Big Red sports teams: You have some competition. 

If anyone ever made a talking doll of football head coach Jim Knowles ’87, choosing its phrases would not be that difficult. And in the press conference after Cornell’s 17-14 win over Yale on Saturday — an old-fashioned skirmish befitting the drizzle and gloomy clouds — the media pulled the string and Knowles uttered one of his favorite idioms.

“This was not about offense, defense, or special teams,” he said. “It’s about one team.”

As true as that has been through two games this year, with the offense picking up the defense and vice versa, Saturday’s tilt was certainly about the defense.

After every game he broadcasts, John Madden selects an exemplary player or players to receive a spot on his “horse trailer.” Often, the veteran broadcaster selects the entire offensive or defense line for commendation. After the football team’s 45-7 thrashing against Georgetown on the road Saturday afternoon, Cornell’s men between the trenches might deserve such an honor.

The defensive line completely shut down Georgetown’s passing game, as Cornell notched five sacks and helped hold the Hoyas to only 173 yards through the air. In one particular fourth-down play, Georgetown quarterback Matt Bassuener dropped the snap, was subsequently crunched from both sides by Red blitzers and heaved the ball in desperation for an incomplete pass.