Though Cornell was victorious in the game, by a score of 41–0, The Ithaca Journal described the team as "anything but a finished product" but suggested it had the potential to develop into a "first rate aggregation of players".

Additionally, the Journal reported that the Cornell defense struggled against St. Bonaventure's passing game, the backfield defenders having been drawn in towards the line of scrimmage on several such plays.

[10] The Journal suggested that "there is little doubt that [head] Coach [Gil] Dobie will have a well polished, fast working team by the time of the Colgate game", but that "the team [...] still shows some crudeness and lack of coordination",[10] with vulnerability still noted against the passing game, the Rochester offense managing to nearly reach the Cornell one-yard line on the strength of aerial play, similar to St. Bonaventure's effort the week prior.

[12] Following its 3–0 start to the season, including its 110–0 rout of Western Reserve during the preceding week, Cornell remained at home to face its next opponent, historical rival Colgate University.

[14] Cornell opened scoring in the second half with a successful field goal attempt from Colgate's 30-yard line, resulting in the only points recorded by either team during the third quarter.

Dartmouth, however, tied the game when it recorded a touchdown of its own in the second quarter, on two plays following a "muffed"[16] pass from George Pfann which was returned to Cornell's 25-yard line.

[20] Eddie Kaw scored all three of Cornell's touchdowns in the opening quarter, one a 20-yard run and another following a George Pfann interception on Columbia's 35-yard line.

[20] Cornell faced stronger resistance from the Columbia defense in the second half of the game, being held scoreless in the third quarter and limited to a single touchdown in the fourth.

Guard Leonard Hanson sustained a minor injury in the first quarter, though the Journal reported that he would be in good condition for the game against Springfield the following Saturday.

[20] Prior to the match against Columbia, Cornell announced that it would no longer travel with a live bear mascot as it had previously, citing the safety hazard such a captive animal might present as well as the preference of the coach, Dobie, who the Brooklyn Standard Union reported on November 4 to have said, "if any one connected with Cornell football is going to climb a goal post it shall be a player on the way to a touchdown, and not the mascot".

[28] In its final game of the 1921 season, the undefeated Cornell team traveled to Franklin Field in Philadelphia to face historic rival the University of Pennsylvania, per tradition, on Thanksgiving Day.

In an afternoon game marked by rainy and muddy conditions, Cornell defeated the host team, 41–0, its largest margin over Pennsylvania in the history of the series to that point.

In front of an estimated crowd of 28,000, of which The Ithaca Journal approximated 10,000 to be partial to Cornell, the Big Red opened scoring with two touchdowns in the first quarter en route to a 14–0 lead.

In the third quarter, after exchanging punts with the host team, a Cornell lineman recovered a Pennsylvania fumble within the latter's territory and Eddie Kaw was able to score on the next play, again an end run around Penn's left flank, opening up a 34–0 lead.

In its ensuing possession, highlighted by a 42-yard run by Floyd Ramsey (22 yards of which came after recovering from a brief slip), Kaw again rushed the ball for Cornell's final touchdown of the match.

The outstanding features of the 1921 team were its sportsmanship, the sprit of confidence in every man to come through, and the superlative coordination between line and backs—in other words, football unity.

As an interested alumnus, I congratulate this team with all my heart.The finale matchup against Penn marked Cornell's largest victory in the series since the first meeting in 1893, and only its fifth in the intervening 29 years.

And, coming as the climax to a season unblemished by a single defeat, in which the Ithacans have led the teams of the East as the greatest scoring machine, is it to be wondered at if they claim for their heroes the mythical Eastern championship?

Who is there with a better claim to the title in the light of Penn State's tie score with Pitt?Following Cornell's defeat of Penn and the culmination of its undefeated season, the Tournament of Roses Association invited the Big Red to participate in the 1922 Rose Bowl, to be played on New Year's Day 1922 in Pasadena, California, against the also undefeated California Golden Bears.