MOUNT VERNON – Following back-to-back road tilts that sandwiched a bye week, Cornell's football team finally returns home to Van Metre Field at Ash Park this weekend for its 107th Homecoming Game.
The Rams (1-3 overall, 1-2 MWC) welcome the Lawrence Vikings (1-3 overall, 0-3 MWC) for a 2 p.m. Midwest Conference kickoff.
Cornell enters relatively rested after playing only two quarters in last week's 17-0 weather-shortened loss at Lake Forest. The game was called due to thunderstorms after a two-hour wait during halftime.
Cornell's last 60-minute game was back on Sept. 18, a 31-13 setback at Ripon. The Rams' past two opponents are both 4-0 on the season.
Lawrence is seeking its first win since a 42-6 home rout of Finlandia in the Sept. 4 opener. The Vikings fell 42-0 at home last Saturday to MWC preseason favorite Monmouth.
The series – Cornell has held the upper hand in this series that began in 1922. The Rams have beaten Lawrence the past seven meetings, topping the 30-point mark in five of them.
Cornell holds a slight 21-20-1 edge in the all-time series. Lawrence hasn't won in Mount Vernon since 1981 (18-15).
Last meeting – The Rams rallied from a 10-point second-quarter deficit to defeat Lawrence, 22-17, on Sept. 28, 2019 in Mount Vernon.
Cornell scored 22 unanswered points and got a pair of rushing touchdowns from current senior quarterback
Isaak Hahn. Senior safety
Jordan Burke returned a fumble six yards for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, proving to be the decisive score.
About the Vikings – Lawrence features the top passing attack in the MWC at 255.5 yards per game, engineered by three-year starting quarterback D'Andre Weaver. The senior has thrown for a league-best 1,026 yards and 10 touchdowns through four games.
Tanner Morris (280 yards, 4 TDs) and Cameron Wicks (266 yards, 4 TDs) are among the MWC leaders in receiving yardage. Linebacker Eder Bellegarde is the conference's top tackler at 10.8 per game. Safety Terrell Myers has three interceptions and averages an MWC-best 17.2 yards per punt return.
Lawrence was held to 195 yards last week against a tough Monmouth defense that recorded nine sacks.
Homecoming history – The Rams are 60-40-6 all-time in Homecoming games. Last year's canceled season marked the first time Cornell did not play a Homecoming game since 1918.
Cornell has dropped its last two Homecoming contests, including a 27-14 decision to Monmouth in 2019. The Rams won five straight Homecoming games from 2013-17.
The Rams have hosted Lawrence for Homecoming on only one other occasion, a 35-20 loss in 1966.
Gearing for a grand – Cornell's
Mason Davis needs seven receiving yards Saturday to reach 1,000 for his career. The all-conference senior tight end leads the Rams this season with 17 catches for 241 yards and three TDs.
Special teams – Saturday's matchup features three of the MWC's top return men in Cornell freshman
Trey Birdsong and Lawrence's Wicks and Myers.
Birdsong ranks third in punt return average (6.2 ypr) and fourth in kick returns (20.6 ypr). He averages 109.0 all-purpose yards per game.
Wicks is the MWC leader in kick returns (28.3 ypr) and has a long runback of 95 yards. Myers' 17.2 yards per punt return rank 11th nationally.
Hall of Famer – Former four-year offensive lineman David Welter '76 will be enshrined in Cornell's Athletics Hall of Fame Saturday morning. Also a standout baseball catcher, Welter helped lead the football team to a 7-2 record his senior season, capped by a 17-16 win over Lawrence.
Welter's 1975 football team tied for the most wins in a season since 1937. The 2021 Hall of Fame Class also includes Kori Shingles '04 (volleyball), Max Bjerke '95 (wrestling) and Carl Small '95 (basketball).
All four inductees will be recognized on the field at halftime of Saturday's contest.
