Bucknell University Athletics
Crucial Stretch for Bison Football Begins This Week with Holy Cross
10/31/2001 7:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 31, 2001
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The Storyline
Two teams coming off disappointing conference losses square off this week when Holy Cross visits Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. Bucknell dropped a 17-12 decision at Fordham last Saturday, while the Crusaders were blown out at Lehigh, 47-14. Bucknell and Holy Cross are both 3-1 in Patriot League play, tied for third behind Lehigh (4-0) and Colgate (3-0). The loss was less costly to the Bison, who remain a game ahead of Fordham (2-2) in the Patriot League standings with Lehigh and Colgate still to come on the schedule.
The Bucknell-Holy Cross Series
The Crusaders own an 11-6 lead in a series that dates back to 1925. The two teams have met annually since 1986. Holy Cross captured the first nine series meetings, but since then Bucknell has won 6 of 8. The Bison's five-game series winning streak was snapped in a 10-9 loss at Fitton Field last season. Bucknell has won four straight home meetings and leads 4-3 all-time at Mathewson Stadium.
Last Year's Bison-Crusaders Clash
Last Nov. 4 in Worcester, Mass., Holy Cross took advantage of a second chance and handed Bucknell a crushing 10-9 setback. After battling from behind to take a 9-7 lead the Bison were penalized for running into the kicker on a missed 44-yard field goal attempt. Ryan Rolfert took advantage of the extra five yards and connected on a carer-long 39-yard field goal with just 0:02 remaining. The Bison forced four turnovers, but could only convert them into a pair of field goals as they were held without a touchdown for the first time in 51 games. PK Chris Lundberg kicked field goals of 31, 27 and 23 yards, while the Crusaders limited RB Jabu Powell to 74 yards on 34 carries.
More on the Crusaders
One week after winning one of the wildest games in the nation this season, a 63-53 track meet with Lafayette, the Crusaders were completely shut down by Lehigh last week in a 47-14 defeat. Holy Cross QB Brian Hall, one of the Patriot League's premier signal callers, was held to only 77 passing yards. Still, Hall has thrown five TD passes in a game twice this season, and he has a remarkable TD-to-interception ratio of 17-to-4. WR David Thompson is Hall's favorite receiver, with 30 catches for 394 yards and eight touchdowns. Holy Cross has struggled a bit defensively, giving up 100 points in its last two outings and an average of 28.4 for the season.
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 47-26 (.644) 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. Dan Allen is in his sixth season at Holy Cross and has a 21-41 record to date.
Gadd Chasing History
Head coach Tom Gadd recorded his 47th victory at Bucknell two weeks ago against Georgetown, leaving him just a single win shy of the record books. Gadd needs only one more triumph to match the record 48 wins accumulated by Bob Curtis from 1975-85.
Pair of Patriot League Marquee Games This Week
The top four teams in the Patriot League own a combined record of 13-2. That will change this week as the league's two unbeatens - Lehigh (4-0) and Colgate (3-0) - square off in Hamilton, N.Y., while Holy Cross (3-1) and Bucknell (3-1) meet in Lewisburg. Next week's schedule features more of the same with Lehigh at Bucknell and Colgate at Holy Cross.
An Iron Curtain
Bucknell's defensive unit continued its stellar run last week at Fordham, even in a losing cause. The Bison held the Rams to only 88 rushing yards and 193 total yards, allowed only one offensive touchdown while scoring one of its own, forced 12 punts, recovered a pair of fumbles, and stopped Fordham on 13 of 15 third-down attempts.
No Running Zone
Bucknell's rush defense has been extraordinary this season. Bison foes have averaged only 90.1 yards per game this season, and only 74.8 over the last six contests. Twice Bucknell has held an opponent under 30 yards on the ground. The stinginess reached a new peak four weeks ago when the Bison held Towson to a measley 13 rushing yards, while limiting star tailback Noah Read to just 24 yards, nearly 100 below his season average. Two weeks ago, Georgetown rushed for 28 yards on 30 carries. On Sept. 29, 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. Bucknell ranks 10th nationally in rushing defense.
More on the Defense
Bucknell is now ranked 14th nationally in total defense and 10th in scoring defense. Bison opponents are averaging only 2.5 yards per rush and have converted only 24 of 104 (.231) third-down opportunities. The Herd has compiled 20 sacks on the season (all in the last six weeks) and is allowing only 15.3 points per game, even including Division I-A Kent State's 38-point output in the season opener. The Bison have allowed only three offensive touchdowns in the last 21 quarters.
I'll Take That
The Bison defense snagged two more takeaways last week, giving it a whopping 21 in the last five games. Bucknell has forced at least one turnover in every game this season and has 24 for the campaign.
Players of the Game
Following the victory over Georgetown, head coach Tom Gadd selected the following Lewisburg Touchdown Club Players of the Game: senior RB Jabu Powell on offense, senior OLB Mark Tallman on defense and sophomore CB/PR Jerome Acy on special teams. In addition, Tallman was named the Diversified Information Technologies Player of the Game.
Powell Back in Starting Lineup
Senior RB Jabu Powell returned to the starting backfield last week after missing the Georgetown game with a rib injury. Against Fordham, Powell rushed for 95 yards on 20 carries and caught six passes for 68 yards.
Powell Now Among Elite Rushers in Bison Annals
Senior RB Jabu Powell has topped the century mark in 3 of 6 games this season, picking up 114 rushing yards at Kent State in the season opener, 110 at Columbia on Sept. 22, and 114 more against Towson three weeks ago. Earlier this season Powell moved into second place on Bucknell's all-time rushing list, and last week he vaulted to second on the all-time all-purpose yardage list. He now has 2,794 rushing yards, second only Rich Lemon (4,742 from 1993-96), and 4,447 all-purpose yards, also second to Lemon (5,952). Powell has 12 career 100-yard rushing efforts, second all-time at Bucknell.
Ice That Arm
Junior QB Todd Wenrich had one of the busiest days ever by a Bison signal caller last week at Fordham, when he completed 36 of 67 passes for 280 yards. The 36 completions tied the school single-game record, while the 67 attempts shattered the record and is the most in the nation in Division I-AA this season. Jim Given set the previous marks with a 36-for-62 day against Colgate in 1986. Wenrich is now just 67 attempts and 42 completions shy of the Bucknell season records, both currently held by Jim Fox (1995).
Hooray for Horan
Junior WR Jim Horan has enjoyed six strong games since missing the season opener with a shoulder injury, and he just missed a school record last week with a career-high 12-catch performance against Fordham. That was the most grabs by a Bison in 17 years and was one shy of the school record of 13 set by Tom Mitchell against Harvard in 1964. Horan, whose leaping catch provided the Herd with the winning points in the fourth quarter at Lafayette, caught his 100th career pass last week and now stands sixth on Bucknell's all-time receptions list with 103.
