Football Plays First of Two Straight Road Games Saturday at Lafayette
10/26/2015 4:42:00 PM | Football
What: Bucknell Bison (3-4, 0-2 PL) at Lafayette Leopards (1-7, 0-3 PL)
Where: Fisher Stadium, Easton, Pa.
When: Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015, 3:30 p.m.
TV: American Sports Network (WQMY in Central PA)
Internet Video: Patriot League Network
Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 WEGH)
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Statistics: GoLeopards.com
Probble Starters - Offense
QB 6 R.J. Nitti (Jr., 6-4, 230) - No. 6 on Bucknell's single-game list with 338 pass yards last week
RB 4 C.J. Williams (Jr., 6-0, 210) - 12 career 100-yard rushing games, including 3 this season
FB 80 Andrew Owers (Fr., 6-3, 240) - Led team in receptions three times this season
WR 2 Bobby Kaslander (Sr., 6-2, 200) - 2nd career 100-yard receiving game last week vs. Georgetown
WR 18 Will Carter (Jr., 5-10, 180) - 12 catches last week rank t-2nd on program's single-game list
LT 70 Julie'n Davenport (Jr., 6-7, 315) - 2-time All-Patriot League selection
LG 76 Clayton Hoffmaster (Sr., 6-4, 295) - 13 career starts at RG; 19 total starts
C 54 Cary Hess (Jr., 6-4, 290) - Made four straight starts at C before giving way to N. Bent last wk
RG 66 Devlin Brennan (Jr., 6-4, 295) - 23 career games played
RT 71 Ramy Kased (Sr., 6-6, 315) - 38 career games, 30 career starts
TE 87 Andrew Podbielski (So., 6-4, 240) - Career-long 23-yard reception last week
Probable Starters - Defense
DE 48 R.J. Sheldon (Jr., 6-2, 235) - 4 tackles, 1 sack in 1st career start last week
DT 40 Abdullah Anderson (So., 6-4, 295) - 35 pounds heavier than last year's listed playing weight
NG 99 Ben Schumacher (Jr., 6-2, 270) - Career-high 7 tackles last week vs. Georgetown
DE 15 Jimmy King (Sr., 6-1, 250) - Named Bison Athlete of the Week after Cornell game
Mike LB 29 Ben Richard (So., 6-1, 235) - T-4th in PL with 65 tackles
Sam LB 42 Mark Pyles (So., 6-0, 220) - Ranks second on team with career-high 58 tackles
SS 5 Clayton Ewell (Sr., 6-1, 195) - Only Bison to play in all 40 games over last 4 years
FS 12 Bret Berg (Jr., 6-1, 200) - Fourth on team with 22 solo tackles (31 overall)
WS 28 Connor Golden (So., 6-0, 195) - INT at Army West Point was on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays
CB 13 Colin Jonov (So., 5-11, 195) - One of three Bison with 2 INTs this season
CB 8 Nick O'Brien (Jr., 5-10, 195) - 11 tackles vs. Lehigh in season debut; left G'town game with injury
With a Victory over Lafayette, Bucknell Would ...
• ... defeat the Leopards in back-to-back years for the first time since 2000 and 2001.
• ... avoid its first four-game losing streak since the first half of the 2013 season.
• ... improve to 17-8 in its last 25 games.
• ... still have the ability to equal last year's 4-2 Patriot League record.
• ... improve to 9-2 in its last 11 road games and 11-3 in its last 14.
• ... help Joe Susan move into sole possession of ninth place on Bucknell's all-time wins list (28).
About the Game
Bucknell and Lafayette will square off at Fisher Stadium on Halloween evening with both teams still looking for their first Patriot League victory of the season. The Bison are 3-4 overall and 0-2 in Patriot League play and have lost three games in a row by a combined 26 points. The Leopards are 1-7 overall and 0-3 against Patriot League opponents and are being outscored by more than 200 points this season. Lafayette has been shut out each of the last two weeks by matching 42-0 scores. The game will be televised by the American Sports Network (WQMY in Central Pennsylvania) and will also air live online on the Patriot League Network.
About Lafayette
• Lafayette is 1-7 on the year and 0-3 in Patriot League play. The Leopards have lost four in a row by a combined 157-14 score.
• Lafayette's lone win this season was a 35-24 victory at Wagner in late September.
• Lafayette's opponents hold a 1,687-390 edge in rushing yards this season.
• Junior QB Drew Reed leads the Leopards with 1,318 passing yards on 138 completions. He has thrown for six touchdowns.
