Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Football Concludes 2009 Campaign Saturday at Home Against Holy Cross
11/17/2009 7:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 17, 2009
What: No. 13 Holy Cross Crusaders (9-1, 5-0 PL) at Bucknell Bison (3-7, 1-4 PL)
Where: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
When: Saturday, Nov. 21 2009, 1 p.m.
Promotions: Toys for Tots, POWERade Day, Senior Recognition Day
Internet Video: Bison Vision
Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 WEGH)
Internet Radio: SportsJuice.com
Live Statistics: GameTracker 
Game Notes
***Bucknell's Theta Chi fraternity will be holding a Toys for Tots promotion at Saturday's game. Fans who bring a new, unopened toy to donate will receive a ticket to the Bucknell-Holy Cross game for just $2***
Other Links:
With a Victory over Holy Cross, Bucknell Would ...
- ... win its season finale for the fourth straight year and sixth time in seven years under head coach Tim Landis.
- ... snap a four-game losing streak to the Crusaders.
- ... stop a five-game losing streak.
- ... halt a four-game Patriot League losing streak.
- ... finish a season with at least four wins for the fifth time in seven years under Landis.
- ... keep alive a chance at a fifth-place finish in the Patriot League standings (with a Fordham loss to Georgetown).
- ... avoid its first six-game losing streak since 2005.
About the Game
Bucknell will return home for the first time since late October to close out the 2009 campaign against Patriot League champion Holy Cross Saturday afternoon. The Crusaders earned the conference title after a 28-26 win over Lafayette last week. No. 13 Holy Cross is now playing for seeding in the upcoming Football Championship Series playoffs, while the Bison have their fourth win in their sights. Bucknell is coming off an 0-3 road trip, but it was within one score in the second half of each game. The Crusaders are playing on the road for the third time in a three-week span and are led by All-American Dominic Randolph, who owns nearly every quarterback record in the history of Holy Cross football. The Bison will be trying to win their season finale for the sixth time in seven years under head coach Tim Landis.
Bucknell vs. Holy Cross Series Notes
- Holy Cross leads 16-9.
- Holy Cross has won four in a row by an average score of 39-20.
- The last meeting that was closer than two touchdowns was in 2001 (21-14 Bucknell win).
- The winning team has scored at least 30 points in six of the last seven games.
- Bucknell owns a 6-5 advantage in Lewisburg.
- First meeting was in 1925.
Last Time vs. Holy Cross
Holy Cross 34, Bucknell 17 (Nov. 1, 2008 - Worcester, Mass.)
- Shaun Pasternak's 28 receiving yards pushed his two-year career total over 1,000.
- A.J. Kizekai totaled 254 all-purpose yards and his 119 kickoff return yards brought him to within 14 of the program record.
- Will Carney kicked a career-long 47-yard field goal in the final minute of the first half.
- Holy Cross scored all 34 of its points in the final 30:01 and it possessed the ball for more than 20 minutes in the second half.
- A.J. Kizekai had a 79-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter.
Inside the Colgate Box Score
- C.J. Hopson rushed for a game-high 134 yards on a career-high 27 carries. It marked his third 100-yard games of the season, the first Bison to accomplish that feat since Dante Ross in 2005.
- Travis Nissley recorded a game-high 12 tackles, his third straight double-figure tackle game.
- Colgate's 251 rushing yards marked the first time a Bison opponent has rushed for at least 200 yards in 2009.
- Bucknell was whistled for more penalties than its opponent for the first time since Oct. 18, 2008 at Georgetown, a span of 14 games.
- Bucknell rushed for a season-high 214 yards.
- Ahkiel White intercepted his team-high fourth pass of the season and Greg Jones picked off his third.
- C.J. Hopson completed a 43-yard pass to Justin Pulgrano. It was the longest pass of Hopson's career and the longest reception of Pulgrano's.
- Colgate's Nate Eachus came one yard shy of giving the Raiders two 100-yard rushers in the same game.
- Colgate's Pat Simonds caught two touchdown passes, giving him 14 on the season, a new Raiders record.
