Football Heads to Colgate for Final Game of Season
11/17/2015 4:16:00 PM | Football
What: Bucknell Bison (4-6, 1-4 PL) at Colgate Raiders (6-4, 5-0 PL)
Where: Andy Kerr Stadium, Hamilton, N.Y.
When: Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015, 1 p.m.
Internet Video: Patriot League Network
Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 WEGH)
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Statistics: GoColgateRaiders.com
Probable Starters - Offense
QB 6 R.J. Nitti (Jr., 6-4, 230) - Ranks 4th on Bucknell career passing TDs list (29)
RB 34 Matt DelMauro (Sr., 5-7, 185) - 4 career 100-yard rushing games; career-high 607 yards this year
FB 80 Andrew Owers (Fr., 6-3, 240) - Led team in receptions three times this season
WR 2 Bobby Kaslander (Sr., 6-2, 200) - Went over 1,000 career receiving yards at Fordham
WR 18 Will Carter (Jr., 5-10, 180) - 86 receiving yards shy of becoming 3rd Bison with 2,000 in career
LT 70 Julie'n Davenport (Jr., 6-7, 315) - 2-time All-Patriot League selection
LG 76 Clayton Hoffmaster (Sr., 6-4, 295) - 10 career starts at RG; 22 total starts
C 54 Cary Hess (Jr., 6-4, 290) - Five starts at C this year
RG 66 Devlin Brennan (Jr., 6-4, 295) - 26 career games played
RT 71 Ramy Kased (Sr., 6-6, 315) - 43 career games, 33 career starts
TE 87 Andrew Podbielski (So., 6-4, 240) - 20+ yard reception in three of last four games
Probable Starters - Defense
DE 48 R.J. Sheldon (Jr., 6-2, 235) - 4 tackles, 1 sack in 1st career start Oct. 24 vs. Georgetown
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) - At least 1 TFL in six straight games before last week vs. HC
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) - Ranks in top 11 in PL in tackles and TFL
Sam LB 42 Mark Pyles (So., 6-0, 220) - Averaging 9.6 tackles over last seven games
SS 5 Clayton Ewell (Sr., 6-1, 195) - One of two Bison to play in all 43 games over last 4 years
FS 12 Bret Berg (Jr., 6-1, 200) - Third on team with four pass breakups
WS 28 Connor Golden (So., 6-0, 195) - INT at Army West Point was on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays
CB 37 Bryan Marine (Fr., 5-10, 180) - Career-high 12 tackles last week vs. Holy Cross
CB 8 Nick O'Brien (Jr., 5-10, 195) - 18 tackles, 2 TFL last two weeks
With a Victory over Colgate, Bucknell Would ...
• ... improve to 18-10 in its last 28 games.
• ... improve to 7-5 in its last 12 November games.
• ... win its final game of the season for the third time in the last four years.
• ... finish its season 5-6, 2-4 PL.
• ... defeat the Raiders twice in a three-year span for the first time since 2004 to 2006.
• ... win its final road game for the third straight year (2013 at VMI, 2014 at Holy Cross).
About the Game
Thanks to its 49-42 win over Lehigh last week, Colgate is the 2015 Patriot League Champion and will be the conference's representative in the upcoming NCAA playoffs. The Raiders are 6-4, 5-0 PL and will be looking to finish with a perfect Patriot League record for the second time in the last four years. Bucknell will try to add a loss to that record on Saturday as it looks to win its season finale for the third time in the last four years. The Bison opened the season hot, winning three of their first four games, but have won just once in their last six contests. Colgate has won four in a row and six of its last seven.
About Colgate
• Colgate last Saturday clinched its eighth Patriot League title. The Raiders are 5-0 in Patriot League play and a loss will drop them into a tie with Fordham, but Colgate holds the tiebreaker.
• Junior QB Jake Melville leads the Raiders in rushing yards (732) and passing yards (1,939). He has been named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week two of the last three weeks.
• Colgate has three receivers each with more than 30 receptions and 400 yards: John Maddaluna, Alex Greenawalt and John Quazza.
• Colgate ranks fourth in the Patriot League in both scoring offense and scoring defense. Its 203.7 rushing yards per game leads the conference.
• Sophomore LB Pat Afriyie leads the Patriot League with 9.5 sacks this season.
Bucknell vs. Colgate Series Notes
• Colgate leads 46-17.
• Bucknell snapped a six-game losing streak in the series with a 28-7 win in Hamilton in 2013. It was the first win for the Bison at Colgate since 1999.
• First meeting was in 1894.
• The winning team has scored at least 28 points in nine of the last 12 meetings. The average score for the winning team has been 33.0 points over that span.
• The last five meetings have featured the losing team being held under 10 points four times.
• The most recent meeting decided by less than two touchdowns was in 2007 (Colgate 28, Bucknell 24).
Last Time vs. Colgate
Colgate 21, Bucknell 6 (Nov. 22, 2014 - Lewisburg, Pa.)
• Bucknell gained more yards and had more first downs than Colgate, but turned the ball over three times.
• Bucknell QB Trey Lauletta threw for 229 yards, boosting his season total to 1,002. He joined fellow QB R.J. Nitti to become the first pair of Bison to both throw for more than 1,000 yards in the same season.
• Bison LB Evan Byers had a game-high 13 tackles to finish his career with 382 stops, a new Bucknell record.
• Bucknell's string of overtime games stopped at three.
• Colgate won for the first time since Oct. 11 and clinched a third-place finish in the Patriot League standings.
