Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Football Opens 2006 Campaign Saturday against Duquesne
8/29/2006 8:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 29, 2006
What: Bucknell vs. Duquesne
Where: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium
When: Saturday, Sept. 2, 7 p.m.
Tickets // Game Notes
"Take a Kid to the Game Night"
BISON LAUNCH 2006 SEASON WITH HIGH HOPES
Coming off a disappointing 2005 season, Bucknell wipes the slate clean and starts anew beginning with Saturday night's season opener against Duquesne at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The Bison have eight returning starters on offense and six on defense, while a host of young players had outstanding preseason camps and are expected to get some playing time on opening night. Among the newcomers is QB Andrew Lair, who is expected to get the start against Duquesne.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE BISON
• ON THE SIDELINE: Tim Landis begins his fourth season at the helm of the Bucknell grid program. Landis is now 67-72-1 (.482) in his career, which also includes head coaching stints at Davidson (1993-99) and St. Mary's (2000-02), and 14-20 (.412) in three seasons with the Bison. Landis is 2-0 in his career against Duquesne, including a 28-21 victory in his first game as Bucknell's coach in 2003.
• THE OFFENSE: Under the direction of first-year offensive coordinator Ashley Ingram, the Bison spread option offense features plenty of depth across the board. Last season significant injuries at the quarterback position threw the offense out of sync, but with the arrival of QB Andrew Lair and four quality backups, not to mention a veteran offensive line and talent at receiver and in the backfield, the offense should be much more settled entering the 2006 season.
• UNDER CENTER: Navy transfer Andrew Lair is expected to get the start at quarterback on opening night. Lair had an excellent preseason, displaying a strong arm and excellent running ability while continuing to pick up the offensive scheme. Junior Terrance Wilson was the 2005 opening day starter, but a broken jaw limited him to just the one appearance last season. Wilson also had an outstanding camp and may see some game action as well. With junior Ryan Ahern currently sidelined with an injury, freshmen Marcello Trigg and Leonard Wilson provide inurance.
• BACKS & RECEIVERS: Bucknell will start a veteran at each of the three backfield spots -- junior Josh DeStefano at fullback and senior Peter Kaufman and junior Roosevelt Davis at the slotbacks -- but also look for a handful of freshmen to make an impact early in the season. Paul Forcellini looked very strong at fullback in the preseason and had a 75-yard TD run in last Saturday's scrimmage, while speedburners Rashod Bumpers and A.J. Kizekai could get some action at slotback. Sophomore WR Daniel Zvara, the team's top receiver in 2005, is a returning starter at wideout. Sophomore Alex Odenbach, who missed all of last season with an injury, has also won a starting berth. Sophomore Zach Allen, senior Richard Simpson and freshman Cale Cadman also figure to be in the receiver rotation.
• THE O-LINE: This is Bucknell's most veterant position group, with all five starters and the two top reserves either juniors or seniors with game experience. Leading the unit is team co-captain Stefan Niemczyk at left guard. A senior, Niemczyk is in his third year as a starter. Senior Joel Hoffer is back to start at center, while Michael Anthony nosed out Mike Boccella in a battle of seniors for the No. 1 spot at right tackle. Junior Chad Glasser at left tackle and junior Jonathan Grainger at right guard are also returning starters. Glasser is also the team's long-snapper.
• THE DEFENSE: While the Bison have plenty of experience at linebacker and in the secondary, three-fourths of the starting defensive line has been turned over since last season. A year ago Bucknell yielded 30.2 points and 383.8 yards per game, numbers that figure to go down this season with a more experienced group.
• DEFENSIVE FRONT: Former All-American Sean Conover must be replaced at defensive end, but Tim Landis thinks he has a good one in freshman Josh Eden. The State College native makes his starting debut on Saturday. Sophomore Todd Rinaldo and rookie David Young will see time at the other end spot. Junior Ryan Walsh is the lone returning starter on the line. Walsh has been in the lineup since late in his freshman season. Junior Brandon Friday gets his first starting opportunity at the other tackle position, with senior Mike Hardman also lending a veteran presence. Senior co-captain Dorian Petersen and junior Ryan Slater make up the heart of the defense at inside linebacker. That duo finished 1-2 on the team in tackles last season. Senior Matt Palermo returns at one of the outside linebacker spots, while freshman Sam Nana-Sinkham parlayed a standout preseason into a starting berth.
