Bucknell University Athletics
Bison in Search of Third Straight Win as Patriot League Grid Slate Begins Saturday at Georgetown
9/28/2004 8:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 28, 2004
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On the heels of what head coach Tim Landis described as Bucknell's most complete effort during his 15-game tenure, the Bison open Patriot League play this week at Georgetown. Bucknell moved to 2-1 on the season with a 42-13 home win over Columbia on Saturday, outgaining the Lions 520-320 while scoring on its first four possessions to open a 28-0 lead. This week the Bison attempt to get to 3-1 for the first time since 2001 against a Georgetown squad that has struggled offensively since a season-opening 36-7 win over St. Francis. The Hoyas have scored only 13 points in three games since and were shut out 33-0 at Colgate last week. Bucknell has bad memories of Harbin Field, however. The Herd let a big lead slip away and fell 32-31 there in 2002.
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 61-59-1 (.508) in his career, which also includes head coaching stints at Davidson (1993-99) and St. Mary's (2000-02). He is 2-0 lifetime against Georgetown.
• THE OFFENSE: Bucknell clicked offensively last week against Columbia, parlaying 520 total yards (408 on the ground) into a season-high 42 points. The Bison rolled to four TDs on its first four possessions and averaged 7.5 yards per play. They committed just one turnover and held the ball for more than 37 minutes. Most impressive was the efficiency in the passing game. The Bison attempted only five passes but completed them all, four of which went for touchdowns.
• UNDER CENTER: QB Daris Wilson has lived up to his reputation as one of the nation's top running quarterbacks by rushing for 262 yards over the last two weeks -- 139 against Cornell and 123 vs. Columbia. Wilson, who ranks second in the Patriot League in rushing and total yards, also completed 3 of 3 passes for 74 yards and 2 TDs. For the season he is now 20-for-25 (.800), and his 213.90 QB rating is by far the best in the league. Wilson leads all of I-AA in rushing yards among QBs.
• BACKS & RECEIVERS: A knee injury to FB Blamah Sarnor will force some shuffling in what has been an extremely productive backfield. Frank Lazio, who started the first three games at slotback, is expected to move to fullback, where he played most of last year. That will most likely result in the first career start for sophomore transfer Kenny Davis, who ran for 41 yards and his first career TD last week. Against Columbia, eight different Bison carried the football, with all eight gaining at least 25 yards on 4.0+ averages. The receiving corps was at its very best last week, with WR Nisan Trotter and TE Ian Nutt hauling in two TD passes each.
• THE O-LINE: Sophomore Joel Hoffer saw his first extensive playing time last week, performing very well while subbing for the injured Stephen Watts at center. The rest of the line -- tackles Jon Scharf and Justin Gibson and guards Aaron DeGraffenreidt and Stefan Niemczyk -- is very experienced.
• THE DEFENSE: Bucknell's defensive corps turned in its third straight terrific effort last week in the win over Columbia. The Bison held the Lions to 320 total yards, with 99 of those coming on two big pass plays late in the fourth quarter. Bucknell ranks second in the PL and 13th nationally in scoring defense allowing 14.0 ppg.
• DEFENSIVE FRONT: ILBs Kevin Ransome and Dorian Petersen logged eight tackles apiece last week in another solid performance for the front 8. DT Corey Mayo had two tackles for loss, and the Bison stopped Columbia three times on fourth down.
• DEFENSIVE SECONDARY: FS Virgil Rush recorded his second career 2-interception game last week against Columbia and also led the team with nine tackles and three pass breakups. Rush is this week's Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week. CB Dante Ross broke up two passes as the Bison limited two Columbia quarterbacks to just 12 completions in 27 attempts.
• SPECIAL TEAMS: It was another quiet week for K Ryan Korn, who was 6-for-6 on PAT tries but did not have a chance to kick a field goal. After shattering the school record with 14 FGs last season, Korn is still looking for his first of 2004. Kickoff specialist Ryan Bower booted one kick out of the back of the end zone and helped limit Columbia to 17.8 yards per return. Flashy return specialist Dante Ross collected 56 yards on four punt returns and ranks second in the PL at 11.0 yards per return. The Bison would like to improve in the kickoff return game, though, as they are averaging 16.7 yards, compared to 20.7 last season.
BISON FOOTBALL NOTES & NOTABLES:
• LET THE PATRIOT GAMES BEGIN: Bucknell opens its 19th season of Patriot League play this week at Georgetown. The Bison are 45-52-1 (.464) all-time in the PL, including 4-3 last season. They are, however, 12-6 (.667) in Patriot League openers. Bucknell's next PL contest, against Lafayette on Oct. 16, will be its 100th.
