Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Football Closes 2002 Season Saturday Against Fordham
11/22/2002 7:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 22, 2002
Complete Bucknell Game Notes in PDF Format
The Storyline A difficult 2002 season comes to an end this week, as the Bison take on high-flying Fordham. Bucknell looks to end a six-game losing streak - its longest in 11 years - and at the same time make an impact on the Patriot League title hunt. Fordham and Colgate enter this week's action tied for first in the PL at 5-1 (Fordham beat Colgate 40-31 on Sept. 14). Lehigh and Lafayette, who play each other this week, lurk just a game back at 4-2. For Bucknell to end the season on a positive note, it will have to rediscover its offense. The Bison have managed only a field goal over the last two games, marking the first time since 1985 that they have been kept out of the end zone in back-to-back games.
The Bucknell-Fordham Series The Bison hold an 11-6 lead in its all-time series with Fordham, including a 10-3 ledger since the Rams joined the Patriot League in 1989. The two teams met annually from 1929-32, with Fordham winning three of the four meetings, then not again until Bucknell's 31-7 victory in 1989. Two of the Rams three victories over the Bison as Patriot League rivals have come in Lewisburg, including a 21-0 win in 1992 that had been Bucknell's last league shutout loss until last week's 24-0 setback at Lehigh.
The Last Bison-Rams Clash On Oct. 27, 2001 in the Bronx, Bucknell's five-game winning streak came to a halt as Fordham used two big plays in the second half to pull out a 17-12 victory at Jack Coffey Field. Dan McGrath's 78-yard punt return TD and Peter Modelski's 47-yard TD catch helped Fordham build a 17-0 lead after three quarters. The Bison made a valiant comeback attempt, scoring twice in the fourth quarter on QB Todd Wenrich's 6-yard run and OLB Mark Tallman's fumble recovery in the end zone. Wenrich completed 36 of 67 passes for 280 yards, tying the Bucknell record for completions in a game and breaking the mark for attempts. WR Jim Horan had a career-high 12 receptions.
More on the Rams Fordham is just one victory away from its first-ever Patriot League title. The Rams, who have never finished higher than third in the league, boast an explosive offense that averages a league-best 34.5 points per game. The high-flying offense revolves around the outstanding trio of QB Kevin Eakin, WR Javarus Dudley and RB Kirwin Watson. Eakin leads the PL with a 154.14 efficiency rating and has an outstanding 19-7 TD-INT ratio. He needs 249 passing yards this week to break Fordham's single-season record. Watson is averaging a league-best 122.8 rushing yards per game, third-best in all of Division I-AA, while Dudley has 62 catches for 973 yards and eight TDs. Dudley also averages better than 25 yards per kickoff return and ranks fifth nationally in all-purpose yards. Defensively, OLB NaQuinton Gainous leads the team with 67 tackles, while DE Keron Lucius leads the league with nine sacks.
Senior Salute Bucknell this week bids farewell to 18 seniors who will be participating in their final football game in Orange and Blue. The seniors are WR/P Andrew Baumberger, OG Luman Bauta, C John Bzdick, DT Gary Carruthers, OLB Peter Christathakis, WR Jim Horan, FB Matt Kawczenski, TE Ken Lockard, NG Adam Lord, K Chris Lundberg, OLB Joe Massey, CB Adam Minggia, OLB Juan Morales, OG Joe Schweitzer, DT Eric Storm, FB Todd Warmington, QB Todd Wenrich and P/OLB Billy Windle.
Bison in an Unusual Spot Having posted winning records in each of the last seven years, a 2-8 ledger and a last-place standing in the Patriot League are obviously not familiar positions for the Bison. Bucknell's streak of winning seasons - which was the ninth-longest in Division I-AA entering the 2002 season - will come to an end this season. The Bison need a win over Fordham this week to avoid their first winless conference record since joining the Patriot League in 1986.
Bucknell Trio Cited for Academics Three Bucknell football players were named to the Verizon Academic All-District Team last week. Senior P/OLB Billy Windle and junior TE Dave Gibson were named to the first team, while junior SS Will Smith earned second-team all-district plaudits. Gibson is an accounting major with a 3.73 cumulative grade-point average; Windle has a 3.40 GPA in geopgraphy; and Smith has a 3.22 in economics. Windle and Gibson are now eligible for national Academic All-America honors. Bucknell has boasted 104 Academic All-Americans since 1970, third-most among Division I institutions, behind only Nebraska and Notre Dame.
Power Outage Bucknell's offense has struggled of late, going eight quarters without a touchdown. The Bison have not gone back-to-back games without at TD since suffering shoutout losses to Lafayette (47-0) and Lehigh (19-0) in the last two games of the 1985 season.
Butterfingers Bucknell has really struggled in the turnover department in 2002, after ranking seventh nationally in turnovers forced a year ago. The Bison, who who have committed 12 turnovers in their last three outings, have a -12 turnover ratio on the season (-11 on the road and -1 at home).
Season Finales Bucknell has lost its last game in each of the last two seasons - 15-13 at Colgate last season and 24-21 to Colgate in 2000. Bucknell's last season-ending victory was a 45-15 rout of Fordham in the Bronx in 1999.
Bouncing Back The last time the Bison won a game the week after being shut out was Oct. 16, 1982, when Bucknell defeated Rochester 20-0 after dropping a 3-0 decision to New Hampshire the previous week.
