Football Returns Home to Open Patriot League Play vs. Lehigh

10/6/2015 12:07:00 PM | Football

By: TBD

What: Lehigh Mountain Hawks (2-3, 0-0 PL) at Bucknell Bison (3-1, 0-0 PL)
Where: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
When: Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015, 1 p.m.
Tickets: 570-577-1000 or www.bucknell.edu/boxoffice
Internet Video: Patriot League Network
Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 WEGH)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 113/XM 205
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Statistics: BucknellBison.com

Probable Starters - Offense
QB 6 R.J. Nitti (Jr., 6-4, 230) - 20 career TD passes, 4 rushing TDs in 2015
RB 4 C.J. Williams (Jr., 6-0, 210) - 11 career 100-yard rushing games, including 2 this season
FB 80 Andrew Owers (Fr., 6-3, 240) - Led team in receptions and receiving yards vs. Marist & Duquesne
WR 2 Bobby Kaslander (Sr., 6-2, 200) - At least two receptions in 14 of last 15 games played
WR 18 Will Carter (Jr., 5-10, 180) - First Team All-PL in 2014, Preseason All-PL in 2015
LT 70 Julie'n Davenport (Jr., 6-7, 315) - 2-time All-Patriot League selection
LG 76 Clayton Hoffmaster (Sr., 6-4, 295) - 12 career starts at RG; 16 total starts
C 54 Cary Hess (Jr., 6-4, 290) - Made first career start at C vs. Cornell
RG 66 Devlin Brennan (Jr., 6-4, 295) - Appeared in nine games each of last two years
RT 71 Ramy Kased (Sr., 6-6, 315) - 35 career games, 27 career starts
TE 87 Andrew Podbielski (So., 6-4, 240) - Started three of four games this season

Probable Starters - Defense
DE 90 Doug Whitlock (So., 6-2, 250) - Career-high 10 tackles vs. Duquesne
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) - Sixth on team with 3.5 TFL this year
DE 15 Jimmy King (Sr., 6-1, 250) - Appeared in 26 straight games, 15 consecutive starts
Mike LB 29 Ben Richard (So., 6-1, 235) - 18 tackles last week at VMI 9th-most in FCS this year
Sam LB 42 Mark Pyles (So., 6-0, 220) - Played in all 11 games last yr., ranks 2nd on team in tackles in '15
SS 5 Clayton Ewell (Sr., 6-1, 195) - Only Bison to play in all 37 games over last 4 years
FS 12 Bret Berg (Jr., 6-1, 200) - Career-high 7 tackles twice this season
WS 28 Connor Golden (So., 6-0, 195) - Missed season opener vs. Marist due to injury; started last 3 weeks
CB 13 Colin Jonov (So., 5-11, 195) - One of only two freshmen to start last year's season opener
CB 37 Bryan Marine (Fr., 5-10, 180) - Patriot League Rookie of the Week after 10 tackles at VMI

With a Victory over Lehigh, Bucknell Would ...
• ... win its third game in a row.
• ... defeat the Mountain Hawks three years in a row for the first time since winning seven in a row from 1962 to 1968.
• ... open back-to-back campaigns with 4-1 records for the first time since 2000 and 2001.
• ... help Joe Susan move into sole possession of ninth place on Bucknell's all-time wins list (28).
• ... win its Patriot League opener in consecutive years for the first time since 2010 and 2011.
• ... improve to 6-1 in its last seven October games.
• ... improve to 17-5 in its last 22 games.

About the Game
It is Fall Break at Bucknell this weekend, but that does not mean the Bison football team will be resting. Bucknell will host Patriot League rival Lehigh Saturday at 1 p.m. at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The Bison enter the contest with a strong 3-1 record after winning in overtime at VMI last Saturday. Bucknell's last two wins have come by a combined 11 points. The Bison defense is among the best in the nation, holding opponents to 15.5 points and 285.8 yards per game this season. Lehigh enters the weekend with a 2-3 record and is coming off a string of three games in a row against Ivy League opponents. Saturday's contest will be the Patriot League opener for both the Bison and Mountain Hawks. It is the second straight year they have squared off in their Patriot League opener.

