Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
VMI
Big Plays Help Lead Football to 42-38 Season-Opening Win Over VMI
8/30/2014 10:52:00 PM | Football
LEWISBURG, Pa. – C.J. Williams ran for a career-high 164 yards, Matt DelMauro chipped in a career-high 95 yards and R.J. Nitti passed for 230 yards in his first start as Bucknell's No. 1 quarterback as the Bison football team posted a 42-38 victory over VMI Saturday evening at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium in a season-opening contest that featured four ties and 886 total yards.
Three of Bucknell's six touchdowns on the night were at least 50 yards as DelMauro had a 56-yard touchdown run, Josh Brake caught a 50-yard touchdown from Nitti and also returned a punt 62 yards for what proved to be the winning score. Overall, the Bison had seven total plays that measured at least 35 yards and DelMauro, Brake and Williams each scored two touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball, Evan Byers posted a career-high 23 tackles (12 solo), placing him in a tie for 21st in the NCAA single-game record book. He had a then-career-high 19 stops in the 2013 season finale, a 35-23 win over this same VMI squad, giving him 42 over his last two outings. Louis Taglianetti added a career-high 10 tackles.
Bucknell (1-0) has now captured its season opener in seven of the last nine seasons. The Bison won for the sixth time in their last seven outings overall and tallied at least 40 points for the first time since last October's win vs. Lehigh. Their 465 yards of total offense was also their most since that Lehigh outing.
It was a wild contest throughout as the 80 total points scored were the most in a Bucknell game since 2012 and it marked the first time both Bucknell and its opponent were both over 35 points since the 2008 season opener, a 48-42 win over Duquesne.
Nitti finished the game 14 of 25 for 230 yards and two touchdowns. He completed passes to five different receivers, with Bobby Kaslander totaling a team-high seven receptions for 79 yards.
VMI freshman quarterback Al Cobb was 27 of 40 for 308 yards and four touchdowns. He completed passes to nine different receivers.
The Bison never trailed in the contest as they opened an early 14-0 lead on touchdowns by DelMauro on their first two drives. The junior running back caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Nitti to complete an eight-play, 82-yard drive in the first quarter. He then broke through the middle of the line on the first play of the next drive and sped down the field for his 56-yard touchdown, nearly doubling his previous career-long run.
The Bison spent the rest of the game alternating drives ending in touchdowns (4) and ones ending in punts (3) and a fumble (1).
VMI (0-1) scored on back-to-back drives early in the second quarter to tie the score and the two teams alternated scores the rest of the way.
Nitti completed a seven-play, 79-yard drive with his 50-yard touchdown strike to Brake to put the Bison up 21-14 midway through the second quarter, but VMI tied the score at 21-21 with 36 seconds left in the first half.
It looked as though the teams would go into halftime with the score tied, but Williams ran right through the middle of the line for 49 yards on Bucknell's first play of the ensuing drive and moved the ball all the way down to the VMI 26-yard line. A 25-yard completion by Nitti to Jake Hartman put the Bison on the doorstep of the end zone, and two plays later Williams pushed across the goal line from one yard out to give Bucknell the 28-21 halftime advantage.
The Bison got the ball first to start the second half, but were forced to punt on their first possession. VMI answered with a seven-play, 64-yard drive that ended in a one-yard touchdown rush by Cobb to tie the score for a third time.
A 48-yard run by Williams on the next drive set up his second touchdown of the game, a three-yard run that made it 35-28.
VMI again answered back on its next drive with Cobb tossing a touchdown pass to Dane Forlines. Forlines evened the score at 35-all with just under two minutes to play in the third quarter.
Brake's 62-yard punt return for a touchdown – the longest by a Bison since 1993 - again gave Bucknell the lead.
The Keydets answered with a 13-play, 67-yard drive, but the Bison defense held them to a field goal, preserving a 42-38 advantage.
Bucknell fifth-year head coach Joe Susan enjoys using the phrase, “We want to give the ball to the offensive line in the fourth quarter,” and that is exactly what the Bison ended up doing. They ate up the final 5:26 on the clock and did not give the ball back to VMI after the field goal, guaranteeing the victory. Included in the 11-play drive were five rushing plays and three short passes leading up to three kneel-downs to run out the remainder of the clock.
Williams' 164 yards on the ground marked his fifth career 100-yard rushing game. He also moved over 1,000 yards in his two-year career (1,063).
Bucknell was able to overcome its defense being on the field for nearly 37 minutes and the Keydets converting 12 of 18 third downs.
The Bison, who have now won three consecutive games at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, will hit the road next Saturday when they travel to Poughkeepsie, New York, for a 6 p.m. matchup with Marist. Bucknell is 8-1 all-time against the Red Foxes, including a 27-14 victory last fall in Lewisburg. The Bison will be aiming for their first 2-0 start to a season since 2011.
