Bucknell University
Columbia
Bucknell Offense Clicks in 42-13 Win over Columbia
9/25/2004 8:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 25, 2004
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Nisan Trotter and Ian Nutt caught two touchdown passes apiece and quarterback Daris Wilson ran for 123 yards to lead Bucknell to a 42-13 victory over Columbia Saturday night before 8,233 fans at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
Bucknell (2-1) racked up 520 total yards of offense and scored on its first four possessions of the night en route to its 17th straight non-conference home victory.
Brandon Bowser caught five passes for 118 yards and a touchdown to lead Columbia (0-2). The Lions allowed only 170 total yards to Fordham in their season opener a week ago, but the Bison outgained Columbia 304-66 in sprinting to a 28-0 halftime lead.
Three Bison combined to throw only five passes all night, but four of them went for touchdowns, including the first two scores of the night. On the game's initial possession Wilson and Trotter hooked up on a 59-yard scoring pass just 2:10 into the game.
After forcing a punt, Wilson ran 32 yards to the Columbia 28, then capped a 7-play, 60-yard drive with a 14-yard pass to Nutt with 8:18 left in the first quarter.
After the first of two Virgil Rush interceptions, Kenny Davis scored his first Bucknell touchdown on a 5-yard run with 13:14 left in the second period. Just over four minutes later the Bison went up 28-0 on a trick play in a 3rd-and-21 situation from the Columbia 29-yard line. Wide receiver Mike Cangelosi took a lateral pass from Wilson and threw deep to Trotter who made a spectacular diving catch near the back of the end zone. Trotter had two career TD receptions entering the game before doubling that total against Columbia.
Columbia quarterback Jeff Otis, who left the game in the first half with an injury, returned at the start of the second to lead Columbia on its first two sustained drives of the night. The first went 73 yards on 13 plays but stalled at the 2-yard line when tight end Tighe Holden could not corral a fourth-down pass in the end zone. After a Bison punt, Columbia posted its first offensive touchdown of the season when Ayo Oluwole sprinted 18 yards around right end.
Backup quarterback John Henry Jackson put Bucknell ahead 35-7 on the first play of the fourth quarter when he capped an 11-play, 65-yard drive with a 9-yard scoring aerial to Nutt. It was the fourth touchdown reception in three games this season for the Bison tight end.
A 36-yard pass from Otis to Bowser made it 35-13 with 14:14 left in the contest, and the Lions had a golden opportunity to draw even closer after the Otis-to-Bowser combo hooked up again on a 63-yard catch and run to the Bucknell 6. Later the Lions had a first-and-goal at the 1, but a rush for no gain, a fumbled snap, an incomplete pass and a false start penalty pushed them back to the 7, and Otis' pass to John Reuter was broken up by Dante Ross on fourth down.
The Bison answered the defensive stand with a 93-yard scoring drive, capped by the first career touchdown for senior reserve running back Rapheal Hammond, a 24-yard gallop with 2:12 to play.
Bucknell's 408 yards rushing yards were its most under coach Tim Landis, and the Bison racked up close to a 15-minute edge in time of possession. Eight Bison ran for at least 25 yards in the game, led by Wilson who had his second straight 100-yard effort, and the sixth of his career.
Oluwole led Columbia with 65 rushing yards on 11 carries, while Otis finished with 139 passing yards on 7 of 15 accuracy.
Bucknell opens Patriot League play next Saturday at Georgetown at 1 p.m., while Columbia hosts Princeton at 1:30 p.m. in its Ivy League debut.
