Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Football Looks to Snap Three-Game Losing String Saturday at Holy Cross
10/27/2004 8:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 27, 2004
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The Bison aim to put a frustrating three weeks behind them on Saturday when they visit Holy Cross' Fitton Field for a 1 p.m. kickoff. After back-to-back heartbreaking losses to Penn (32-25 in double overtime) and Lafayette (14-13), Bucknell took its first one-sided defeat of the season last week, 40-17 at 16th-ranked Lehigh. It is the Herd's first three-game losing skein since 2002. Holy Cross, meanwhile, is off to a 1-6 start under first-year head coach Tom Gilmore. Two weeks ago the Crusaders smothered Dartmouth 24-0, but last week they ran into defending Patriot League champion Colgate and fell 41-7 in Hamilton, N.Y. Holy Cross is 0-4 at home this season, while the Bison are 1-2 on the road.
TOURING THE HERD
• ON THE SIDELINE: Head coach Tim Landis posted a 6-6 record in his first year at Bucknell in 2003 and led the Bison to a third-place finish in the Patriot League. Landis is now 62-62-1 (.500) in his career, which also includes head coaching stints at Davidson (1993-99) and St. Mary's (2000-02). He is 1-1 lifetime against Holy Cross.
• THE OFFENSE: Bucknell was limited to 253 total yards (133 rushing, 120 passing) last week by Lehigh's league-leading defense. The Bison are still averaging a PL-best 222.3 rushing yards per game and 344.3 overall. Turnovers continue to hinder Bucknell offensively. The Bison had three miscues last week, including two inside their own 15-yard line, and now have 15 turnovers in the last four weeks.
• UNDER CENTER: QB Daris Wilson has two 100-yard rushing games and is Bucknell's leading rusher, although he has been held to just 50 ground yards on 59 carries over the last three weeks. Last week he was held to 11 rushing yards, a total surpressed by seven Lehigh sacks. QB John Henry Jackson has played in each of the last two weeks and performed well. Last week against Lehigh he completed 5 of 8 passes, including a TD, and also led another late scoring drive.
• BACKS & RECEIVERS: Bucknell has missed the services of hard-running FB Blamah Sarnor, who remains out with a fractured kneecap. The backfield will receive a bit of a shakeup this week, with freshman FB Josh DeStefano expected to make his first career start. Frank Lazio, who has been filling in at fullback, will move back to slotback opposite Kenny Davis, with Mike Cangelosi sliding back to wide receiver. Cangelosi started the last two games at slot. The receiving corps has been very solid all year, with WR Nisan Trotter and WR/TE Ian Nutt combining for seven of the team's nine touchdown receptions and numerous key receptions on third and fourth down.
• THE O-LINE: The offensive line will see some slight shifting this week as well, with Stephen Watts moving from center out to right tackle and Joel Hoffer earning a starting nod at center. Hoffer performed well there earlier this season when Watts was sidelined with a knee injury, and in an effort to get the best five lineman on the field, both Watts and Hoffer will be in the lineup against Holy Cross. Tackle Jon Scharf and guard Aaron DeGraffenreidt have started every game thus far, while sophomore Stefan Niemczyk has grasped a starting role at left guard in recent weeks.
• THE DEFENSE: Bucknell forced four turnovers and held Lehigh to 95 rushing yards last week, but the Mountain Hawks did plenty of damage through the airways with 400 passing yards and five touchdowns. On the season the Bison are allowing 339.0 yards and 21.0 points per game.
• DEFENSIVE FRONT: DE Sean Conover collected a season-high three sacks last week against Lehigh and now has a team-high six on the season. DT Corey Mayo has a tackle for loss in five straight games. Freshman DT Ryan Walsh has made his first two career starts in each of the last two weeks. ILB Kevin Ransome made eight tackles last week and the co-captain continues to be Bucknell's emotional leader on defense.
• DEFENSIVE SECONDARY: Bucknell had allowed only three TD passes all season until Mark Borda tossed five last week for Lehigh. Bucknell's national ranking in pass defense jumped from 39th to 82nd after last week, when the Bison played without the services of starting CB Dante Ross. FS Virgil Rush leads the team and ranks fourth in the PL in tackles with 62.
