Cornell vs. Yale

Cornell and Yale first met in 1889 and have played 67 times; Yale leads the series 45–⁠20–⁠2. Over the last 10 meetings it’s Yale 6–⁠4. Share

Cornell wins: 20
Yale wins: 45
Ties: 2
First meeting: 1889
Longest streak: 7 Yale
Current streak: 1 Cornell
Last 10 meetings: Yale 6–⁠4
Most recent: 2026

The series at a glance

Every meeting by decade, colored by the winner
	’0	’1	’2	’3	’4	’5	’6	’7	’8	’9	W–L
1880s											0–⁠2
1930s											0–⁠2
1940s											4–⁠3–⁠1
1950s											3–⁠6–⁠1
1960s											2–⁠8
1970s											2–⁠8
1980s											1–⁠1
2000s											3–⁠4
2010s											2–⁠8
2020s											3–⁠3

Both ranked: 1 meeting: Cornell 0, Yale 1
Average margin: 16.8 points; 16 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
At Cornell: 11–⁠16–⁠2 Cornell’s record at home
At Yale: 29–⁠9 Yale’s record at home
Shutouts: 12

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

Games that tell the story

Cornell’s biggest win2012: Cornell 45, Yale 6by 39 points
Yale’s biggest win1889: Yale 70, Cornell 0by 70 points
Upset1980: Cornell 24, Yale 6Cornell had a 17% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
Upset2009: Cornell 14, Yale 12Cornell had a 24% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
Upset2024: Cornell 47, Yale 23Cornell had a 25% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
Ranked showdown1937: Yale 9, Cornell 0No. 19 Cornell at No. 5 Yale

Coach against coach

Years	Cornell	Series	Yale
1936–⁠1940	Carl Snavely	1–⁠2	Ducky Pond
1949–⁠1951	George James	3–⁠0	Herman Hickman
1952–⁠1960	George James	1–⁠7–⁠1	Jordan Olivar
1966–⁠1974	Jack Musick	3–⁠6	Carmen Cozza
1977–⁠1981	Bob Blackman	1–⁠4	Carmen Cozza

Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from Cornell’s side (Snavely 1–⁠2 against Pond). A season split between coaches goes to the one credited with the game.

Both programs through the years

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

1889 · The Springdale news, Arkansas, Nov 15, 1889
1936 · The Nome daily nugget, Oct 5, 1936
1937 · Evening star, Oct 24, 1937
1940 · The Wilmington morning star, North Carolina, Nov 10, 1940
1941 · Evening star, Nov 8, 1941

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

Cornell football team enters Yale Bowl before the Yale/Cornell game on September 28, 2019.Photo: Kenneth Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The 2019 game
Nick Gargiulo, Yale football player, September 28, 2019.Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The 2019 game
Yale – Cornell Football game at Yale Bowl, Sept 28, 2019.Photo: Kenneth Zirkel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The 2019 game
Panoramic image of Yale Bowl, the Yale University football field. Yale/Cornell football game, September 28, 2019. View from home stands; scoreboard at left.Photo: Kenneth Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The 2019 game

From the rivalry’s and its games’ categories on Wikimedia Commons (free licenses only, each credited).

