Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Football Seeking First 3-0 Start Since 1997
9/19/2003 8:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 19, 2003
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Coming off its only bye week of the season, Bucknell puts its modest two-game winning streak on the line this week at Cornell's Schoellkopf Field. The Bison, who have matched their victory total from the entire 2002 campaign, are off to their first 2-0 start since 1999. Bucknell has not won its first three games in a season since starting 10-0 in 1997. Like the rest of their Ivy brethren, the Big Red are making their season debut this week. Cornell, which bowed 14-3 in Lewisburg in 2002, is looking to improve on last year's 4-6 mark.
BISON FOOTBALL NOTES & NOTABLES
* PATRIOT LEAGUE HONORS: Bucknell players captured the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honor in each of the first two weeks of the season. Following the Delaware State victory, junior DB Virgil Rush was cited for his 11 tackles, interception and fumble recovery. Junior DB Joe Glenn was named the top defensive player by the PL and, on a national stage, The Sports Network, after Bucknell's season opening win over Duquesne, when Glenn intercepted three passes.
* TURNOVER TURNAROUND: One of the biggest contributing factors to Bucknell's 2-9 record a year ago was turnover margin. The Bison ranked next-to-last in Division I-AA with a -17 ratio in 2002, but they have reversed that trend in the first two games of the season. Bucknell has already forced 10 turnovers, the most in the nation among teams that have played two games. The Bison's +7 turnover margin is also tops in all of I-AA.
* GLENN LEADING NATION IN INTERCEPTIONS: With four thefts in two games, junior DB Joe Glenn ranks first among all Division I players (I-A or I-AA) in interceptions. Last time out against Delaware State, he set a Bucknell record with a 90-yard interception return for a TD - not a bad encore to his three-pick performance against Duquesne.
* CENTURY DUO: Last time out against Delaware State, junior RB Frank Lazio and junior QB Daris Wilson both topped the 100-yard rushing plateau, marking only the third time in the last 23 years that two Bison teammates have achieved the feat in the same game. It was the 18th time it has been done in school history, with the famed "Touchdown Twins" - Burt Talmadge and Brad Myers - accomplishing it eight times.
* THE LONG ROAD: Bucknell is in the midst of a five-games road swing that will also take the Bison to Columbia, Fordham and Penn in the next three weeks. It is the team's first five-game road trip since 1982. Including last week's bye, the Bison will actually go six weeks between home games for the first time since 1916, when they played nine straight games (including one at a neutral site) away from Lewisburg.
* SARNOR EXPECTED TO RETURN: Sophomore FB Blamah Sarnor is expected to return to the lineup this week against Cornell. After rushing for 147 yards and a TD in the opener against Duquesne, Sarnor sat out the Delaware State contest with a thumb injury. Still, expect backup FB Frank Lazio to see some action. All Lazio did in a fill-in role last week was rush for 114 yards and three scores.
* NOT MUCH TO GO ON: Cornell this week will mark Bucknell's third straight opponent that will be playing its season opener.
* GALLOPING QB'S: When junior QB Daris Wilson rushed for 107 yards against Delaware State two weeks ago, he became the first Bison signal caller since Sam Havrilak in 1968 to run for more than 100 yards in a game. Widely regarded as the top running quarterback in school history, Havrilak ranks sixth on Bucknell's career rushing list with 1,913 yards, and he had six 100-yard games.
* PROUD HISTORY: Bucknell's string of seven consecutive winning seasons, which had been the ninth-longest such streak in Division I-AA, came to an end in 2002. Still, with an all-time record of 534-487-51 in 117-plus seasons, Bucknell ranks 15th among all I-AA teams in total victories.
* HOME COOKING: The Bison are 31-13 (.705) in games played at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium since 1995. Overall, Bucknell has a stellar 301-143-13 (.673) record at home. Including last week's win over Duquesne, Bucknell has not lost a non-conference home game since 1996, a 30-21 overtime loss to Pennsylvania. The Bison have won 15 straight against non-Patriot League foes at Mathewson Stadium, but they will have to wait until 2004 to face another non-league opponent in Lewisburg.
* NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: Since 1995, Bucknell is 25-14 (.641) versus non-league opponents, including 11-7 against Ivy League foes. Bucknell is 14-5 against non-league foes over the last three-plus seasons. The Bison tackle five non-league foes in 2003.
* NEXT UP: Bucknell will face another Ivy League opponent next week when it travels to New York City to face Columbia at 7 p.m. The Bison last faced the Lions in 2001, and the Herd prevailed 23-20 on Chris Lundberg's overtime field goal.