- Bucknell scored first for the second straight game and the third time overall this season.
- Bucknell led for 13:22, the second-longest time it has held a lead in a game this season.
- Bucknell held a second-half lead for the first time since defeating Georgetown last month.
Senior Day
Prior to Saturday's game, Bucknell's 19 senior players and three senior managers will be recognized on the field as part of Senior Day festivities. Andrew Bottone, Ian Fullmer and Brian Kramer are the three managers, while Josh Andersen, Will Braaf, Rashod Bumpers, Cale Cadman, Damian Chatman, Jason Davis, Trevor Dombeck, Brigham Farrand, Josh Gornto, Greg Jones, A.J. Kizekai, Josh Lee, Sam Nana-Sinkam, James Phelan, Sandeep Prasad, Justin Pulgrano, Brandon Simmons, Marcello Trigg and Casey Williams are the 19 senior players.
Season Finales
Bucknell has had success under seventh-year head coach Tim Landis in its final game of the season. The Bison have won the season finale five of the last six years, including three straight. Last year Bucknell defeated Fordham 24-21 in overtime at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium to end the season on a high note.
Bucknell vs. Patriot League Champions
With its 28-26 victory over Lafayette last Saturday, Holy Cross clinched its first Patriot League title since 1991. The Bison own a 3-20 all-time record against the eventual Patriot League champions, defeating Lehigh (1993), Colgate (1999) and Fordham (2007).
Scoring First
After going six games without scoring first, Bucknell has registered the first points against both Fordham and Colgate the last two weeks. Both times the first score has been a touchdown, staking Bucknell to 7-0 leads for the first time this season. The only other time the Bison scored first was against Robert Morris in week two and that was a 21-yard field goal by Drew Orth.
Bucknell Leads
Against Colgate last week, Bucknell held two different leads (7-0 & 14-9). It marked the first time this season the Bison held a lead, relinquished it and proceeded to retake the lead. Bucknell led for a total of 13:22 last week at Colgate, marking the second-most time it has led a game this year. The Bison led for more than 38 minutes against Robert Morris and have led for a total of 78:44 this season. Bucknell's largest lead this year is the eight-point margin by which it defeated Georgetown.
First-Quarter Struggles
Bucknell has struggled offensively in the first quarter this year, scoring just 17 of its 139 points during the first 15 minutes of play. In fact, over the last seven games the Bison have not scored in the first quarter and are being outscored 30-0 over that span. Bucknell has gone 107:07 without registering a first-quarter point. The Bison have been outscored 56-17 in the opening period this year, but none of the last seven opponents have registered more than one score in the first quarter.
100 Yards for Hopson
Bucknell sophomore QB C.J. Hopson ran for a game-high 134 yards at Colgate last Saturday, his third 100-yard rushing outing of the season. He is the first Bison to post three 100-yard games in one season since Dante Ross in 2005. Only 26 other Bucknell players have registered at least three 100-yard rushing games in a career.
Concentrated Rushing for Hopson
C.J. Hopson has rushed for a team-high 444 yards this season. Interestingly, 371 of those yards (83.6 percent) have come in his three 100-yard outings. In his other five contests, he has totaled just 73 yards on the ground.
Double-Figure Tackles for Jones
Senior LB Greg Jones recorded nine tackles last week at Colgate. He has tallied at least 10 tackles in 11 of his last 16 games, dating back to last year's Georgetown contest. Jones has a total of 166 tackles over that 16-game span and now has 253 career tackles, including a career-high 97 this year. The last Bison to have more tackles in a career was Dorian Petersen, who piled up 304 stops in his four-year career from 2003-06. Additionally, Jones is in position to become the first Bucknell player to lead the team in tackles in back-to-back years since Stephane Pluviose in 2001 and 2002. Jones is also within reach of becoming the first Bucknell player with a 100-stop campaign since Petersen registered 102 in 2006.
