Football Hosts Lafayette in Homecoming Game Saturday at 1 p.m.

10/28/2014 12:03:00 PM | Football

By: TBD

What: Lafayette Leopards (3-5, 1-2 PL) at Bucknell Bison (6-1, 2-0 PL)
Where: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
When: Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014, 1 p.m.
Tickets: 570-577-1000 or www.bucknell.edu/boxoffice
TV: Lafayette Sports Network (RCN-TV, WBPH-60)
Internet Video: Patriot League Network/ESPN3
Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 WEGH)
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Statistics: BucknellBison.com

Weis Markets and the Susquehanna River Valley Visitors Bureau are sponsoring Saturday's Bucknell-Lafayette game.

The seven new inductees into the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame will be introduced during halftime ceremonies on Saturday.

The Bucknell Department of Athletics and Recreation has joined in the fight against leukemia. It is a cause that is very close to the Bison family after Noah Hardt, a 2011 Bucknell graduate and son of director of athletics and recreation John Hardt and his wife, Carole, recently lost a long and courageous battle with the disease. The Bison football team will don orange awareness ribbons with Noah's initials on the back of their helmets for this weekend's Homecoming game against Lafayette. Bucknell head coach Joe Susan and his staff, along with Lafayette head coach Frank Tavani and his staff, will also be wearing the orange awareness ribbons.

Probable Starters - Offense
QB 6 R.J. Nitti (So., 6-4, 220) - 11 passing TDs most since Trigg's 13 in 2008
RB 4 C.J. Williams (So., 6-1, 205) - Ranks 10th nationally in rushing (136.2/game)
FB 33 Daniel McManus (Sr., 6-0, 260) - Moved to FB after playing OL earlier in career
WR 18 Will Carter (So., 5-10, 180) - 246 rec. yds. vs. Lehigh No. 2 in Bucknell history
WR 2 Bobby Kaslander (Jr., 6-2, 200) - Career-high 362 receiving yards; missed most of G'town game
LT 70 Julie'n Davenport (So., 6-7, 320) - Preseason All-Patriot League selection
LG 72 Lonnie Rawles (Sr., 6-4, 290) - 36 straight starts, Preseason All-Patriot League selection
C 77 Brandon Noblett (Sr., 6-2, 285) - 22 career starts at center
RG 66 Devlin Brennan (So., 6-4, 290) - Started Lehigh and Georgetown games in place of inj. Hagman
RT 71 Ramy Kased (Jr., 6-6, 320) - 27 career games, 19 starts
TE 88 Patrick Kelly (Sr., 6-3, 230) - Played in all 40 games during career

Probable Starters - Defense
DE 52 Dylan McDonnell (Sr., 6-1, 255) - 59 career tackles
DT 40 Abdullah Anderson (Fr., 6-4, 260) - Only freshman to start all seven games
NG 97 Demetrius Baldwin-Youngblood (Sr., 6-1, 285) - Preseason All-Patriot League selection
DE 15 Jimmy King (Jr., 6-1, 250) - Career highs for tackles (17), TFL (4) and sacks (1.5) this season
Mike LB 27 Evan Byers (Sr., 6-0, 235) - Ranks fifth on Bucknell's career tackles list (343)
Sam LB 37 Lee Marvel (Sr., 6-0, 215) - Team co-captain along with Matthew Steinbeck
SS 5 Clayton Ewell (Jr., 6-1, 195) - At least 0.5 TFL in seven of last eight games
FS 43 Louis Taglianetti (Jr., 5-11, 200) - Crossed 100-tackle plateau for career last week
WS 28 Connor Golden (Fr., 6-0, 200) - Expected to make first career start
CB 20 Colin Jonov (Fr., 5-11, 195) - Returned to lineup vs. Lehigh after missing 4 gms w/leg injury
CB 8 Nick O'Brien (So., 5-10, 195) - First career INT last week at Georgetown

With a Victory over Lafayette, Bucknell Would ...
• ... be off to its best eight-game start since opening 1997 10-0.
• ... open Patriot League play 3-0 for the first time since 2001.
• ... win for the 12th time in 14 games.
• ... reach seven wins in a season for the first time since 2004.
• ... win at least three Patriot League games in back-to-back years for the first time since 2003 and 2004.
• ... have two winning streaks of at least three games in the same season for the first time since 2004.
• ... extend its home winning streak to five games.
• ... improve to 5-1 in its last six November games.
• ... stretch its Patriot League conference win streak to five games.
• ... snap a two-game losing streak to the Leopards.
• ... defeat the Leopards in Lewisburg for the first time since 2000.

