Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Returns to Gridiron Saturday Night vs. Cornell
9/13/2004 8:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 13, 2004
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Sixteen days after opening the season with a gut-wrenching loss at ninth-ranked Villanova, Bucknell returns to the gridiron Saturday night for its home opener against Cornell. Thanks mostly to three straight takeways late in the contest, the Bison nearly erased all of a 20-point deficit against Villanova, but Bucknell was stopped inches from the goal line on a fourth-down play with 7:00 remaining. Cornell, under first-year head coach Jim Knowles, will be making its 2004 debut on Saturday. The Bison will be looking to pay back the Big Red for a tough 21-19 setback a year ago in Ithaca. Ryan Korn's 27-yard field goal attempt with 1:43 to play struck the left upright, giving Cornell its only victory of the 2003 campaign.
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 59-59-1 (.500) in his career, which also includes head coaching stints at Davidson (1993-99) and St. Mary's (2000-02). He is 0-1 lifetime against Cornell.
• THE OFFENSE: Bucknell's offense was pretty well stymied by Villanova's vaunted defense on opening night. The Bison were held to 79 rushing yards -- their lowest output under Landis -- and 178 total yards. However, the offense did show some late resurgence, scoring twice in a 1:44 span in the fourth quarter.
• UNDER CENTER: One of the nation's best rushing quarterbacks, QB Daris Wilson did more damage with his arm against Villanova. While the Wildcats limited Wilson to 32 yards on 24 carries, he did complete 10 of 13 passes for 99 yards. He tossed a 21-yard TD pass to WR Ian Nutt and also ran for a 2-yard score.
• BACKS & RECEIVERS: Junior FB Blamah Sarnor led the team with 43 rushing yards against Villanova. The Wildcats shut down Bucknell's outside rushing game, limiting the Bison slotbacks to only two carries. SB Frank Lazio, who had both of those carries, also contributed as a receiver, catching a team-high three passes for 47 yards, including a critical fourth-down pickup. SB Kenny Davis, who made his Bison debut on opening night, saw increased playing time in the second half and could start against Cornell.
• THE O-LINE: One of the most experienced position groups on the squad is the offensive line, where tackles Jon Scharf and Justin Gibson, center Stephen Watts and guard Aaron DeGraffenreidt all have plenty of starting experience. One lineup change is expected at right guard, where Stefan Niemczyk is expected to make his first collegiate start against Cornell. Junior Craig Swanson made his first varsity appearance off the bench against Villanova and performed well.
• THE DEFENSE: Often maligned a year ago, the Bucknell defense turned in a yeoman's effort against an extremely talented and athletic Villanova team. Notably, the defense made a fourth-down stand on the Wildcats' opening drive, held VU to 341 total yards (68 below their 2003 average) and shut out the ninth-ranked team in the nation for the game's final 21:28.
• DEFENSIVE FRONT: The defensive line made several big plays against Villanova, none bigger that DE Sean Conover's sack and strip of QB Marvin Burroughs in the fourth quarter. DT Corey Mayo recovered at the Villanova 23 and two plays later the Bison were in the end zone. Mayo and DT Jacob Burney made six tackles apiece, while DT Chris Praylo forced a fumble. ILB Dorian Petersen also had a strong game with 10 tackles (all solo).
• DEFENSIVE SECONDARY: The Bison secondary had its hands full against an athletic Villanova squad but did not allow a pass play longer than 22 yards in the contest. Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week DB Jerome Acy was terrific, making seven tackles, including a sack for -11 yards that knocked the Wildcats out of field goal range, along with a key interception that set up Bucknell's first score of the day. FS Virgil Rush led all players with 12 tackles.
• SPECIAL TEAMS: P Ryan Berry had one of his finest games as a Bison, averaging 39.2 yards on six punts and limiting All-A-10 return man J.J. Outlaw to just five yards on three tries. Three of Berry's punts pinned VU inside its 20. K Ryan Korn did not get a field goal try but connected on both PAT attempts. Bucknell's kickoff coverage was also solid, yielding only 15.3 yards per return.
BISON FOOTBALL NOTES & NOTABLES:
• THE BISON IN HOME OPENERS: Bucknell has won its initial home game in each of the last nine seasons and is 88-28-1 (.756) all-time in home openers (the team played only road games in 1892). A 45-21 loss to Hofstra in 1994 is the team's only defeat in a home opener in the last dozen years. Two of the recent wins have come against Cornell, including a 14-3 win in 2002 and a 38-15 decision in 2000.
• UNDER THE LIGHTS: The Bison are playing their home opener under the lights for the third straight year. In 2002, under a newly installed lighting system, the Bison were 14-3 winners over Cornell in the first night game at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium since 1986. Last season Bucknell topped Duquesne 28-21 in a night contest. The Bison will also host Columbia in a 7 p.m. kickoff next week.