Inside the Holy Cross Box Score
• Bucknell celebrated Senior Day and honored 15 seniors in an on-field ceremony prior to the game.
• Holy Cross kicker Connor Fitzgerald missed three field goals and had an extra point blocked.
• Neither team committed a penalty in the second half after seven combined flags in the first half.
• Bucknell outgained Holy Cross 138-34 in the third quarter when it scored its only touchdown of the game. The Bison had the ball for more than 10 minutes in the period.
• The Holy Cross defense posted seven sacks, including three by Dewayne Cameron. Bucknell lost 84 yards on those seven sacks.
• Bucknell WR Will Carter posted his fifth career 100-yard receiving game with a season-high 110 yards on nine catches.
• Holy Cross' average drive start was its own 42-yard line. Bucknell's average drive started at its own 20-yard line.
• Holy Cross scored just once in its last eight possessions after scoring touchdowns on three consecutive drives in the first half.
Career Highs Set vs. Holy Cross
• Marcus Ademilola: receptions (5)
• Abdullah Anderson: tackles for loss (3), sacks (1.5)
• Alex Jordan: blocked extra points (1)
• Bryan Marine: tackles (12)
• R.J. Nitti: rushing attempts (9)
• Andrew Owers: long reception (40)
Broadcast Options
• There will be plenty of options to watch or listen to Saturday's Bucknell-Colgate game as four different outlets will be broadcasting it.
• As always, Doug Birdsong and Kevin Herr will call all the action on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3) and BucknellBison.com.
• The Patriot League Network broadcast will be produced by Campus Insiders with Ray Crawford and Dan Conley serving as announcers. The video feed can be watched free of charge via PatriotLeague.tv.
• The Heritage Sports Radio Network will carry the game on SiriusXM radio. Gary Laing will serve as the play-by-play announcer.
• 94 WKXZ in Oneonta is the radio home of Colgate football and it will carry the game as well.
Season Finales
• Bucknell is 8-4 in its final game of the season over the last 12 years.
• The Bison are 51-67-11 all-time in their final game of a season.
• This is the second time in the last four years the Bison have played a Patriot League foe in their season finale.
Results vs. Patriot League Champion
• Colgate clinched the 2015 Patriot League title last week.
• The Bison have four wins all-time against teams that went on to win the Patriot League championship.
• Bucknell's last two wins over Patriot League champions came in season finales against Fordham (2007) and Holy Cross (2009).
Bucknell Wins vs. Patriot League Champions
1993: W, 32-27 vs. Lehigh
1999: W, 21-16 at Colgate
2007: W, 38-24 at Fordham
2009: W, 23-17 vs. Holy Cross
100-Yard Game for Carter
• Bucknell junior WR Will Carter had nine catches for a season-high 110 yards last week vs. Holy Cross. It was his first 100-yard game this season, and the fifth of his career.
• Carter is tied with Lester Erb (1987-90) for sixth place in Bucknell history with five career 100-yard games.
• Carter leads Bucknell with 52 receptions for 559 yards this season. His 52 catches are one shy of his career high and rank him tied for seventh on the program's single-season list.
• Carter ranks fourth in program history in both career receiving yards (1,914) and career receptions (138).
Nitti has Oppourtunity to Break Records
• Bucknell junior QB R.J. Nitti enters Saturday's game at Colgate with a chance to break a couple of records. He needs just 26 completions and 204 yards to become Bucknell's new single-season record-holder in those two categories.
• Nitti already ranks in the top 10 on the program's career lists for passing yards (4th, 4,106), passing touchdowns (4th, 29), pass attempts (6th, 608) and pass completions (7th, 327).
• Nitti has thrown for more than 200 yards in four straight games for the first time in his career. In fact, he is the first Bison to accomplish that feat since Todd Wenrich in 2001.
Low-Scoring Bucknell Games
• Bucknell ranks sixth in the Patriot League in scoring offense (16.2 ppg), but is first in scoring defense (19.2 ppg). The average points scored in a Bison game this season is 35.4.
• In Patriot League games, Bucknell and its opponents are averaging a combined 37.2 ppg (186 total points in four games).
Patriot League Total Points Per Game
18 Patriot League Games in 2015: 55.3 ppg
13 Patriot League Games Not Involving Bucknell in 2015: 62.3 ppg
5 Bucknell Patriot League Games: 37.2 ppg
Scoring Defense
• Bucknell is ranked 22nd nationally in scoring defense (19.2 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 - 19.2 ppg
4. 2011 - 19.4 ppg
Holding Opponents Under 30 Points
• Bucknell has held all 10 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 four teams nationally to hold all of its opponents in 2015 under 30 points. Included in that group are two undefeated teams (Dayton, McNeese State), 8-1 Dartmouth and 4-6 Bucknell.
• The Bison are tied for the second-longest consecutive games streak in holding opponents under 30 points with 12 in a row.
Consecutive Games Holding Opponents Under 30 Points
1. Dartmouth - 15
2. Bucknell, Dayton, McNeese - 12
Milestone Watch
• Will Carter: Needs four touchdown catches to tie Bucknell career record of 18; Needs 86 receiving yards and 5 all-purpose yards to reach 2,000 in career in each category
• Matt DelMauro: Needs 24 all-purpose yards to reach 2,000 mark in career
• R.J. Nitti: 203 passing yards shy of equaling Bucknell's single-season record
• Mark Pyles: 6 tackles shy of 100 in career
