Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Football Opens 122nd Season Saturday at Duquesne
8/28/2007 8:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 28, 2007
WHAT: Bucknell (0-0) vs. Duquesne (0-0)
WHERE: Rooney Athletic Field, Pittsburgh, Pa.
WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 1, 2007, 6 p.m.
RADIO: Eagle 107 and SportsJuice.com
COMPLETE PRESS NOTES
ABOUT THE GAME
Bucknell kicks off its 122nd season of football Saturday evening at Duquesne's Rooney Athletic Field. These two teams know each other very well, having met in all but two years since 1997. This is the sixth time in that span they have squared off in the season opener. The Bison are looking to build on a 6-5 season in which they equaled a school record with a five-win improvement over the previous campaign. Once again Bucknell figures to be very young in 2007, with 23 freshmen and sophomores appearing on the opening day two-deep. Duquesne has been the dominant team in the MAAC for more than a decade, winning 10 of the last 12 league titles. The Dukes did have their 39-game MAAC winning streak snapped by Iona last season, but they still finished 7-3 overall and shared the league crown. This year they will try to win one more MAAC title before moving to the Northeast Conference in 2008.
WITH A VICTORY OVER DUQUESNE, BUCKNELL WOULD ...
-- ... win its season opener for the second straight year and third time in five years under Tim Landis.
-- ... improve to 84-37-1 all-time in season openers.
-- ... win a season opener on the road for the first time since 1998 (38-10 at Duquesne).
-- ... defeat the Dukes for the fourth straight time.
-- ... defeat the Dukes for the second straight time in Pittsburgh and hand them only their fourth home loss since the start of the 2002 season.
BUCKNELL vs. DUQUESNE
This is the 11th all-time meeting between the Bison and Dukes. Bucknell leads the series 7-3 and has won seven of the eight meetings since 1997, including three straight. Duquesne's wins came in 1933 (6-0), 1934 (12-0) and 2002 (35-14), all in Pittsburgh. Bucknell is 5-0 against Duquesne at home, 2-3 on the road.
LAST YEAR'S BUCKNELL-DUQUESNE GAME
It was a thriller on opening night at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium one year ago, when Bucknell pulled out an improbable 31-28 overtime victory. QB Terrance Wilson scrambled for a 15-yard touchdown with no time remaining in regulation to tie the game at 28-all, then K Will Carney won it with a 27-yard field goal in overtime. The two teams combined for 961 yards of offense (Duquesne 527, Bucknell 434), and both teams held leads in regulation, but never by more than a touchdown. The Bison gained 386 yards on the ground, led by 126 from then-freshman RB Rashod Bumpers in his collegiate debut. QB Scott Knapp completed 24 of 36 passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns for Duquesne, with both TDs going to WR Bruce Hocker.
PICKING OFF THE DUKES
In the 121-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 two of the last three meetings with the Dukes a Bison defensive back has intercepted three passes. 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.
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.
PITTSBURGH HOMECOMING
Bucknell will bring a number of Western Pennsylvania natives back home this week, including three of its five starting offensive linemen. Senior co-captain and starting right guard Jonathan Grainger went to Carrick High School in Pittsburgh, and he is joined up front by senior center Greg Conti (Gibsonia/Pine-Richland H.S.) and senior left tackle Chad Glasser (Bethel Park/Bethel Park H.S.). Other Western PA players expected to travel this week are junior LB Chris Hayes (Beaver Falls/Blackhawk H.S.), junior LB Julius Hopson (Pittsburgh/Central Catholic H.S.), sophomore OL Corey Teitz (Pittsburgh/Seton-LaSalle H.S.), and sophomore DB Casey Williams (Moon Twp./Moon Area H.S.). Williams is expected to start at strong safety, while Hayes, Hopson and Teitz are all listed as backups at the start of the year.
BISON HOPING TO BREAK STREAK
Beginning with the final game of the 2005 season -- a loss to Holy Cross -- Bucknell has alternated wins and losses over the last 12 games. Since they finished last year with a 31-28 victory over Colgate, the Bison are looking to break that odd streak this week.
NO. 122
Bucknell opens its 122nd season of football this Saturday against Duquesne. Only Princeton (138), Yale (135), Harvard (133), Penn (131), Lafayette (126), Dartmouth (126), Massachusetts (125), Lehigh (124) and Richmond (124) have played longer among FCS teams. Bucknell ranks 17th among all FCS programs with 552 all-time victories.
