GAME SEVEN, LEHIGH AT CORNELL – Will a Schoellkopf Curse Be Greeting the Mountain Hawks in Ithaca?

BETHLEHEM, PA — There are plenty of reasons for Lehigh football fans to feel good about the Mountain Hawks heading into Saturday’s matchup with Cornell.

There’s the ranking: fourth in the nation, according to both Opta/STATS and the AFCA FCS Coaches’ Poll, and No. 1 in the Lambert Cup rankings this week. There’s the perfect 6-0 record, and Lehigh’s position atop the Patriot League.

Then there’s the streak. The Mountain Hawks haven’t lost a regular-season game since October 19, 2024. having won 23 consecutive regular-season games.

But Saturday’s matchup between Lehigh (6-0, 4-0 Patriot League) and Cornell (2-2, 1-1 Ivy) could be a much tougher test than the Mountain Hawks’ record might suggest.

That’s because, over the years, Schoellkopf Field up in Ithaca, New York has been a house of horrors for the Lehigh football program.

Lehigh’s historical record against Cornell hasn’t been great. The Big Red leads the all-time series 16-10-2—or 17-9-2, depending on which record book you consult. But the Mountain Hawks’ record at Schoellkopf Field is even more telling: Lehigh has beaten Cornell there just twice, in 2001 and 2014. Their record at the venue stands at 2-9-1, and neither victory came easily.

Schoellkopf Curse?

You might be forgiven if Lehigh fans wonder if Schoellkopf field were secretly built on top od a Cayuga Nation burial ground.

Opened in 1915 as a result of a gift from the friends and family of Henry Schoellkopf, it’s one of the first concrete football venues in the country and replaced Percy Field, Cornell’s former football home and the site of several Cornell/Lehigh clashes in the late 19th century (including an infamous game in 1894, which Cornell claims is a win due to forfeit, and Lehigh claims is a win due to the fact the play was blown dead before Cornell scored the go-ahead goal.)

Lehigh’s first game against Cornell at Schoellkopf came in 1947, a 27-0 shutout in favor of the Indians. The Packers, as Lehigh was then known, came close to beating Cornell in Schoellkopf in 1955, jumping to a 6-0 lead before a change in tactics by the Indians resulted in two fourth quarter scores to give Cornell a 14-6 win.

Lehigh’s offenses had problems scoring against Cornell’s defense up in Ithaca in those early years.

In 1973, Lehigh, led by future NFL quarterback Kim McQuilken, was tied with Cornell, 7-7, when the Engineers got the ball back at their own 32-yard line with three minutes remaining. With what would have been Lehigh’s first victory over an Ivy League opponent since 1961 within reach, McQuilken guided the offense down to the Cornell 10-yard line, setting up what appeared to be a chip-shot field goal for the win.

According to The Morning Call, the snap from center was low, and the holder barely managed to get the ball down before the soccer-style kicker attempted his field goal. The kick hooked wide left.

Instead of a historic victory, Lehigh had to settle for a deeply unsatisfying 7-7 tie.

The missed kick was only part of the story. Lehigh had surrendered a 97-yard kickoff return to open the game, but its defense limited Cornell to just nine first downs and 160 yards of total offense the rest of the way. McQuilken and the offense were stopped twice in the fourth quarter: once just short of the goal line, and again when that potential game-winning field goal sailed wide.

In a way, the game epitomizes the feeling that nothing ever comes easily for Lehigh in Ithaca.

And the 1973 tie was hardly the last time Lehigh would leave Ithaca wondering what might have been.

In 1994, QB Bob Aylsworth was rallying the Brown and White toward a potential winning score when FS Chris Hanson came down with an interception to seal Cornell’s 21-17 victory. Two costly Lehigh fumbles had set up 14 of the Big Red’s 21 points, and the Mountain Hawks’ defense had otherwise been outstanding, allowing just 10 first downs and 23 passing yards.

More recently, there was the 2022 matchup, a deeply frustrating 19-15 loss. Lehigh made six trips to the red zone but came away with just one touchdown and three field goals, along with a missed two-point conversion. Leading 15-10, the Mountain Hawks appeared poised to escape with a road victory before DB Connor Henderson returned an interception for a touchdown. PK Jackson Kennedy added a 41-yard field goal to secure the final margin.

Even the wins have been an adventure.

In 2001, nationally ranked Lehigh was taken to the brink by a Cornell team that entered the game 0-3. The Big Red jumped out to leads of 14-10 and 21-17, forcing the Mountain Hawks to respond. After starting RB David Wilson was injured, Lehigh rallied for 21 consecutive points, only to face a late Cornell comeback attempt in a 38-35 escape.

QB Brant Hall was instrumental in the victory, throwing two touchdown passes and adding another score on the ground. Cornell QB Ricky Rahne also threw a pair of touchdown passes, his last to close the deficit and set up an onsides kick attempt to pull out more Schoellkopf magic for Cornell. The outcome wasn’t settled until WR Josh Snyder recovered the onsides kick attempt with three seconds left in the game.

