The San Antonio, Texas native is an imposing signal caller, weighing in at 232 pounds, and his ground game is just as imposing. Banks bullies his way through tacklers, often going straight up the middle and absorbing multiple hits on each carry.

On the other end of the spectrum is Viviano. The senior from Berwyn, Pa. tends to juke his way around the defensive line, sprinting along the sidelines and sliding to avoid punishing hits.

Viviano bested the Big Red defense, carrying the ball 16 times for 56 yards, including one rush for 25 yards.

“We put pressure on them, and it forces them to try to make plays with their legs,” Cornell coach David Archer said. “From a defensive perspective [it’s] a real threat when a quarterback can run.”

CAN’T CALL CORNELL’S CARRIES COSTLY

It is safe to say that the Big Red’s rushing attack was a non-factor in its 13 point offensive output. Both Big Red touchdowns were the result of the Banks-Rogers connection in the air.

Cornell only amassed 80 net yards rushing, and Harvard nearly doubled that total with 159.

Despite running the ball more than the Big Red’s primary running threat, sophomore Chris Walker, Banks struggled to make progress downfield. Like Cornell’s ground game in general, most of Banks rushing attempts were stopped short for minimal gains.

“It all starts up front, and the strength of our team probably overall is having a better defensive line,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said.

Another factor in the Big Red’s failure to produce significant rushing yardage was the Crimson’s lead. In typical fashion, Harvard jumped out to an early lead and decided to hold the ball so as to limit Cornell to fewer drives and scoring opportunities.

“You kind of have to call the game a bit different when you’re down a couple of scores, and you might not run it as much,” Archer said. “But my hat’s off to them for doing a nice job on defense.”

Staff writer Jack Stockless can be reached at

jack.stockless@thecrimson.com.