Every game

Sep 26, 2026	Cornell 38, Yale 25	at Cornell
Sep 27, 2025	Yale 41, Cornell 24	at Yale
Sep 28, 2024	Cornell 47, Yale 23	at Cornell
Sep 23, 2023	Cornell 23, Yale 21	at Yale
Sep 24, 2022	Yale 38, Cornell 14	at Cornell
Sep 25, 2021	Yale 23, Cornell 17	at Yale
Sep 28, 2019	Yale 27, Cornell 16	at Yale
Sep 22, 2018	Yale 30, Cornell 24	at Cornell
Sep 23, 2017	Yale 49, Cornell 24	at Yale
Sep 24, 2016	Cornell 27, Yale 13	at Cornell
Sep 26, 2015	Yale 33, Cornell 26	at Yale
Oct 4, 2014	Yale 51, Cornell 13	at Cornell
Sep 28, 2013	Yale 38, Cornell 23	at Yale
Sep 22, 2012	Cornell 45, Yale 6	at Cornell
Sep 24, 2011	Yale 37, Cornell 17	at Yale
Sep 25, 2010	Yale 21, Cornell 7	at Cornell
Sep 26, 2009	Cornell 14, Yale 12	at Yale
Sep 27, 2008	Cornell 17, Yale 14	at Cornell
Sep 22, 2007	Yale 51, Cornell 12	at Yale
Sep 23, 2006	Yale 21, Cornell 9	at Cornell
Sep 24, 2005	Yale 37, Cornell 17	at Yale
Sep 25, 2004	Cornell 19, Yale 7	at Cornell
Sep 27, 2003	Yale 21, Cornell 7	at Yale
Nov 7, 1981	Yale 23, Cornell 17	at Cornell
Nov 8, 1980	Cornell 24, Yale 6	at Yale
Nov 3, 1979	Yale 23, Cornell 20	at Cornell
Nov 4, 1978	Yale 42, Cornell 14	at Yale
Oct 29, 1977	Yale 28, Cornell 0	at Cornell
Oct 30, 1976	Yale 14, Cornell 6	at Yale
Oct 25, 1975	Yale 20, Cornell 14	at Yale
Oct 26, 1974	Yale 27, Cornell 3	at Cornell
Oct 27, 1973	Yale 20, Cornell 3	at Yale
Oct 28, 1972	Cornell 24, Yale 13	at Cornell
Oct 23, 1971	Cornell 31, Yale 10	at Yale
Oct 24, 1970	Yale 38, Cornell 7	at Cornell
Oct 25, 1969	Yale 17, Cornell 0	at Yale
Oct 26, 1968	Yale 25, Cornell 13	at Cornell
Oct 28, 1967	Yale 41, Cornell 7	at Yale
Oct 22, 1966	Cornell 16, Yale 14	at Cornell
Oct 23, 1965	Yale 24, Cornell 14	at Yale
Oct 24, 1964	Yale 23, Cornell 21	at Cornell
Oct 19, 1963	Cornell 13, Yale 10	at Cornell
Oct 20, 1962	Yale 26, Cornell 8	at Yale
Oct 21, 1961	Yale 12, Cornell 0	at Cornell
Oct 15, 1960	Yale 22, Cornell 6	at Yale
Oct 17, 1959	Yale 23, Cornell 0	at Cornell
Oct 18, 1958	Cornell 12, Yale 7	at Yale
Oct 19, 1957	Yale 18, Cornell 7	at Cornell
Oct 20, 1956	Yale 25, Cornell 7	at Yale
Oct 15, 1955	Yale 34, Cornell 6	at Yale
Oct 16, 1954	Yale 47, Cornell 21	at Yale
Oct 17, 1953	Cornell 0, Yale 0	at Cornell
Oct 18, 1952	Yale 13, Cornell 0	at Yale
Oct 20, 1951	14Cornell 27, Yale 0	at Yale
Oct 21, 1950	17Cornell 7, Yale 0	at Cornell
Oct 15, 1949	14Cornell 48, Yale 14	at Yale
Oct 4, 1947	Yale 14, Cornell 0	at Yale
Oct 19, 1946	Cornell 6, Yale 6	at Cornell
Oct 27, 1945	Yale 18, Cornell 7	at Yale
Oct 7, 1944	Yale 16, Cornell 7	at Yale
Nov 7, 1942	Cornell 13, Yale 7	at Yale
Nov 8, 1941	Cornell 21, Yale 7	at Cornell
Nov 9, 1940	1Cornell 21, Yale 0	at Yale
Oct 23, 1937	5Yale 9, 19Cornell 0	at Yale
Oct 3, 1936	Yale 23, Cornell 0	at Yale
Nov 9, 1889	Yale 70, Cornell 0	at Cornell
Oct 15, 1889	Yale 56, Cornell 6	at Yale

Every game is listed as played on the field.