• WHEN BISON FLY: Bucknell's spread option offense does not feature much passing, but when the Bison have thrown this season it has almost always been a positive play, and quite often much more than that. Bucknell's team pass efficiency rating of 233.10 is No. 1 in all of Division I-AA. Last week against Columbia the team attempted only five passes, but all five were completed, and amazingly four went for touchdowns. Starting QB Daris Wilson on the season is 20-for-25 (.800) for 289 yards and 4 TDs.
• SOMETIMES YOU FEEL LIKE A NUTT: Senior TE Ian Nutt has four receptions this season, all going for touchdowns. He snagged one each against Villanova and Cornell, then had two TD grabs last week against Columbia. Nutt, who had only one career scoring catch entering the season, is the first Bison to have four TD receptions in the first three weeks of a season since Lester Erb notched six through three weeks of the 1990 season. He also caught a 2-point conversion pass against Cornell and now leads the Patriot League in scoring with 26 points in three contests.
• NISAN A "PATHFINDER" TO THE END ZONE: Senior WR Nisan Trotter also corralled two touchdowns last week, both coming in spectacular fashion. First was a nifty catch and spin to elude a defender for a career-long 59-yard TD to open the scoring just 2:10 into the contest. In the second quarter he made a highlight-reel diving catch in the end zone on the back end of a double pass from WR Mike Cangelosi. Trotter had two career TD grabs entering the game.
• RARE AIR: WR Nisan Trotter and TE Nisan Trotter last week became the first teammates in school history to each record two touchdown catches in the same game. Bucknell now has six touchdown passes through three games. The last time that occurred was in 1994, when the Bison had eight through three weeks, seven coming from QB Rob Glus.
• GROUND FORCES: Lost in all the aerial fireworks was the fact that Bucknell rushed for 408 yards last week against Columbia, the team's most under Tim Landis. The Bison spread 64 carries among eight different players, with each gaining at least 25 yards. The Bison averaged 6.4 yards per rush, with all eight ballcarriers averaging at least 4.0 per lug. Also of note: that ground damage came against a Columbia squad that yielded just 33 yards and made an incredible 20 tackles for loss against Fordham the previous week.
• SPECIAL RETURNS: This week's game features a matchup between the Patriot League's top two punt returners. Georgetown's Brian Tandy leads the league with a return average of 11.6, which includes a long of 63 yards. Bucknell's Dante Ross averages 11.0 yards per return.
• SACK ATTACK: Led by seven sacks from DL Michael Ononibaku, Georgetown leads the Patriot League with 14 sacks through four games. Bucknell quarterbacks have been sacked only twice all year, however, both coming against Villanova in the season opener.
• COMING HOME: A pair of Bison who grew up near Washington, D.C., return home this week. Senior Jay Martell, a reserve linebacker, is from McLean, Va., while freshman RB Roosevelt Davis is from College Park, Md.
• DEFENSIVE RESURGENCE: After ranking among the top defenses in Division I-AA during most of the Tom Gadd era, the Bucknell defense struggled at times over the last two seasons. But based on three games, the Bison may be on the verge of returning to that defensive dominance. Bucknell has allowed just 42 points through three games, its fewest since 2000. Bucknell currently ranks 13th nationally in scoring defense allowing 14.0 points per game.
• HOME COOKING: The Bison are now 36-14 (.720) in games played at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium since 1995. Overall, Bucknell has a stellar 306-144-13 (.675) record at home, including a 6-1 record under Tim Landis. Bucknell has not lost a non-conference home game since 1996, a 30-21 overtime loss to Pennsylvania. The Bison have won 17 straight against non-Patriot League foes at Mathewson Stadium, with Penn paying a visit next week.
• 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 host an Ivy League squad for the third time in four weeks when Penn pays a visit next Saturday on Parents' Weekend at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The Quakers, who had their national-best 17-game winning streak snapped by Villanova last week, eked out a 14-13 victory over the Bison last season at Franklin Field.
• BISON BRIEFS: Last week's attendance of 8,322 was the 13th-largest since Christy Mathewson-Memorial stadium was re-modeled in 1989 ... senior QB John Henry Jackson tossed his first TD pass of the season last week, a 9-yard toss to WR/TE Ian Nutt ... the Bison were 8-for-12 on third down last week ... the junior varsity squad rallied from a 19-0 deficit to defeat Stevens Tech 29-19 last Sunday ... RB Roosevelt Davis ran for 97 yards on only 9 carries, including TDs of 52 and 17 yards ... QB Terrance Wilson ran for an even 100 yards, including a 45-yard TD run that gave BU the lead with 13:33 to play ... QB Ryan Ahern tossed an 8-yard TD pass to WR Matt Miller ... Miller himself set up that TD with an interception, coming on a fake punt when he was lined up deep as the returner ... LB Peter Salvatore led the defense with 15 tackles.
