Cornell vs. Michigan

Cornell and Michigan first met in 1889 and have played 18 times; Cornell leads the series 12–⁠6. Over the last 10 meetings it’s even at 5–⁠5.

Cornell wins
12
Michigan wins
6
Ties
0
First meeting
1889
Longest streak
7 Cornell
Current streak
1 Michigan
Last 10 meetings
even at 5–⁠5
Most recent
1952

The series at a glance

Every meeting by decade, colored by the winner
’0’1’2’3’4’5’6’7’8’9W–L
1880s1–⁠0
1890s6–⁠1
1910s4–⁠3
1930s0–⁠1
1950s1–⁠1
Average margin
24.9 points; 3 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
At Cornell
6–⁠1 Cornell’s record at home
At Michigan
5–⁠6 Michigan’s record at home
Shutouts
8

Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.

Games that tell the story

  1. Cornell’s biggest win1889: Cornell 66, Michigan 0by 66 points
  2. Michigan’s biggest win1952: Michigan 49, Cornell 7by 42 points

Coach against coach

YearsCornellSeriesMichigan
1912–⁠1917Albert Sharpe3–⁠3Fielding Yost

Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from Cornell’s side (Sharpe 3–⁠3 against Yost). A season split between coaches goes to the one credited with the game.

Both programs through the years

End-of-season Elo ratings of Cornell and Michigan, 1889 on13001500170019001900192019401960198020002020

Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.

From the newspapers

  • The New-York tribune's story of the 1890 game: CORNELL BEATS THE MICHIGAN PLAYERS.

    1890 · New-York tribune, New York [N.Y.], Nov 17, 1890

  • The The sun's story of the 1891 game: A PRETTY GAME By CORNELL. Her Team Beats tho Michigan After q Sharp Contest.

    1891 · The sun, New York [N.Y.], Nov 29, 1891

  • The Los Angeles herald's story of the 1892 game: Yale and Princeton Battle Ferociously. A Fierce Fight for the Foot ball Championship. The Yales Win After q Most Des. perate Struggle. Boston Beats Chicago-Cornell Defeats tho University of Michigan--Wes- leyans Drubbed by the QuAk- ers-Other Games. BY the Associated Press.

    1892 · Los Angeles herald, California, Nov 25, 1892

  • The St. Paul daily globe's story of the 1894 game: BLUES ARE WINNERS, Harvard Meets Defeat at the Hands Of Yale's Brawny Men. CRIMSONS HAVE HARD LUCK. Game Was a Bloody One and Many Are the In jured. CRIMSONS HAVE HARD LUCK. SURPRISE FOR CORNELL Wolverines do Them up by a Score Of IL to 4.

    1894 · St. Paul daily globe, Saint Paul, Minn., Nov 25, 1894

  • The New-York tribune's story of the 1911 game: CORNELL STANDS TEST Defeats Michigan Eleven Before Eleven Thousand Spectators. SHOWS MUCH IMPROVEMENT Westerners Fail to Make Much of an Impression on Red and White Line.

    1911 · New-York tribune, New York [N.Y.], Nov 12, 1911

Public-domain newspapers from the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America, found through the American Stories dataset (Dell and Harvard, CC BY 4.0). The earliest meetings with a story on file; each game’s page has the full text.

Photos

From the rivalry’s and its games’ categories on Wikimedia Commons (free licenses only, each credited), and the Library of Congress’s Prints & Photographs Division (no known restrictions on publication).

Every game

Nov 8, 1952Michigan 49, Cornell 7at Michigan
Nov 10, 1951Cornell 20, Michigan 7at Cornell
Oct 14, 1933Michigan 40, Cornell 0at Michigan
Nov 10, 1917Michigan 42, Cornell 0at Michigan
Nov 11, 1916Cornell 23, Michigan 20at Cornell
Nov 6, 1915Cornell 34, Michigan 7at Michigan
Nov 14, 1914Cornell 28, Michigan 13at Michigan
Nov 8, 1913Michigan 17, Cornell 0at Cornell
Nov 16, 1912Michigan 20, Cornell 7at Michigan
Nov 11, 1911Cornell 6, Michigan 0at Cornell
Nov 24, 1894Michigan 12, Cornell 4at Michigan
Nov 3, 1894Cornell 22, Michigan 0at Cornell
Nov 22, 1892Cornell 30, Michigan 10at Michigan
Nov 8, 1892Cornell 44, Michigan 0at Cornell
Nov 28, 1891Cornell 10, Michigan 0at Michigan
Nov 21, 1891Cornell 58, Michigan 12at Michigan
Nov 15, 1890Cornell 20, Michigan 5at Michigan
Nov 23, 1889Cornell 66, Michigan 0at Cornell

Every game is listed as played on the field.