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MOUNT VERNON — Two big bullies, back to back. Cornell’s football team drew Iowa Conference leader and nationally-ranked Central last week. The Rams get more of the same from Wartburg Saturday.

The Rams (2-6 overall, 0-6 IIAC) will try to spring an upset in their final home game against the Wartburg Knights (7-1, 6-0) at 1 p.m. at Ash Park Stadium. The Knights are ranked 13th in the D3football.com poll and stand just a half game behind Central in the race for the league title. Wartburg and Central meet in the regular-season finale Nov. 10 in Waverly.

Cornell has incentive with 15 seniors entering their final collegiate home games. Eleven of those players are listed in the team’s starting two-deep.

“We have a very good senior class. It’s a very talented group,” head coach Matt Dillon said. “We want the seniors to go out on a positive note. Their last game at Ash Park will be remembered for the rest of their life.”

Dillon took away several encouraging signs from his team’s 40-14 loss at fifth-ranked Central. Despite committing four turnovers and facing an early 19-0 deficit, Cornell hung tough and had the Dutch in a two-possession game (26-14) late in the third quarter. The Rams drove deep into Central territory with a chance to cut into that deficit, but lost a fumble in the end zone that resulted in a touchback.

“We went toe-to-toe with the No. 5 team in the country,” Dillon said. “We competed hard for four quarters and were in the game for three quarters. We have to continue to work through this process. The process is the most important thing.”

Wartburg is fresh off a 41-5 pasting of Simpson last week in which it held the Storm to 157 total yards. The Knights feature one of the top defensive units in NCAA Division III, allowing only 7.6 points per game. Wartburg has held six of its foes to single-digit points. The Knights lead the IIAC in total defense (247.5 ypg) and sacks (33 for minus-211 yards).

“Their defense just beats you up,” Dillon said. “They have great quickness and leverage… they attack the line of scrimmage and pressure the quarterback. They are a sound defensive football team. This will be a very difficult task for our offense.”

Offensively, the Knights are not too shabby either. Quarterback Nick Yordi completed 26-of-30 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns against Simpson. He ranks second in the IIAC with 1,932 passing yards this season. Versatile back Neil Suckow scored four touchdowns – two rushing, two receiving – last week. He is second in the league in scoring with 11 touchdowns.

The series – Cornell is 2-13 in the all-time series with Wartburg. The Knights have won the last five meetings, including a 41-7 decision last year in Waverly. Wartburg scored 34 unanswered points to the start the game and capitalized on four Cornell turnovers. Travion Hardman ( Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) rushed for 104 yards on 26 carries to lead the Rams.

Tackling the record book – Chris Gustafson ( Lakewood, Colo./Bear Creek) set two school records last week and could own several more by season’s end. The senior middle linebacker tied his career high with 18 tackles against Central. His 14 solo stops topped the previous school record of 13 shared by himself (2007 vs. Buena Vista), Doug Pipolo (1988 vs. Monmouth) and Pat Dolphin (1986 vs. Wartburg). Gustafson also became Cornell’s all-time leader in solo tackles with 209, passing the old record of 202 held by John Crane (1998-2001).

Gustafson’s dynamite day included two tackles-for-loss, a forced fumble, a blocked extra point kick and a pass breakup. “Fourteen solo tackles and 18 total is a monster game,” Dillon said.

Gustafson needs one tackle-for-loss to tie the single-season record (19 by Brett Murdock in 2001) and 12 solo tackles to tie the single-season mark (75 by Andy Reed in 1994). He is four tackles-for-loss shy of tying the career record (44 by Chet Knake in 1999-2002) and within 32 tackles of the all-time mark for total tackles (481 by John Crane in 1998-2001).

Budding Bush – Cornell freshman quarterback Dallas Bush (Plano, Texas/Plano East) fired his first two collegiate touchdown passes in his second career start last week. The two scoring strikes – 25 yards to Kyle Krogmann (DeWitt/Northeast) and nine yards to Josh Youngblood (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) – came during a three-minute span in the second quarter that pulled the Rams to within 19-14. Bush finished the day 11-of-23 passing for 137 yards with an interception.

“ Dallas is progressing very, very well,” Dillon said. “I think he threw seven balls that were dropped or catchable.”

Something’s got to give – The Rams have scored a rushing touchdown in seven of the eight games this season. Wartburg has surrendered only two rushing touchdowns all year and just one in the last 19 quarters.

Hardman led the Rams with 98 yards on the ground last week. He has totaled 602 rushing yards (5.5 ypc) and five rushing touchdowns this year. Fullback Mike Thompson (Eaton, Colo./Windsor) has four scoring runs. The Knights are allowing 77.5 rushing yards per game.

Home field – The Rams are 1-3 at Ash Park this year, highlighted with a 35-34 squeaker over nonconference foe Alma Sept. 8. Cornell has not won a league contest at home since Oct. 15, 2005 (25-21 over Dubuque), a span of nine games.

Ace (attitude, character, effort) awards – Defense: Gustafson; Offense: Heath Sienknecht (Clutier/North Tama); Special Teams: Caleb Simon (Parker, Colo./Christian Fellowship); Scout Team Defense: Colin McQuillan (Wathena, Kan./Wathena); Scout Team Offense: Eric Tammone (Pueblo, Colo./St. Mary’s).