• Sophomore TB DeSean Brown leads Lafayette with 283 rushing yards this season. He is averaging 3.8 yards per rush and has one touchdown.
• Sophomore LB Brandon Bryant lead the Patriot League with 89 tackles this season. He has a team-high-tying 5.5 tackles for loss.
Bucknell vs. Lafayette Series Notes
• Lafayette leads 52-34-1.
• The winning team has scored more than 30 points in eight of the last 10 meetings.
• Lafayette has won 11 of the last 13 games.
• Lafayette leads 32-14-5 in Easton.
• Bucknell's 92 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
Bucknell 27, Lafayette 24 (OT) (Nov. 1, 2014 - Lewisburg, Pa.)
• Bucknell snapped a six-game home losing streak to Lafayette.
• Jake Hartman had a career day for the Bison. He registered career highs in receptions (7), receiving yards (134) and receiving touchdowns (3). He entered the game with 12 catches for 206 yards and no touchdowns in his career.
• Reserve QB Trey Lauletta entered the game in place of injured starter R.J. Nitti in the fourth quarter and engineered the game-tying drive in the final minutes of regulation. He finished 4-for-6 for 66 yards and one touchdown.
• Bucknell had seven sacks for 57 yards in the game, including three for 28 yards on Lafayette's final two drives in the fourth quarter and overtime.
• The game was the first of three in a row that went to overtime for Bucknell.
Inside the Georgetown Box Score
• Georgetown won at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium for the first time since 2007.
• Bucknell fell to 43-44-5 all-time on Homecoming.
• Bucknell QB R.J. Nitti became the second Bison to throw for 300 yards (338) in a game in the last 20 years. It was just the 11th 300-yard game in program history.
• Bucknell had a 100-yard rusher (C.J. Williams) and a 100-yard receiver (Bobby Kaslander) in the same game for the first time since 2013 at Colgate.
• Bucknell WR Will Carter had a career-high 12 receptions for 92 yards. The 12 catches tied him for second place on the Bison single-game list.
• Bucknell outgained Georgetown 412-288, won the turnover battle 2-1, ran 29 more plays (87-58) and dominated the time of possession 36:57-23:03, but was a combined 7-for-23 on third and fourth downs and scored only one time on four trips inside the red zone.
• Bucknell DL R.J. Sheldon posted four tackles and one sack in his first career start in place of injured Doug Whitlock.
• Georgetown sacked R.J. Nitti four times for a combined 45 yards.
• Bucknell posted its longest pass play (59 yards) of the year when Nitti connected with Matthew Jegede in the fourth quarter.
• Bucknell's 412 yards of total offense was a season high. The Bison had been over 300 yards just twice in the season's first six games.
Career Highs Set vs. Georgetown
• Marcus Ademilola: receptions (1), receiving yards (5), long reception (5), all-purpose yards (5)
• John Burdick: long field goal (38)
• Will Carter: receptions (12)
• Connor Golden: sacks (1)
• Matthew Jegede: receiving yards (59), long reception (59), all-purpose yards (59), tackles (2)
• Joe Lauro: tackles (4)
• R.J. Nitti: rushing attempts (8), passing attempts (49), pass completions (28), passing yards
338)
• Andrew Podbielski: receiving yards (23), long reception (23), all-purpose yards (23)
• Ben Schumacher: tackles (7), tackles for loss (2)
• R.J. Sheldon: tackles (4), sacks (1)
Career Day for Nitti
• Junior QB R.J. Nitti put up numbers last week vs. Georgetown that have not been seen very often at Bucknell. Nitti completed 28 of 49 passes for 338 yards, all career highs.
• Nitti's 338 passing yards rank sixth on Bucknell's single-game list as he became just the secon Bison (along with Trey Lauletta) in the last 20 years to throw for 300 yards in a game.
• Nitti's 300-yard game was the 11th in program history. Nitti is just the seventh different Bison to throw for 300 yards in a game, and the only one to do it without throwing a touchdown.
• Nitti's 28 completions are No. 5 on Bucknell's single-game list. The last player to complete more passes was Todd Wenrich (36 at Fordham in 2001).
• Nitti's 49 pass attempts are tied for fourth in program history. Only Todd Wenrich (twice in 2001) and Jim Given (once in 1986) have attempted more passes in a game.
• Nitti is now 270-for-512 for 3,366 yards in his career. He ranks 10th in program history in passing yards and 11th in both pass attempts and completions.
Another 100-Yard Game for Williams
• Junior RB C.J. Williams returned from a two-game absence due to injury and rushed 26 times for 103 yards last week vs. Georgetown.
