Cornell’s Trey Birdsong returned a kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown, although Monmouth responded with 34 unanswered points to take a 43-6 Midwest Conference football win Saturday at Zorn Stadium.
The young Rams (3-3 overall, 3-2 MWC) hung with Monmouth (4-2 overall, 4-1 MWC) for a half in a battle for second place in the league race.
Birdsong’s TD return – Cornell’s longest scoring play since 2017 – got the Rams within 9-6 with 5:18 remaining in the second quarter. It was the junior’s second return for a touchdown this season and seventh total TD.
The Fighting Scots turned momentum with a 50-yard scoring pass with 13 seconds left in the half to claim a 16-6 lead at the break. Monmouth, which featured the MWC’s No. 1 scoring offense, pulled away in the second half by scoring on four of its five possessions.
Birdsong racked up 206 all-purpose yards and eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark in only his 16th game as a Ram. He totaled 160 yards on five kick returns against Monmouth.
Junior linebacker Nicholas Sells led Cornell’s defense with a career-high 14 tackles, including two for losses. Luca Schoensee recorded 12 tackles and had one stop for lost yardage.
Tony Gomez rushed for 60 yards on 19 carries and also played a big role on special teams. The junior averaged 50.2 yards on five punts, highlighted by a long of 69 yards.
Quarterback John Smith finished 11-of-23 passing for 111 yards and was sacked four times. Birdsong was his top target with five receptions for 35 yards. Cole Reed had five catches for 19 yards.
The Rams had two promising scoring drives in the second half stopped inside the red zone. They turned the ball over on downs at the Monmouth 13-yard line early in the third quarter and saw its final possession of the game stall at the Monmouth 11.
Monmouth converted two Cornell turnovers into 14 second-half points and finished with 574 yards of total offense. The Rams totaled 172 yards.