About Lehigh
• Lehigh is 2-3 this season.
• The Mountain Hawks have defeated Monmouth and Penn, but lost to James Madison, Princeton and Yale, each by double figures.
• The average winning score in Lehigh's five games this season is 39.2 points.
• Lehigh has a bye week following Saturday's contest.
• Second-year starter at QB junior Nick Shafnisky makes the Lehigh offense go. He is the team's leading passer with 1,335 yards and seven touchdowns. Shafnisky also leads the squad in rushing with 359 yards and four touchdowns on 86 carries.
• First Team All-Patriot League selection Colton Caslow, a junior LB, leads Lehigh with 58 tackles this season.
• Lehigh was 3-8 overall and 2-4 in Patriot League play in 2014.

Bucknell vs. Lehigh Series Notes
• Lehigh leads 44-31-3.
• Lehigh won 15 straight games with an average margin of victory of more than 23 points before Bucknell snapped that streak with a 48-10 victory in 2013 at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
• Bucknell has won the last two meetings by a combined 93-34 score.
• Bucknell has defeated Lehigh in back-to-back years for the first time since 1996 and 1997.
• The winning team has scored at least 30 points in 13 of the last 17 meetings and at least 40 points eight times over that span.
• Bucknell and Lehigh have met every year since 1950.
• Lehigh (78 games) is Bucknell's second-most-common opponent behind Lafayette (92 games).

Last Time vs. Lehigh
Bucknell 45, Lehigh 24 (Oct. 11, 2014 - Bethlehem, Pa.)
• Will Carter had a career day with seven receptions for 246 yards and three touchdowns. He tied the school record for touchdown receptions in a game and his 246 yards ranked second in program history. Carter's touchdowns were 69, 78 and 77 yards.
• Carter also ran the ball once for 12 yards and his 258 all-purpose yards placed him ninth on the Bison single-game ledger.
• Carter's 246 receiving yards were a Goodman Stadium record.
• Filling in for injured starter R.J. Nitti, QB Trey Lauletta completed 15 of 20 passes for 313 yards and four touchdowns. He became the first Bison to throw for 300 yards in 20 years and the ninth Bucknell player to throw four touchdowns in a game.
• Bucknell played without three offensive starters (R.J. Nitti, C.J. Williams, Nevin Hagman) due to injury.
• Bucknell's defense totaled five interceptions for the first time since 2009.

Inside the VMI Box Score
• Bucknell improved to 8-6 all-time in overtime, including 5-1 in its last six overtime contests.
• Bucknell defeated VMI for a third straight season.
• VMI's Dillon Christopher sent the game to overtime with a 40-yard field goal as time expired in regulation.
• Bison RB Matt DelMauro scored the winning touchdown on a 23-yard run in the first overtime after VMI failed to score on its offensive possession.
• Ben Richard recorded a career-high 18 tackles for Bucknell. He was one of three Bison to post double figures in tackles.
• Thirty of the game's 50 points were scored in the fourth quarter and overtime.
• Sophomore RB Joey DeFloria returned a kick 85 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. It was Bucknell's first kickoff return for a touchdown since 2010.
• Bucknell and VMI combined to go 14-for-41 on third and fourth downs and punted a combined 17 times.
• There were a total of 13 pass breakups, including seven by Bucknell defenders.
• Bucknell reached 20 points in a game for the first time since defeating Holy Cross 31-24 last Nov. 15.
• John Burdick's 50-yard FG attempt in the second quarter was Bucknell's longest attempt since Joe Lourdeaux had a 57-yard try at Towson in 2000.

Career Highs Set vs. VMI
• Abdullah Anderson: tackles (8)
• Alan Butler: punt returns (6), punt return yards (30), long punt return (11)
• Joey DeFloria: rushing attempts (3), long rush (5), receiving yards (33), long reception (23), kickoff returns (3), kickoff return yards (137), long kickoff return (85), kickoff return touchdowns (1), all-purpose yards (175)
• Bryan Marine: tackles (10), pass breakups (3)
• Alex Pechin: punts (9)
• Andrew Podbielski: tackles (1)
• Mark Pyles: tackles (14), tackles for loss (2)
• Ben Richard: tackles (18)
• Matt Robinson: tackles (1)
• Ben Schumacher: tackles for loss (1.5)
• R.J. Sheldon: sacks (0.5)
• Doug Whitlock: pass breakups (1)

Bucknell Success
• Bucknell is 16-5 in its last 21 games dating back to 2013.
• Bucknell is outscoring opponents 530-385 (25.2-18.3) during that 20-game stretch.
• Bucknell's record has been at or better than .500 since November 2013.
• Bucknell is 5-1 in its last six October games.
• Bucknell has not lost back-to-back games since the first half of the 2013 campaign.