100 Tackles in a Season (since 2003)
1. Kevin Ransom (2003) - 116
2. Dorian Petersen (2006) - 102
-- Greg Jones (2009) - 97
Three-Game Road Trip
Bucknell recently wrapped up a three-game road trip where it went 0-3. It was the 11th road trip of at least three games for the Bison since the Patriot League era began in 1986. Bucknell is 3-5 in its first home contest following the three-game road trips, with two of the trips taking place at the end of the season.
Nissley Tackles
Travis Nissley has registered double-figure tackles in a career-best three consecutive contests. The junior now has five games with at least 10 tackles this year and ranks second on the team with a career-high 88 stops. He is averaging 10.1tackles in his eight starts. Nissley and Greg Jones, who leads the team with a career-high 97 tackles, have combined for 185 stops, the most for a duo since Dorian Petersen (102) and Sam Nana-Sinkam (85) had 187 total tackles in 2006. In the Tim Landis era, only Kevin Ransome (116) and Mike Leatherman (89) have combined for more tackles (205). The last time two Bison each had 100 tackles in a season was in 1996 when Brandon Little (129) and Willie Hill (102) accomplished the feat.
Fourth Place on Games List
Bucknell seventh-year head coach Tim Landis moved past Tom Gadd and into sole possession of fourth place on the Bison all-time games coached list last week at Colgate. Landis has been on the sidelines for 77 games in his seven years. Robert Curtis holds the program record with 101 games coached.
Career Games Coached at Bucknell
1. Robert Curtis - 101
2. Harry Lawrence - 97
3. George Hoskins - 81
4. Tim Landis - 77
5. Tom Gadd - 76
Four Interceptions for White
Ahkiel White intercepted his team-best fourth pass of the season last week at Colgate and is tied for the Patriot League lead. in that category. He is the first Bison with four interceptions in a season since Stephen Collage in 2006 and his eight career picks are the most by a Bucknell player since Joe Glenn totaled eight from 2001-04. White is tied for 13th on the Bison career interceptions list. As a team, Bucknell is tied for 13th nationally with 15 interceptions this year.
Most Interceptions in a Season (since 2003)
1. Joe Glenn (2003) - 6
2. Jerome Acy (2003) - 4
Virgil Rush (2003) - 4
Dante Ross (2004) - 4
David Frisbey (2005) - 4
Stephen Collage (2006) - 4
Ahkiel White (2009) - 4
Another Top-10 List for Pasternak
Despite hauling in just one catch last week at Colgate, junior WR Shaun Pasternak joined another Bucknell top-10 list. He now ranks tied for 10th on the Bison career receptions list with 96. He also stands 10th in career receiving yards (1,515).
Eight Straight Under 20 Points
Bucknell has not exceeded 20 points since its 26-23 victory over Robert Morris in week two. It is the first time the Bison have failed to score 20 points in eight consecutive games since the final four contests of the 1981 season and the first four of the 1982 campaign.
Same Offensive Line Starters
If Bucknel starts the same offensive line it has for the first 10 games against Holy Cross, it will complete an entire season with the same five offensive line starters in every game for the first time since 2001.
Yellow Flags
Bucknell was the least-penalized team in the nation in 2007 and 2008 and that seems to be continuing this year. The Bison rank second nationally in fewest penalties per game (3.60) and third nationally in fewest penalty yards per game (35.50). Over the last 15 games, the Bison have been penalized 46 times for 440 yards, while their opponents have piled up 852 penalty yards on 94 penalties.
Fewest Penalties per game
1. Penn - 3.56
2. Bucknell - 3.60
3. Villanova - 3.70
4. South Dakota State - 3.80
5. Delaware - 4.10
Fewest Penalty Yards per game
1. Penn - 30.78
2. Villanova - 34.70
3. Bucknell - 35.50
4. South Dakota State - 37.80
5. Davidson - 37.80
End of Penalty Streak
Bucknell had been whistled for fewer penalties than its opponents in 14 consecutive games, but that streak came to an end last Saturday at Colgate. The Bison committed six penalties to the Raiders' five.