• DEFENSIVE SECONDARY: Senior CB David Frisbey, the team's interceptions leader with four last season, is one of the cornerstones of the Bison defense. Opposite Frisbey, sophomore Nolan Applegate will make his first career start on Saturday. At free safety, hard-hitting junior Stephen Collage is a returning starter. Freshmen have worked their way up to No. 2 on the depth chart at all three DB positions -- Jason Davis and Brandon Simmons at cornerback and Brigham Farrand at safety.
• SPECIAL TEAMS: The Bison will have to replace standout return specialist and former Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Year Dante Ross, but look for freshman Jason Davis to contribute right away in the return game. Nolan Applegate is also expected to return kicks and punts. The starting kicker (Will Carney) and punter (Phil Azarik) both return as well. Carney took over the starting job midway through last season and made 5 of 7 field goals, including both attempts over 40 yards. Azarik missed a large chunk of the season due to mono, but he is healthy this year and ready to show off a strong left leg. Also back in familiar roles is the long snapper/holder tandem of Glad Glasser and Daniel Zvara.
BISON FOOTBALL NOTES & NOTABLES:
• NO. 121: Bucknell opens its 121st season of football this Saturday against Duquesne. Only Princeton (137), Yale (134), Harvard (132), Penn (130), Lafayette (125), Dartmouth (1245), Massachusetts (124), Lehigh (123) and Richmond (123) have played longer among I-AA teams. Bucknell ranks 16th among all I-AA programs with 546 all-time victories.
• GETTING STARTED: Bucknell boasts a gaudy 82-37-1 (.688) record in season openers, with 42 of those wins coming by shutout. The Bison have dropped five of their last six openers, however, including a 19-16 overtime decision against Georgetown last season. Bucknell and Duquesne have met four times in season openers, with the Bison winning three of those games. The most recent season-opening clash with the Dukes came in 2003, when Bucknell held on for a 28-21 victory in Tim Landis' Bison coaching debut.
• PRESEASON PREDICTIONS: Bucknell over the summer was picked sixth in a preseason poll of Patriot League head coaches and sports information directors. Colgate (68 points) was picked to win the conference, followed by Lafayette (61), Lehigh (57), Holy Cross (35), Fordham (33), Bucknell (27) and Georgetown (13).
• BATTLE OF PAST ORANGE BOWL CHAMPS: Believe it or not, Saturday's Bucknell-Duquesne matchup is a battle of former Orange Bowl champions. Bucknell defeated Miami (Fla.) 26-0 in the very first Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 1935. On New Year's Day in 1937, Duquesne defeated Mississippi State 13-12 in Orange Bowl No. 3.
• PICKING OFF THE DUKES: In the 120-year history of Bucknell football nine players have intercepted three or more passes in a single game, and three of those performances have come against Duquesne. In each of the last two meetings with the Dukes a Bison defensive back has intercepted three passes. In the most recent engagement in 2004 it was Dante Ross collecting three interceptions in a 30-20 victory in Pittsburgh. The previous year Joe Glenn had three picks in a 28-21 Bison victory. In 2000, Kevin Eiben tied the school record with four interceptions against Duquesne in a 35-14 Bucknell verdict.
• FIRST-TIME STARTERS: According to the pregame depth chart, a handful of Bison are expected to make their first career starts opposite Duquesne. On offense, QB Andrew Lair, RB Roosevelt Davis, WR Alex Odenbach and OL Michael Anthony would be first-time starters. Defensively, DL Josh Eden, DL Brandon Friday, DL Todd Rinaldo, LB Sam Nana-Sinhkam and DB Nolan Applegate would make their initial starts.
• SCRIMMAGE RECAP: Bucknell had its second of two intrasquad scrimmages this past Saturday evening at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The controlled scrimmage featured a bit of everything, including the first-string offense against the first-string defense, reserves vs. reserves, some scout team drills and situations such as red zone offense and defense and two-minute offense. One of the individual standouts was freshman RB Paul Forcellini, who broke through the line for a 75-yard touchdown run on the first play of the third offensive series. Forcellini later added a 6-yard TD run and two tough first-down rushes. QB Terrance Wilson hooked up with WR Andrew Guadagno on a 26-yard scoring pass. The defense also came up with a number of big plays, including a Stephen Collage interception on the first series of the night. DB David Frisbey had a tackle for loss that forced a punt on the second possession. DL Josh Eden put a halt to the first two-minute drill with a tackle at the line of scrimmage on 4th-and-2. K Will Carney capped the second with a 31-yard field goal with 0:05 remaining.