NEW FACES ON THE SIDELINE ... SORT OF
Bucknell has three new assistant coaches in 2007, and two of them are familiar to Bison fans. First-year defensive coordinator Andrew Cohen began his second stint at Bucknell in March. Cohen, who was a member of Tom Gadd's staff from 1995-99, was most recently an assistant coach at Columbia. He now brings his 3-4 defense back to Bucknell. Another new assistant is Richard Simpson, who earned three varsity letters as a wide receiver for the Bison before graduating last spring. Simpson is a graduate assistant coach who works with the receivers. The third newcomer to the staff is former Penn State letterman Andrew Ryland.
BISON DEEP AT SEVERAL POSITIONS ...
-- QUARTERBACK: Bucknell enters the 2007 season in the rare position of having three quarterbacks with starting experience. Senior Terrance Wilson and junior Andrew Lair both started games last year before going down with collarbone injuries in back-to-back weeks. Sophomore Marcello Trigg played in the final seven games, starting the last six. Trigg is expected to start at Duquesne this week, but head coach Tim Landis has indicated that more than one quarterback may play in the game.
-- FULLBACK: Second-team All-Patriot Leaguer Josh DeStefano headlines a deep cast of fullbacks. Senior Corin Erby has been one of the team's best offensive players throughout spring practice and preseason camp, according to Landis, and junior Kevin Mullen has seen considerable playing time over the last two seasons, including a 110-yard rushing performance last season at Georgetown. Sophomore Paul Forcellini had a big day against Duquesne last season with 71 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, but he suffered a season-ending knee injury a week later. Forcellini figures to contribute this season as well. Freshman fullback Ryan Smith was very impressive in preseason camp and will likely get an early look on special teams.
-- WIDE RECEIVER: Add the big-play potential of freshmen Josh Lovett and Shaun Pasternak to an already strong corps of receivers, and one can see why Landis thinks this position group could be one of the team's strongest. Junior Daniel Zvara has been the team's top pass catcher in each of his first two seasons at Bucknell, while sophomore Cale Cadman and junior Alex Odenbach both played considerably last season.
-- DEFENSIVE LINE: Bucknell returns all four starting defensive linemen from last season, and with the switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense new defensive coordinator Andrew Cohen should have plenty of fresh legs up front. Seniors Ryan Walsh and Brandon Friday will tag-team in the middle, while defensive ends Josh Eden, Todd Rinaldo and David Young all lettered for the first time last season. Sophomore Will Braaf should also contribute.
... MORE INEXPERIENCED AT OTHERS
-- OFFENSIVE LINE: The Bison graduated three starting offensive linemen last year, including all-conference picks Stefan Niemczyk and Joel Hoffer. Seniors Jonathan Grainger (RG) and Chad Glasser (LT) return, but Bucknell will have new faces at center, left guard and right tackle. Senior Greg Conti is expected to take over at center, but the other two spots are still undecided. Sophomore Ian Fullmer is trying to hold off good-looking freshman Hesham Abdelaal at left guard, while sophomore James Phelan and junior Stephen Edwards are still battling at right tackle.
-- DEFENSIVE BACK: Bucknell will also have a new-look secondary in 2007 after graduating both starting cornerbacks and moving senior Stephen Collage from safety to linebacker. Sophomores Jason Davis and Brandon Simmons are the projected starters at corner, with sophomore Josh Gornto stepping in at free safety. Brigham Farrand was the lead guy at strong safety as a freshman last season, and he is just coming back after missing most of preseason camp. Yet another sophomore, Casey Williams, had an excellent preseason and is likely to start there in week 1.
SOPHOMORES MAKING AN IMPACT
A year after relying heavily on a talented freshman class, Bucknell could start as many as 13 sophomores this week at Duquesne. In 2006, 12 freshmen earned varsity letters, eight started at least one game, and five different first-year players combined to win six Patriot League Rookie of the Week citations.
GROUND ATTACK
Bucknell last season ranked fifth in the nation in rushing offense at 235.2 yards per game. That figure also led the Patriot League. Fourteen players carried the ball at least once, and four gained at least 290 yards on the ground. The Bison were 6-1 when rushing for at least 200 yards. Last year's freshmen sensations A.J. Kizekai and Rashod Bumpers are expected to open the 2007 season as the starting slotbacks.