About the Game
Bucknell returns home for the first time in more than a month when it hosts Lafayette Saturday at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. It is Homecoming on the Bucknell campus. The Bison own a four-game home winning streak that dates back to 2013 and they play three of their final four contests in Lewisburg. Bucknell is off to its best start since 1997 and will look to win for the 12th time in its last 14 outings. Lafayette will come into the weekend having lost two in a row and three of its last four. The Leopards will conclude the campaign with three straight road contests, starting with Saturday's Bucknell matchup.

About Lafayette
• Lafayette ranks fourth in the Patriot League in total offense and sixth in total defense.
• The defending Patriot League champions, the Leopards have not yet won back-to-back games this season.
• All-Patriot Leaguer Ross Scheuerman does a little bit of everything for Lafayette. He leads the team in rushing (770 yards) and receiving (402 yards), and he has a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown this season.
• Drew Reed (82-for-140 for 775 yards and 7 TD) and Blake Searfoss (73-for-124 for 802 yards and 5 TD) have split time at QB this year.
• Lafayette has been outscored by just nine points (197-188) this season.

Bucknell vs. Lafayette Series Notes
• Lafayette leads 52-33-6.
• The winning team has scored more than 30 points in eight of the last nine meetings.
• Lafayette has won 11 of the last 12 games.
• Lafayette has won six straight games at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
• Bucknell's 91 all-time meetings with Lafayette make it the most-played series in program history.
• Lafayette was Bucknell's only opponent in 1883, its first year of football.

Last Time vs. Lafayette
Lafayette 31, Bucknell 7 (Oct. 5, 2013 - Easton, Pa.)
• Lafayette scored three touchdowns in the first half in a span of 13:53 to jump out to a 21-0 lead.
• Bucknell QB R.J. Nitti made his first career start.
• Bucknell forced four Lafayette turnovers.
• Bucknell P Kyle Sullivan broke the Bucknell and Patriot League single-game records for punts (13). His 474 punting yards broke that Patriot League mark as well.

Inside the Georgetown Box Score
• There were six lead changes in the game and Bucknell and Georgetown alternated scores throughout the contest.
• Bucknell trailed 17-16 in the fourth quarter, marking just the second time all season the Bison have trailed in the final period.
• Bison Colby Klingerman and Matthew Jegede each caught the first pass of his career.
• Evan Byers led the Bison in tackles for the sixth time in seven games as he recorded his 15th career double-figure tackle game with 10.
• C.J. Williams rushed for 136 yards on 32 carries. It marked his second career 30-carry game and his ninth career 100-yard outing.
• Bucknell limited Georgetown DE Alec May, who entered the game leading the nation in sacks (12.5) to just five tackles and one sack.
• Bucknell improved to 6-1 against the Hoyas in their last seven meetings.

Career Highs Set vs. Georgetown
• Connor Golden: tackles (6), pass breakups (1)
• Matthew Jegede: receptions (1), receiving yards (13), long reception (13), all-purpose yards (13)
• Colin Jonov: tackles for loss (1)
• Patrick Kelly: receiving yards (35), long reception (31), all-pupose yards (35)
• Colby Klingerman: receptions (1), receiving yards (11), long reception (11), all-purpose yards (11)
• Nick O'Brien: interceptions (1), long interception return (26), punt return yards (41), long punt return (23), all-purpose yards (153)
• C.J. Williams: rushing attempts (32)

Fast Start
• With a 6-1 record, Bucknell is off to its best start since opening the 1997 campaign 10-0.
• This is just the seventh time in program history the Bison have started at least 6-1.