• SPECIAL TEAMS: K Ryan Korn bounced back from a frustrating day against Lafayette by making his lone field goal attempt (33) and both PATs last week. Korn is now 4-for-8 on field goals and 17-for-17 on extra points this season. P Ryan Berry averaged 36.7 yards on seven punts, including three inside the 20. He is averaging 37.1 yards per boot this season.
BISON FOOTBALL NOTES & NOTABLES
• HONORS: Freshman FB Josh DeStefano was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week on Monday after totaling 86 all-purpose yards against 16th-ranked Lehigh. DeStefano entered the contest in the third quarter, ran for 44 yards on seven carries and caught three passes for 42 yards. He had receptions of 15 and 12 yards and an 18-yard run on Bucknell's final scoring drive of the day.
• ROOKIE STARTERS: DeStefano's strong finish last week is expected to earn him his first career start this week against Holy Cross. Another freshman, DT Ryan Walsh has started the last two games and has seven tackles on the season, including a half-sack.
• HOMECOMING: Bucknell has one Massachusetts native returning to his home state this week. Junior DE Sean Conover is a native of Whitman, Mass. (Whitman-Hanson H.S.), and his homecoming comes at a time when he is playing some of his best football in a Bucknell uniform. Conover had a career-high three sacks for a combined 25 yards last week against Lehigh, and he ranks third in the Patriot League with six sacks this season. The three sacks were one shy of the school single-game record. The Bison single-season sacks record is 14.5 by Ed Burman in 1995.
• ANNIVERSARY: Sunday marks the 79th anniversary of the first Bucknell-Holy Cross game. The Crusaders won that initial meeting 23-7 in Worcester.
• RUSH HOUR: Senior FS Virgil Rush continues to lead the Bison in tackles with 62 through seven games. Rush is already 10 hits shy of his career high, set last season. Rush also leads the team with two interceptions, and he ranks T-9th on Bucknell's career list with nine pickoffs.
• STATS FAVOR BISON: While Bucknell continues to lead the Patriot League and rank 15th nationally in rushing at 222.3 yards per game, Holy Cross is last in the Patriot League and 93rd nationally in rushing defense at 185.9. In last season's 53-31 Bison victory in Lewisburg, Bucknell rushed for 302 yards.
• RETURN BATTLE: This week's game features a battle between two of Division I-AA's leading kickoff returners in Bucknell's Dante Ross and Holy Cross' Casey Gough. Despite sitting out last week's game against Lehigh, Ross reclaimed the national lead in kick return average at 32.6 yards per attempt. Gough ranks sixth nationally at 28.8 yards per return. Bucknell and Holy Cross rank 13th and 17th, respectively, in team kick return average.
• HOME COOKING: Despite rare home losses in each of the last two home outings, the Bison are now 36-16 (.692) in games played at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium since 1995. Overall, Bucknell has a stellar 306-146-13 (.672) record at home, including a 6-3 record under Tim Landis. The Bison had won 17 straight against non-Patriot League foes at home until the 32-25 double-overtime loss to Penn three weeks ago. The Bison have lost home games in consecutive weeks for the first time since 1996, when William & Mary, Harvard and Penn won in Lewisburg on consecutive weeks.
• AIR RAID: While the spread option offense is clearly a ground-oriented scheme, the Bison have also displayed a very consistent, and often explosive, passing attack. Bucknell has nine passing touchdowns and 10 rushing TDs through seven games. With most of the work coming from QB Daris Wilson, the Bison as a team rank 11th in the nation in pass efficieny rating at 153.46. They are completing 62.2% of their passes (61-98), with an average of 8.7 yards per attempt.
• UP NEXT: The Bison return home for two straight games beginning with next Saturday's Homecoming Day game against Fordham. Prior to the 1 p.m. kickoff, a special memorial will be unveiled at Christy Mathewson Stadium in honor of late head coach Tom Gadd.
• BISON BRIEFS: Sophomore RB Peter Kaufman has touchdowns in two straight games ... sophomore RB Kenny Davis notched his first career TD reception last week ... he is now tied with WR/TE Ian Nutt for the team lead in touchdowns with four ... Bucknell has had six different rushing leaders in seven games this season ... LB Jeffrey Montagna had a 33-yard fumble return against Lehigh ... LB David Ulmer logged a season-high nine tackles to lead all players ... stunningly, the Bison are just 1-3 this season when winning the turnover battle.