SPECIAL TEAMS UNITS BACK INTACT
One of Bucknell's biggest strengths last season was its special teams units, and the majority of the special teams two-deep returns intact this fall. Among the notable names are third-year starting kicker Will Carney, third-year starting punter Phil Azarik, fourth-year starting long-snapper Chad Glasser and second-year punt-returner Nolan Applegate, who was Bucknell's Special Teams MVP last year. Azarik just missed the school record for punting average in a season, but he still became only the second punter in school history to average over 40 yards per kick (40.5). Carney made 9 of 16 field goals and was perfect (27-27) on PATs, and the Bison ranked ninth in the nation in kickoff coverage, allowing only 16.1 yards per attempt. The one area Bucknell would like to improve upon is its own kickoff returns, where they averaged 17.5 yards last season.
TURNOVERS TELL THE STORY
Bucknell last season was 4-1 when winning the turnover battle and 1-3 when committing more miscues than its opponent. In 2005, the Bison committed 33 turnovers and finished 1-10. Last season they cut that number to 14 in a 6-5 campaign.
DESTEFANO LONE RETURNING ALL-PATRIOT LEAGUER
Bucknell had five All-Patriot League selections last season, four of which were seniors, including first-team LB Dorian Petersen. The lone returning all-leaguer is senior RB Josh DeStefano, who rushed for a team-high 643 yards in 2006.
GRAINGER, SLATER NAMED CAPTAINS
Senior OL Jonathan Grainger and senior LB Ryan Slater, both in their third year as starters, were elected team co-captains coming out of spring practice. This is the third straight year a lineman has served as offensive captain, as Grainger follows in the footsteps of Stephen Watts in 2005 and Stefan Niemczyk in 2006.
BOUNCE-BACK BISON
With a 6-5 record on the heels of the previous year's 1-10 final ledger, last year's Bison squad posted a five-win improvement over 2005. That is tied for the best one-year turnaround in school history.
IN THE CLASSROOM
Bucknell produced a solid 3.06 combined team grade-point average last semester, and in the fall of 2006 the Bison placed 18 student-athletes on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll (lettermen with 3.20 GPA or higher). Last year starting cornerback David Frisbey earned national ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America honors and was a semifinalist for the Draddy Trophy, also known as the "Academic Heisman." Fellow senior Michael Boccella earned Academic All-District honors.
RULES CHANGES
The NCAA passed a number of rules changes for 2007. The most significant:
-- Reversing a rule put in place prior to 2006, on change of possessions, the game clock will start on the ensuing snap, rather than on the placement of the ball and the referee's ready-for-play signal, as was the case last year.
-- In another reversal from last season, on kickoffs the game clock will not start until the ball is touched on the field of play by a member of the return team.
-- New in 2007, all kickoffs will begin from the 30-yard line, back five yards from the 35.
-- Finally, this past offseason the NCAA announced a change in nomenclature pertaining to Division I football. The I-A and I-AA designations will no longer be used. Effective this season, I-AA is now called the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), while the former I-A is now called the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
NOTES & NOTABLES
Sean Conover, a 2006 Bucknell graduate who was the 2004 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, is in his second year with the Tennessee Titans ... another Bucknell football alum who made national headlines last year was Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano `88, who was named national coach of the year after leading the Scarlet Knights to an 11-2 record and a 37-10 victory over Kansas State in the Texas Bowl ... number changes since the media guide was published: DB Zane Woodard from 34 to 36, LB Robert Firman from 35 to 56, RB Alex Iwaskiw given 85, K/P Charles Hickes given 96 ... position changes since the media guide was published: Marlon Woods from RB to DB, C.J. Passeri from WR to DB, Rob Gerlach from RB to DB ... Bucknell is 7-5 in night games since the start of the 2001 season ... the Bison play four of their first five games under the lights ... Bucknell's Sept. 22 home game against Richmond will feature free admission as part of Community Day ... the Bison this year feature one brother tandem (Alex and Andrew Lair) and one set of cousins (Kyle and C.J. Passeri).
NEXT UP
Bucknell plays the first of its six home games next Saturday against Stony Brook at 6 p.m. at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The Bison and Seawolves have met only once previously, with Stony Brook winning at home 21-18 in 2005.
