Bucknell University Athletics
'51 Bison to Be Honored This Weekend as '01 Bison Look for Fifth Straight Win
10/17/2001 8:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 17, 2001
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The Storyline
The Bison look to match last season's 5-1 start Saturday with a Homecoming Day victory against the Patriot League's newest associate member, Georgetown. The Hoyas, who compete in the Patriot League in football only, won their second straight thriller last week, 26-24 over Davidson. Georgetown is still in search of its first league win after opening the season with conference losses to Lehigh, Holy Cross and Fordham. Bucknell won its fourth straight last week with a come-from-behind 17-16 triumph at Lafayette. The Herd is 2-0 in Patriot League play, joining Lehigh and Holy Cross atop the conference standings.
1951 Bison To Be Honored
This season marks the 50th anniversary of the perfect 9-0 campaign by the 1951 Bison. No less than 20 members of that historic squad have returned for Homecoming festivities this weekend, and the team will be recognized at halftime of Saturday's game.
The Bucknell-Georgetown Series
While the Bison and Hoyas meet for the 14th time today, this will be just the second game between the two schools since 1939. The series is tied, 6-6-1. Last season Bucknell prevailed 24-10 at Kehoe Field win Washington, D.C. The win snapped a four-game winless streak against Georgetown from 1932-39. The Hoyas' 13-7 win in 1939 is the only series contest ever played in Lewisburg. Bucknell's last win over Georgetown was a 7-0 decision in 1931.
More on the Hoyas
After struggling to an 0-3 start, Georgetown has pulled out two straight wins in dramatic fashion. Two weeks ago, freshman Byron Anderson returned a blocked extra point 82 yards for the deciding two points with 3:46 remaining to give the Hoyas a 15-13 win over Duquesne. Last week, Eric Speron intercepted a potential game-tying two-point conversion with 52 seconds to play in a 26-24 win over Davidson (which beat Georgetown 41-17 last season). The Hoyas have struggled thus far in their Patriot League initiation, getting outscored 122-34 in three losses.
The Head Coaches
Bucknell's Tom Gadd is in his seventh season at Bucknell, and he has already carved a niche as one of the school's most successful football coaches. The Bison have averaged seven wins over Gadd's first half-dozen years in Lewisburg, that after having averaged only 3.5 wins in the four seasons prior to his arrival. His 42 victories are the most by a Bucknell coach in a six-year period, and he boasts a 46-25 (.648) record at BU. A 1970 graduate of Cal-Riverside, Gadd was the defensive coordinator at San Jose State prior to accepting his first head coaching gig at Bucknell in the spring of 1995. He has also coordinated defenses at Minnesota, Utah and South Carolina during his 32-year coaching career. Bob Benson is in his ninth year at Georgetown and owns an impressive 55-31 (.640) record. He led the Hoyas to three regular-season titles in the MAAC with back-to-back 9-2 seasons in 1998 and 1999. A 1986 Vermont graduate, Benson has also served as an assistant coach at Johns Hopkins and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Gadd Chasing History
Head coach Tom Gadd recorded his 46th victory at Bucknell last week, moving him past Harry Lawrence (1947-57) for second on the school's all-time list. Gadd needs only two more wins to match the record 48 accumulated by Bob Curtis from 1975-85.
Bison Receive Top-25 Votes this Week
For the second straight week, Bucknell is listed among "others receiving votes" in the Sports Network Division I-AA Top 25 poll. Georgia Southern has been No. 1 in the poll all year, while Lehigh of the Patriot League currently lists No. 7. Another Patriot League foe, Holy Cross, also received votes this week.
Reversing the Turnover Trend
After struggling to a -5 turnover ratio through two games, the Bison have turned things around with a staggering 16 takeaways in the last three weeks. Bucknell was +11 in wins over St. Mary's, Towson and Lafayette, and is now back in the black at +6 for the season, which ranks 17th nationally. Prior to the recent defensive surge, the Herd had not forced five turnovers in a game since the 1998 season opener against Duquense. Bucknell has parlayed the 16 takeaways into 48 points, including all 17 against Lafayette last week. In the first two contests of the season, the Bison dominated the stat sheets against Kent State and Columbia, but turnovers and red zone inefficiency contributed to a loss at Kent and an overtime struggle at Columbia.
No Running Zone
Bucknell's rush defense has been extraordinary during its current four-game winning streak. Bison foes have averaged only 109.0 yards per game this season, and only 83.3 over the last four contests. The stinginess reached a new peak two weeks ago when the Bison held Towson to a measley 13 rushing yards, while limiting star tailback Noah Reed to just 24 yards, nearly 100 below his season average. The previous week, St. Mary's (Calif.) came to Lewisburg leading the nation in rushing at 426.7 yards per game, but the Gaels went home with only 108. On Sept. 22, Bucknell held Columbia to 94 yards and kept All-America candidate John Reese to 99.
More on the Defense
Now ranked 32nd nationally in total defense, Bucknell's defensive unit has improved each week. Bison opponents are averaging only 3.0 yards per rush and have converted only 19 of 74 (.257) third-down opportunities. The Herd has compiled 13 sacks on the season (all in the last four weeks) and is allowing only 18.0 points per game, even including Division I-A Kent State's 38-point output in the season opener. When Lafayette's Chad Ritchie scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter last week, it was the first touchdown allowed by Bucknell's first-team defense since the third quarter of the Columbia game, a span of 12 quarters.
Bison Offense Slowed, Not Stopped
After racking up eye-popping offensive totals in its previous two outings, Bucknell's offense struggled a bit in its first game of the season on grass last week at Lafayette. The Bison were held to a season-low 86 yards rushing and 238 total yards in the 17-16 win. The Herd had outscored its two previous opponents 89-16 and racked up 507 total yards in a 51-10 rout of Towson on Oct. 6.
Bruised Backfield
Bucknell's running game took a hit when star RB Jabu Powell and FB Jason Marrow left with injuries in the fourth quarter against Lafayette. Powell injured his ribs while throwing a block and did not return, while Marrow hobbled off with an MCL injury in his left knee. Marrow is out for this week's game against Georgetown, while Powell's status is questionable.