• HOME COOKING: The Bison are 34-14 (.708) in games played at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium since 1995. Overall, Bucknell has a stellar 304-144-13 (.674) record at home, including a 4-1 record last year. 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, with Cornell, Columbia and Penn paying visits in 2004.
• BISON IN SEARCH OF IVY LEAGUE PAYBACK: Bucknell went 0-3 against the Ivy League last season, finding three brutally agonizing ways to lose all three. The three losses came to Cornell, Columbia and Penn -- all on the road -- by a combined six points. The horrifying details ...
• At Cornell, K Ryan Korn's 27-yard field-goal attempt solidy strikes the left upright with 1:43 remaining, and the Bison fall 21-19.
• At Columbia the following week, the Lions drive 73 yards, score the go-ahead touchdown with 0:22 remaining and stun the Bison 19-16.
• At 15th-ranked Penn two weeks later, the Bison trail 14-13 but make a heroic goal-line stand with 2:00 remaining. Taking over inside its own 1, Bucknell drives to the Penn 22, but Korn's mis-hit 39-yard FG attempt with 20 seconds remaining falls inches short.
• Post-script: Bucknell rebounded to win two of its next three games following the Penn loss. Korn went on to break the BU single-season field goal record with 14. The late misses against Cornell and Penn (which finished 10-0) were two of only five missed field goals all year.
• PRESEASON PREDICTIONS: Bucknell over the summer was picked fourth in a preseason poll of Patriot League head coaches and sports information directors. Defending champion Colgate received 12 of 14 first-place votes and 72 total points, and the Raiders were a near-unanimous choice to repeat as league titlists. Lehigh (59) received the other two first-place nods and was picked second, followed by Fordham (51), Bucknell (40), Lafayette (26), Georgetown (23) and Holy Cross (23).
• FIRST-TIME STARTERS: OL Michael Boccella, WR Richard Simpson and RB Peter Kaufman made their first career starts in the Villanova game. Sophomore OL Stefan Niemczyk could make his first-ever start in place of Boccella opposite Cornell.
• TURNOVER WATCH: A year ago the Bison ranked sixth nationally in interceptions (20) and 11th in total takeaways (33), and the Herd seems to have a similarly opportunistic defense again in 2004. Trailing 20-0 late in the third quarter, Bucknell forced three turnovers in a span of five Villanova offensive plays, all coming in Wildcats territory. The first two set up touchdowns, while the third seemingly positioned the Bison for an improbable go-ahead score, but FB Blamah Sarnor was tackled inches shy of the end zone on a fourth-down play.
• CAPTAINS NAMED: In a vote of their teammates, seniors QB Daris Wilson and LB Kevin Ransome have been named team co-captains for 2004. They will be joined each week by rotating game captains, to be named by the coaching staff.
• IN THE CLASSROOM: Bucknell senior OL Justin Gibson is a nominee for the AFCA Scholar-Athlete Award. Gibson is a Dean's List student in Bucknell's accounting program. The Bison boasted a league-high 24 members of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll last season, and the team fashioned a solid 3.11 combined grade-point average last spring.
• UP NEXT: The Bison return to action next Saturday night at 7 p.m. against Columbia. It will be "Junior Bison Club Night" and "Take a Kid to the Game" night at Mathewson Stadium.
• BISON BRIEFS: For the second straight week, Bucknell received votes (16) in The Sports Network I-AA national poll ... the Bison would be ranked 40th ... Bucknell's loss to Cornell last season also came following a bye week ... Bucknell managed just one first down in the first half against Villanova, but had 10 in the second half ... QB Daris Wilson needs 76 rushing yards to go over 1,000 for his career ... RB Kenny Davis, a transfer from St. Mary's (Calif.), made his first Bucknell catch ... OL Nick DeFeo recently switched from DL to OL and was listed No. 2 on the depth chart this week at right guard before suffering a leg injury in the junior varsity game on Saturday ... DeFeo also changed his jersey number from 93 to 60 ... three freshmen made their collegiate debuts as reserves against Villanova -- DB John Thomson, OL Chad Glasser and DL Ryan Walsh ... the Bison may have found their quarterback of the future on Saturday, as freshman QB Terrance Wilson ran for 155 yards and two TDs in the junior varsity team's 21-17 victory over Lackawanna, one of the top junior colleges in the East ... Wilson's 60-yard TD gallop midway through the third quarter snapped a 14-all tie and proved to be the winning score ... Wilson also had a 27-yard TD run in the first quarter, and freshman RB Greg Sutton scored on a 2-yard run ... freshman LB Ryan Slater led the defense with an interception and nine tackles, and he also helped out in a thin backfield, rushing for 40 yards on eight carries as a fullback.
