MOUNT VERNON – The oldest college football rivalry west of the Mississippi is back on schedule as Cornell hosts Coe in the 130th meeting between the Linn County schools at 1 p.m. Saturday at Van Metre Field at Ash Park.
 
The pandemic wiped out the 2020 game. It was the first season since 1944 that the Rams and Kohawks did not meet on the grid iron.
 
New head coach Dan Pifer, hired in December 2019, makes his long-awaited Cornell debut with a promising young team that features 48 freshmen, along with 12 returning starters. He leads the Rams into their first game since the 2019 finale, a 17-14 home win over Macalester that concluded a 4-5 campaign.
 
The Rams are projected sixth out of 10 teams in the Midwest Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, it was released Wednesday. Cornell received 35 points.
 
Defending MWC champion Monmouth is the favorite to repeat with 72 points, followed by Chicago (60), Lake Forest (58), Illinois College (56) and Ripon (44) ahead of the Rams.
 
About the Kohawks – Coe played one game during the 2020-21 academic year. The Kohawks dropped a 17-13 contest to Dubuque in March.
 
Coe is picked fourth in the American Rivers Conference. The Kohawks, who return 19 starters, finished 6-4 in 2019. They featured the No. 1 scoring defense (18.2 ppg) and rushing defense (120.3 ypg) in the A-R-C two years ago.   
 
The series – The Kohawks hold a 74-51-4 advantage in the all-time series that began in 1891 with an 82-0 Cornell victory.
 
Coe has reeled off 20 straight wins over the Rams. Cornell's last series win was in 1999.   
 
Last meeting – The Kohawks came away with four turnovers and a 38-0 win over the Rams on Sept. 15, 2019 in Cedar Rapids. It was Coe's first shutout in the series since 1989.
 
Coe held a 397-104 advantage in total yards and limited the Rams to five first downs. The Kohawks led 35-0 at halftime. 
 
Season openers – The Rams are an impressive 17-3 in season openers since 2000. The team has won eight of the last nine curtain raisers, averaging 41.0 points in the eight victories.
 
Cornell earned a 33-6 win over Iowa Wesleyan in the 2019 opener in Mount Vernon.
 
Team captains – Senior tight end Mason Davis, senior running back Peni Waqairatu and senior linebacker Eddie Del Castillo have been voted 2021 team captains for the Rams.
 
Davis is the top returning receiver (487 yards), Waqairatu the leading rusher (569 yards) and Del Castillo the top tackler (55 tackles) from two seasons ago.
 
The Bremner Cup – Saturday marks the first 2021-22 head-to-head competition in the Bremner Cup All-Sport Series, which was not contested last academic year.
 
This is the ninth year the Rams and Kohawks will compete for the all-sports traveling trophy, which includes competitions in football, men's soccer, women's soccer, men's cross country, women's cross country, volleyball, women's tennis, men's basketball, women's basketball, wrestling, men's track & field, women's track & field, men's tennis, baseball and softball.
 
The 2019-20 Bremner Cup finished in a 5-5 tie due to the cancellation of spring sports.
 
Catch the action – Fans can follow live stats and video of Saturday's contest and all of Cornell's 10 football games on the Stretch Internet portal: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/cornell/.