Afterward, a relieved Lehigh head coach Pete Lembo told The Morning Call‘s Keith Groller, “I’ve coached some pretty good teams that have come here, and every single time it has been a struggle. I don’t know if it’s the water from Cayuga Lake or what. It’s always a tough place to play.”

And in Lehigh’s most recent victory at Schoellkopf Field, a 31-14 win in 2014, the Mountain Hawks hardly enjoyed a stress-free afternoon.

Lehigh raced out to a 17-0 lead, but an untimely interception set up one Cornell touchdown, while a low snap and a muffed punt helped the Big Red score again. Suddenly, a seemingly comfortable advantage had shrunk to just three points late in the third quarter.

The Mountain Hawks responded in the fourth, leaning on the running game behind RB Rich Sodeke to put the game away.

“I was pleased at how we were able to finish the game running the football,” head coach Andy Coen said afterward. “That was a really nice drive, really kind of established our run game. That’s what we needed, it was a long time coming for us.”

Coen acknowledged that the Mountain Hawks had faced adversity as Cornell mounted its comeback, but he was pleased with how his team responded.

“We did a good job of responding to some adversity in the fourth quarter when Cornell was making a run, and I think that’s something we can really build on. But getting the win was most important, no matter how ugly it looked at times.”

That last line could almost serve as a motto for Lehigh’s history at Schoellkopf Field. Even when the Mountain Hawks have managed to leave Ithaca with a victory, they’ve rarely done so without a fight, and without surviving some sort of craziness.

This Weekend’s Matchup

Lehigh head coach Rich Nagy and Cornell head coach Dan Swarstrom would probably be quick to tell you that the ancient past has little to do with the game up at historic Schoellkopf this weekend. Lehigh RB Luke Yoder and Cornell QB Garrett Bass-Sulpezio were both still in high school when Cornell beat Lehigh 19-15 the last time they played in Ithaca. If anything they might have a dim recollection of the 2023 game at Murray Goodman – in the 23-20 win by Cornell, where the true freshman Yoder ran for 37 yards; and Bass-Sulpezio did not make the travel team.

And Lehigh’s businesslike team doesn’t seem on the surface to be one to be taken in by stadium voodoo or crumble in the face of a little adversity. Against Georgetown, QB Hayden Johnson was sacked and the Hoyas scooped the fumble and scored to tie their game at 7 – and then all phases of the game kicked in as Lehigh would go on a 38-0 run, with Yoder getting 120 yards and 3 touchdown runs.

The game feels more likely to be determined by quarterback play and rushing defense. Bass-Sulpezio is 6-5 and 248 lbs, built more like an edge rusher than a quarterback. He already has five rushing touchdowns on the season, two against Yale at home in their 38-25 win over the Bulldogs. He led the Big Red in rushing attempts as Cornell had 126 yards rushing but 5 overall on the ground, with RB Ean Pope, RB Jordan Triplett and WR Brendan Lee adding scores as well as their big quarterback.

QB Derek Morgan took over for Hayden Johnson after he got hurt againt William and Mary, and has done a phenomenal job proteting the football and orchestrating bursts of scoring. Through three starts and the second half versus William and Mary, Morgan has 6 TD passes, 2 rushing touchdowns, and zero turnovers.

Defensively, Lehigh hasn’t been flashy, but they’ve gotten the job done with players like DL Jadin Nelson (10 tackles, 2 1/2 tackles for loss, 1 pass breakup) and LB William Parton (29 tackles, 1 INT). The Mountain Hawks lead the nation in rushing defense, onlu allowing 80.3 yards per game so far. But Cornell have been no slouches on defense either, led by S Tommy MacPherson (34 tackles, 5 1/2 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble) and LB Ian Wall (27 tackles, 1 fumble recovery). They are only allowing 124.2 yards rushing per game, good for 27th in the countrry.

It’s in tough, close games where the voodoo, the Cuyahoga water, or whatever this is in the Lehigh/Cornell series, that Lehigh fans should be thinking about this weekend. Cornell already poached a ranked team at home at spooky Schoellkpf already this season when they beat Yale. They’re definitely hoping the craziness will give them an assist at home at homecoming.

LEHIGH MOUNTAIN HAWKS (6-0. 4-0 Patriot) AT CORNELL BIG RED (2-2, 1-1 Ivy)
WHERE: Schoellkopf Field, Saturday, October 17th, 2:00 PM
STREAMING: ESPN+
TV CREW: PxP – Nick DeLuca; Analyst – Matt Miller
RADIO: BROADCAST (Fox Sports Lehigh Valley 94.7 FM/1230 AM; LVFoxSports.com):
RADIO CREW: PxP – Matt Kerr; Analysts – Steve Lomangino, Connor Brown