3-1 Start
• Bucknell is off to at least a 3-1 start to a season for the third time in the last five years.

Recent 3-1 or Better Starts
2015: 3-1 (finished ???)
2014: 4-0 (finished 8-3)
2011: 3-1 (finished 6-5)
2008: 3-1 (finished 5-6)
2004: 3-1 (finished 7-4)
2001: 3-1 (finished 6-4)
2000: 3-1 (finished 6-5)

Road Games
• Thanks to Saturday's win at VMI, Bucknell is 8-1 in its last nine road contests and 10-2 in its last 12.
• The Bison have won five in a row on the road.
• Bucknell is in the midst of playing six of its final nine games this year on the road.
• The Bison were 5-1 away from home last fall and are 2-0 this season.

Patriot League Openers
• Bucknell is 17-12 all-time in Patriot League openers.
• Bucknell won last year's Patriot League opener at Lehigh.
• This is the fourth time Bucknell has opened its PL schedule against Lehigh (1989, 1994, 2014, 2015).
• Bucknell is 67-92-1 all-time in Patriot League play.

Overtime Games
• Bucknell played its fourth overtime game in the last two years last week at VMI.
• Bucknell last year played an FCS-record-tying three consecutive overtime games last November and posted a 2-1 record in those contests.
• Bucknell is now 8-6 all-time in overtime games and 5-1 in its last six.
• RB Matt DelMauro scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime last year at Holy Cross and this year at VMI.

Patriot League Weekly Awards
• Bucknell claimed three of the four Patriot League weekly awards on Monday.
• Sophomore LB Ben Richard (18 tackles, 1 sack) was named the Defensive Player of the Week, sophomore RB Joey DeFloria (85-yard kickoff return for TD) earned Special Teams Player of the Week honors and freshman CB Bryan Marine (10 tackles, 3 pass breakups) was honored as Rookie of the Week.
• It was the first career weekly award for all three players.

Kickoff Return Starts Comeback
• Sophomore RB Joey DeFloria had an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown last week at VMI.
• The touchdown cut VMI's lead to 19-14 with just over 10 minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
• It was Bucknell's first kickoff return for a touchdown since Tyler Smith returned one 89 yards at Duquesne in 2010.
• It was Bucknell's first special teams touchdown since Josh Brake returned a punt 62 yards for a score against VMI in 2014.
• DeFloria had not returned a kick in his career entering the game and he had three returns for 137 yards (45.7 avg.) against VMI.
• The only other Bison to ever score a touchdown on a play of exactly 85 yards was Dante Ross, who returned a kickoff 85 yards in a 2004 game against Georgetown.

Strong Defense
• Bucknell ranks eighth nationally in total defense (285.8 ypg) and 12th nationally in rush defense (106.0 ypg).
• Two of Bucknell's first three opponents did not record 100 yards rushing.
• One key for the Bison has been pressure in the offensive backfield. Bucknell ranks eighth nationally with 8.5 tackles for loss per game and also has 12 total sacks.

Susan Moving Up Lists
• Saturday's game will be sixth-year head coach Joe Susan's 60th at Bucknell. He ranks ninth on the Bison's all-time games coached list. Next up for Susan to pass is Bob Odell, who coached 63 games from 1958-64. 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: 193 receiving yards shy of 1,000 for career
• R.J. Nitti: 154 passing yards shy of tying Bill Lerro (1963-65) for 12th place on program's career list; 199 yards shy of 11th-place Travis Kopp (1991-94)

Up Next
• Bucknell will play its final non-league game of 2015 next Saturday, Oct. 17, when it travels to Army West Point for a noon contest at Michie Stadium. The Bison and Black Knights last met in 1995 with Army West Point winning by a 37-6 score. Bucknell trails in the all-time series 5-0. The game will mark the first time the Bison have played an FBS opponent since 2001. The contest will air on CBS Sports Network.