• POSITION CHANGES: Two Bison veterans have switched sides of the ball since the end of last season. Sophomore Harrison Baker has moved from slotback over to defense, where he has played both safety and linebacker this preseason. Baker bulked up during the offseason and should garner some playing time early on. Sophomore Stephen Edwards has gone the other way, moving from defensive line to tight end late in preseason camp. When Bucknell utilizes a tight end formation, Edwards will likely get the call. Two freshman -- Jason Davis and Casey Williams -- came in to camp as running backs but have moved to defensive back. Davis has made a quick first impression and is already No. 2 on the depth chart at cornerback, where he is pushing sophomore Nolan Applegate. Finally, freshman Greg Jones has moved from quarterback to linebacker.
• NUMBER CHANGES: A handful of Bucknell players have changed uniform numbers since the media guide was published. The new numbers: DB Eric Baxter (43), WR Cale Cadman (16), WR Trevor Dombeck (82), TE Stephen Edwards (97) and LB Robert Firman (12).
• NEW FACES ON THE SIDELINE: The Bison have a handful of new assistant coaches in 2006, including a new offensive coordinator in Ashley Ingram. He replaces Tim Camp, who is now the offensive coordinator at Eastern Oregon. Ingram came to Bucknell from Rhode Island, where he helped lead the Rams to four straight Atlantic 10 rushing titles in a very similiar offensive system to Bucknell's. Also new to the staff is defensive line coach Pat Kingman, defensive backs coach Steve Vashel and former Bison quarterback/wide receiver Devin Fitzsimmons, who works with the receivers.
• CELEBRATIONS: Saturday is backup punter Peter Cotter's 22nd birthday ... defensive coordinator Jared Backus and his wife Amanda gave birth to their second child, daughter Grace Carole Backus, on Aug. 19 ... during the offseason Bucknell head athletic trainer Mark Keppler was inducted into the Pennsylvania Athletic Trainers Society Hall of Fame.
• A RARE DOWN SEASON: Last year's losing season was certainly a rare sight in Lewisburg in recent years. Bucknell has finished .500 or better in 9 of the last 11 seasons, including a 7-4 campaign in 2004.
• NIGHT MOVES: Bucknell opens the season with three straight home games, all scheduled for 7 p.m. starts. The last time the Bison began a season with three straight home games was 1996, when they opened with four in a row at home. Interestingly, that season Bucknell went 1-3 in that initial home stretch but rebounded to win the program's only Patriot League championship.
• CELEBRATING THE 1996 CHAMPIONSHIP: At halftime of next week's game against Lafayette, the 1996 team will be honored 10 years after capturing the Patriot League title. Numerous members of that team will be back in attendance, including Rich Lemon, Bucknell's all-time leading rusher.
• CONOVER WITH THE TITANS: Sean Conover, a 2006 Bucknell graduate and a standout defensive end for the Bison, is currently in training camp with the Tennessee Titans. Conover has played extensively in all three of Tennessee's preseason games thus far and has a total of five tackles. He was the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year and an All-American in 2004.
• HOMEGROWN TALENT: Once again this season the Bucknell roster is dotted with local players, with a total of 37 hailing from the state of Pennsylvania. Among the locals are three players from close proximity to Bucknell, including WR Zach Allen (Catawissa), OL Ian Fullmer (Shamokin) and LB Ryan Slater (Elysburg).
• YOUTH IS SERVED: Bucknell's two-deep features 24 first or second-year players this week. Thirteen of those players are freshmen.
• IN THE CLASSROOM: The Bison boasted a league-high 24 members of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll last season. In the spring 2006 semester, the Bucknell football players combined for a solid 3.0 grade-point average, the sixth straight semester the team has earned a 3.0 or better.
• LOOKING AHEAD: Next week Bucknell kicks off Patriot League play against two-time defending champion Lafayette. There will be free admission to the contest as part of Community Night festivities.
