Rams open IIAC play at Buena Vista

Cornell's 2-0 football team sat idle last weekend as the eight other teams in the Iowa Conference played their league openers.

The Rams get their chance Saturday in Storm Lake with the start of their 14th and final conference season as members of the IIAC. Cornell looks to build on its best start in four years when it visits Buena Vista (0-3 overall, 0-1 IIAC) for the Beavers' Homecoming in a 1 p.m. kickoff at J. Leslie Rollins Stadium.

Cornell is among three remaining unbeatens in the IIAC, joining Dubuque and Wartburg both at 3-0.

"With a new conference season, you can throw all the wins and losses out the window," Cornell second-year head coach Vince Brautigam said. "Everybody starts at 0-0 and has an opportunity to play for a conference championship."

The Rams wrapped up a perfect nonconference slate with a 22-14 home win over Macalester Sept. 10 at Ash Park Field. Cornell pulled out a season-opening 36-35 victory at Olivet (Mich.) on Sept. 3. A third win in a row would send the Rams to their best season start since 2001.

This year's bye week came early, but Coach Brautigam said not necessarily at a bad time for the young Rams as they prepare for eight consecutive weeks against IIAC foes.

"Ideally you'd like to have a bye mid-season, but anytime you have a bye it's always welcomed," Brautigam said. "We used last week to get a few guys healthy. It gave our guys an opportunity to have another week of practice as we get into the conference season. It's real important for a young team like us to be prepared. The extra week helped us."

Quarterback Juan Flores is off to a fine start to his sophomore season, leading a Ram offense that averages over 350 yards per game. Flores has accounted for all seven of Cornell's offensive touchdowns (4 rushing, 3 passing). He passed for a career-high 256 yards in the Macalester win, with top targets Thomas Connor and James Scully also enjoying career days combining for 15 catches and 253 yards.

Cornell's defense has also played its part, leading the IIAC in total defense at 267.5 yards per game. The Rams held Macalester to 233 total yards, just 75 in the first half. Cornell is allowing 149.5 yards per game through the air, ranking second in the conference. The Rams have not allowed an offensive touchdown in the fourth quarter this season.

About the Beavers - Buena Vista is coming off a 27-7 road loss to 13th-ranked Wartburg last Saturday. The Beavers played tough in a game that was 14-7 with two minutes left in the third quarter. Wartburg was aided by an interception return for a touchdown on Buena Vista's first offensive possession of the game.

"Buena Vista's record does not indicate the type of team they have," Brautigam said. "They went toe-to-toe with Wartburg and have a defensive front that's as good as anybody's in the league. Their skill (defensive) kids in the back seven run hard to the ball. Their running game has improved. They can run and pass the ball."

Junior John Hill led the Beavers at Wartburg with 120 yards rushing on 20 carries, including a 53-yard touchdown run. Freshman quarterback Bobby Brown was 17-of-46 passing for 179 yards with one interception.

Hill is the team's top rusher on the season with 185 yards, averaging 4.6 per carry. Brown has passed for 423 yards through three games. Logan Lehrkamp heads the receiving corps with 14 catches for 206 yards.

Last meeting - Cornell was intercepted three times and held to 228 total yards in a 26-14 loss to the Beavers on Oct. 16, 2010 in Mount Vernon.

Buena Vista led 26-0 early in the fourth quarter before Connor put the Rams on the board with a 55-yard touchdown reception from Andrew Burdick. Burdick added a 3-yard scoring run late in the game. The Beavers held an 11-minute edge in time of possession and limited Cornell to 24 rushing yards on 28 attempts.

The series - Buena Vista owns a 12-8 edge in the all-time series, dating back to a 19-0 Cornell win in 1925. The Beavers have won the last seven meetings, holding the Rams to 14 points or less in every game during the streak.

Cornell's last win in Storm Lake was a 47-45 shootout in 2003. That is also Cornell's last win in an IIAC opener.

Catching combo - Against Macalester, Connor and Scully became the first set of Cornell receivers to reach 100 yards in the same game since the 2007 season. Connor netted a career-high 140 yards on eight receptions. Scully caught seven balls for 113 yards.

Josh Youngblood (191 yards) and Kyle Krogmann (161 yards) were the last pair of Ram wideouts to accomplish the feat, at home against Alma (Mich.) on Sept. 8, 2007.

Connor climbs charts - Connor enters Saturday's contest with 1,065 career receiving yards. He is the 20th member of Cornell's 1,000-yard receiving club, and the fourth Ram to reach the milestone since 2007. The recent group includes Youngblood (1,487 yards, 2004-07), Alex Macey (1,423 yards, 2006-09) and Kyle Tierney (1,258 yards, 2007-10).

Connor is approaching another significant career mark with 97 receptions. Only 10 Rams in school history have totaled 100 career receptions, led by John Ward's 211 catches from 1979-82.

Rams in the rankings - Flores enters Saturday's contest as the IIAC's top scorer at 12.0 points per game. He ranks third in total offense (271.5 ypg) and fourth in rushing (82.0 ypg).

Connor leads the conference in all-purpose yards (179.5 ypg). He stands second in kickoff return yards (23.3 ypr), receptions (7.5 rpg) and receiving yards (109.0 ypg). Scully is fourth in receptions (5.0 rpg) and fifth in receiving yards (72.0 ypg).

Senior linebacker Tyler Bailey is second in the IIAC at 13.5 tackles per game. His 5.0 tackles for loss are third-most in the league. Bailey needs eight tackles Saturday to reach 200 for his career.

Red zone scoring - The Rams have scored on seven of eight trips inside the opponents' 20-yard line this season. Six of those drives have resulted in touchdowns. Cornell ranks third in the IIAC in red zone scoring, converting at an 88-percent clip.