) and Ripon (43-24), and 2013 foes Grinnell (45-0), Carroll (48-22) and Knox (45-14).
This is Cornell's longest road winning streak since Coach Steve Miller's teams reeled off seven in a row spanning the 1995-96 seasons. Coach Brautigam's Rams have won six of their last seven road tilts in the MWC.
Have a day – Knake's 284 all-purpose yards against Knox rank second on Cornell's single-game list to Ben King's 314 against Coe in 1995. His 187 receiving yards are fifth-most by a Ram player. Knake came within one reception of tying his own record of 14, which he shares with John Ward.
In this week's NCAA Division III report, Knake ranks No. 2 in receptions (10.2 rpg), No. 11 in all-purpose yards (181.8 ypg) and No. 14 in receiving yards (117.8 ypg). He's 43 receiving yards shy of 2,000 for his career.
"Ben had a big day obviously," Brautigam said. "Overall offensively, we controlled the line of scrimmage, (running back) Devan Clark (FR/Upland, Calif.) ran hard, (quarterback) Daniel Brown (FR/Lake Mary, Fla.) made good decisions, and our wide receivers ran great routes to allow Ben to get open."
MWC leaders – Five games into his freshman season, Cornell's Brown leads all MWC quarterbacks in pass efficiency with a 159.0 rating. He is 57-of-92 passing for 718 yards with 10 TDs and only two picks. Brown also stands fifth in total offense (185.2 ypg).
Sophomore Kaleb Whiting (SO/Arvada, Colo.) is No. 1 in points scored per game by kickers (5.2 ppg). He nailed all seven PATs against Knox, and is 23-of-25 on the year.
Scoring sprees – The Rams averaged 7.7 yards per offensive play last week and boosted their season scoring average to 35.2 points per game.
Points have come in bunches this season, in particular the four wins. The team scored 36 in the first half against Ripon, 21 after intermission against St. Norbert, 21 in the fourth quarter at Grinnell, and then 35 in the second half last week.