• It was the 12th career 100-yard game for Williams, who is tied with Jabu Powell for third on the program's all-time 100-yard rushing games list.
• Williams ran for 100 yards four times as a freshman, five times as a sophomore and three times this year.
• Williams ranks sixth in program history with 2,313 career rushing yards, just 23 yards behind fifth-place Ken Jenkins.
Career-High Receptions for Carter
• Junior WR Will Carter entered last week's game against Georgetown with eight receptions being his career high. He ended up with 12 catches against the Hoyas, placing him into the Bison record book.
• Carter's 12 catches (for 92 yards) are tied for second place on Bucknell's single-game receptions list, just one behind Tom Mitchell's 51-year-old standard of 13.
• Carter became the first Bison player with double-figure receptions in a game since Shaun Pasternak had 11 catches in a 2008 loss to Cornell.
• Carter now ranks seventh on Bucknell's career receptions list with 118 and he is eighth all-time with 1,647 receiving yards.
100-Yard Rusher and 100-Yard Receiver
• Thanks to C.J. Williams rushing for 103 yards and senior WR Bobby Kaslander catching five passes for 100 yards last week against Georgetown, Bucknell had both a 100-yard rusher and 100-yard receiver in the same game for the first time since 2013.
• The Bison last had a 100-yard rusher and 100-yard receiver in the same game at Colgate in 2013 when Williams (115 rushing yards) and Kaslander (119 receiving yards) last accomplished the feat.
• From 1995 to 2012, Bucknell had a 100-yard rusher and 100-yard receiver in the same game just 10 times. It occurred three times in 2013.
.500 Record
• Saturday's contest vs. Lafayette marks the first time Bucknell enters a game with a record below .500 since Nov. 16, 2013.
• Bucknell needs to go at least 3-1 the rest of the year to finish a third consecutive season with an above-.500 record.
• The Bison finished above .500 the last two years and are aiming to accomplish the feat three years in a row for the first time since 1999-2001.
Road Success
• Bucknell is 2-1 on the road this year and is 8-2 in its last 10 road contests. Additionally, the Bison are 5-1 in their last six road games and 10-3 in their last 13.
• Bucknell had won five in a row on the road, its longest streak since 1997, entering the Army West Point game (Oct. 17) at Michie Stadium.
Scoring Defense
• Bucknell is ranked 12th nationally in scoring defense (17.3 ppg) this year.
• If the Bison finish the season under 20.0 ppg in scoring defense, it will mark just the fourth time since 2000 that Bucknell opponents will average less than 20.0 ppg.
Bucknell's Lowest Scoring Defense (since 2000)
1. 2000 - 15.6 ppg
2. 2001 - 15.7 ppg
3. 2015 - 17.3 ppg
4. 2011 - 19.4 ppg
Holding Opponents Under 30 Points
• Bucknell has held all seven of its opponents this year under 30 points. In fact, the most points for an opponent this year is 26 by Duquesne.
• Bucknell is one of six teams nationally to hold all of its opponents in 2015 under 30 points. Included in that group are four undefeated teams (Dartmouth, Dayton, Harvard, McNeese State), 6-1 Jacksonville and 3-4 Bucknell.
• The Bison are tied for the fourth-longest consecutive games streak in holding opponents under 30 points with nine in a row.
Consecutive Games Holding Opponents Under 30 Points
1. Harvard - 17
2. Jacksonville - 15
3. Dartmouth - 12
4. Bucknell, Dayton, McNeese State - 9
Susan Moving Up Lists
• Saturday's game will be sixth-year head coach Joe Susan's 63rd at Bucknell, tying him with Bob Odell (1958-64) for eighth place on the program's all-time games coached list. Bucknell's head coaching position is named the Bob Odell Head Coach.
• Susan is tied for ninth in program history with Pete Reynolds in victories with 27, just three behind eighth-place Al Humphreys.
• Susan was the 2014 Patriot League Coach of the Year, Bucknell's first honoree since Tom Gadd in 1997.
Milestone Watch
• Bobby Kaslander: 18 receiving yards shy of 1,000 for career
• R.J. Nitti: Needs two TD passes to tie Rob Glus for seventh place on program's career list
• Nick O'Brien: 11 tackles shy of 100 in career
Up Next
• Bucknell will play on the road for a second consecutive weekend for the first time all season when it travels to Fordham next Saturday, Nov. 7, for a 1 p.m. contest against the Rams. Fordham has won each of the last two meetings. The last three games in the series have been decided by a combined eight points. Bucknell leads the all-time series 18-12.