Bucknell 6-1 or Better Starts
1891: Opened Season 6-1; Final Record: 6-2-1
1924: Opened Season 8-1; Final Record: 8-2
1929: Opened Season 7-1; Final Record: 8-2
1930: Opened Season 6-1; Final Record: 6-3
1951: Opened Season 9-0; Final Record: 9-0
1997: Opened Season 10-0; Final Record: 10-1
2014: Opened Season 6-1; Final Record: ???

11-2
• Bucknell is at least 11-2 in a 13-game stretch for just the third time in program history.
• The 1950-52 Bison won 17 games in row, while the 1996-98 Bison had a 14-1 stretch.
• Bucknell has outscored its opponents 368-224 (28.3-17.2) over the last 13 games.
• Bucknell has been on the road for nine of the 13 games during the hot streak.

Bison Return Home
• Bucknell will be playing at home for the first time since Sept. 27 against Cornell.
• The Bison did not play a home game in the month of October and their three November home contests are their most since 2003.
• Bucknell owns a four-game home winning streak, its longest since 2008-09.
• The Bison are 244-156-10 (.607) all-time at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, including 7-2 in their last nine home games.

Homecoming
• Saturday marks Homecoming at Bucknell. The Bison are 42-43-5 all-time on Homecoming.
• Bucknell is 10-8 in Homecoming games over the last 18 years, including last year's 48-10 win over nationally ranked Lehigh.

1,200th Game
• Saturday's game against Lafayette will mark the 1,200th in Bucknell's 129-year history.
• Bucknell is 586-562-51 (.510) all-time.
• Bucknell is tied for 18th in all-time FCS wins with Furman.

Undefeated Patriot League Record
• Bucknell is one of 18 teams nationally that are still undefeated in conference play.
• The Bison are one of three teams in the Patriot League to still have an unblemished mark in conference play, along with Colgate and Fordham. The Raiders and Rams play Saturday at Fordham.
• Bucknell has won its first two Patriot League games for the first time since 2003.

Back-to-Back Winning Seasons
• With last week's win at Georgetown, Bucknell clinched a second consecutive winning season.
• This is the first time the Bison will finish above .500 in back-to-back years since 2000 and 2001.

November Success
• Bucknell is happy the calendar flips to November on Saturday. Since 2011, November is the most successful month for the Bison.
• Bucknell is 6-3 (.667) in November, 8-6 (.571) in September and 6-10 (.375) in October over that span.

Most Receiving Yards Since 2008
• Sophomore WR Will Carter has 28 catches for 608 yards and eight touchdowns this year. It is the most yards by a Bison receiver since Shaun Pasternak had 1,083 in 2008.
• Carter crossed the 1,000-yard mark for his career last week and is now at 1,004 in 12 career games.
• Following Bucknell's win at Lehigh in October, Carter was named the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week and College Football Performance Awards National Wide Receiver of the Week. He caught seven passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns for 69, 78 and 77 yards in that contest.
• Carter became the fifth player in program history to have two 70-yard touchdowns in the same game, joining Matt Hart (1963 vs. Ohio Wesleyan), Hassen Abdellah (1979 vs. Lehigh), Earl Beecham (1985 vs. Cornell) and Dante Ross (2004 at Georgetown).
• The 246 yards rank second on Bucknell's single-game list, while the three touchdowns tied the school record. Carter was the first Bison to go over 200 yards receiving in a game since 1989.
• Carter's 258 all-purpose yards against the Mountain Hawks were the ninth-most in school annals.

Bison QBs
• Bucknell sophomore QB R.J. Nitti has completed 92 of 170 passes for 1,301 yards and 11 touchdowns in six starts this year.
• Nitti is just 50 yards shy of Brandon Wesley's team-leading total from 2013.
• Nitti's 11 passing touchdowns are the most by a Bison QB since Marcello Trigg had 13 in 2008.
• Nitti and backup QB Trey Lauletta have become the eighth and ninth different Bison to throw at least four touchdowns in a game.
• Lauletta started at Lehigh in place of Nitti and completed 15 of 20 passes for 313 yards and four touchdowns. He became the first Bucknell player to throw for 300 yards in a game since 1994.

O'Brien Named Special Teams Player of the Week
• Sophomore CB Nick O'Brien became the seventh different Bison to earn a weekly award from the Patriot League this season when he was named the Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday.
• O'Brien earned his first career Patriot League award after returning two punts for 41 yards, four kickoffs for 86 yards and his first career interception 26 yards in last Saturday's win at Georgetown. He totaled a career-high 153 all-purpose yards.
• O'Brien also had three tackles against the Hoyas.

400 Yards
• Bucknell has had at least 400 yards of total offense eight times under head coach Joe Susan. Seven of those have happened in the last 14 games, including four this year.
• Bucknell is averaging 392.1 yards per game this season, an increase of nearly 70 yards from 2013 (324.4).
• Bucknell earlier this year against VMI and Marist posted back-to-back 400-yard games for the first time since the final game of 2007 and the first game of 2008.

400-Yard Games Under Joe Susan (since 2010)
2012: vs. Colgate (531 yards)
2013: vs. Holy Cross (423 yards), vs. Lehigh (509 yards), at Fordham (414 yards)
2014: vs. VMI (465 yards), at Marist (462 yards), vs. Cornell (420 yards), at Lehigh (436 yards)

100-Yard Games for Williams
• Sophomore RB C.J. Williams has five 100-yard rushing games this season and nine in his two-year career.
• Williams is the sixth player in program history with at least nine career 100-yard games.
• Williams last year became the 12th different Bison to record at least four 100-yard outings in a season.
• Williams ranks 10th nationally in rushing yards per game (136.2) and fifth among active FCS players in career rushing yards per game (107.3).
• Williams leads Bucknell with 817 rushing yards this season, the third-most by a Bison since 2004 when Bucknell had its last 1,000-yard rusher.

Susan Moving Up Lists
• Bucknell fifth-year head coach Joe Susan is in sole possession of 10th place on Bucknell's games coached list with 51.
• Susan's 22 wins at Bucknell place him in 12th place on the program's all-time list. Next up is 11th-place Fred Prender, who guided Bucknell to 23 wins from 1969-1974.

20-Point Games
• Bucknell is 18-3 in its last 20 games it has scored at least 20 points.
• Nineteen of Bucknell's 22 wins under Joe Susan have come when the team has scored 20 points.
• Bucknell has scored at least 20 points on 12 occasions over the last two years (2013 & 2014).

40 Gamers
• The following Bison seniors have played in all 40 games over their careers: Evan Byers, Patrick Kelly, Lee Marvel.

Quick Hitters
• Bucknell was one of the final nine undefeated teams in all of FCS this year.
• Bucknell's 4-0 and 6-1 starts to the season were its best since 1997.
• Bucknell is 4-1 on the road this season, its most road wins since going 6-1 in 1997.
• Bucknell's defense has had at least one interception in 31 of 40 games over the last four years.
• Bucknell has forced 93 turnovers over the last four years (2.3 per game), including 39 in 2011 to rank second nationally.

Milestone Watch
• Demetrius Baldwin-Youngblood: 2 tackles shy of 100 in career
• Evan Byers: 20 tackles shy of third straight 100-tackle season
• Lee Marvel: 1 tackle shy of 100 in career
• R.J. Nitt: 318 passings yards shy of 2,000 in career
• Brian Regan: 86 all-purpose yards shy of 1,000 in career
• C.J. Williams: 50 yards shy of 10th place on Bucknell's career rushing list

Up Next
• Bucknell will play its first non-Saturday game since 2004 when it hosts Fordham Friday, Nov. 7, at 6:30 p.m. in a game that will air live on CBS Sports Network. The Bison and Rams are currently two of the three remaining undefeated teams in the Patriot League. Bucknell leads the all-time series 18-11.