Bucknell University
Fordham
Football Strong in 24-16 Loss at No. 16 Fordham
11/7/2015 5:05:00 PM | Football
BRONX, N.Y. – Bucknell and Fordham's last three games entering Saturday's matchup at Jack Coffey Field had been decided by a total of eight points. In a matchup of the top two teams in the Patriot League Preseason Poll, it was another close one on Saturday as the No. 16 Rams defeated the Bison 24-16 before a sellout crowd of 9,192.
Bucknell quarterback R.J. Nitti completed a five-yard touchdown pass to Bobby Kaslander with 1:44 left in the fourth quarter to bring the Bison to within 17-16. After trotting the extra point team onto the field, Bucknell called a timeout and decided to go for two, but Nitti's two-point attempt was intercepted by George Dawson.
The ensuing on-side kick could not be recovered by the Bison, and Fordham added a late touchdown to clinch its third straight win in the series by a total of 13 points.
“We had an opportunity to go up at the end and my philosophy there is to go for the win,” commented Bucknell head coach Joe Susan. “They did a good job defending our two-point play. They had three guys over the center and one dropped back and he is the one who ended up with it. R.J. made the right decision, they just defended it well.”
Bucknell (4-5, 1-3 PL) moved down the field on its final drive thanks to an impressive 48-yard reception by Will Carter on a ball that was tipped by a defender. The Bison later took a shot at the end zone on a 4th-and-10 play from the 19-yard line and it was intercepted, but a defensive holding call gave Bucknell another shot. After two straight short rushes, Nitti found a diving Kaslander across the middle for his sixth career touchdown reception to make it 17-16.
Bucknell never trailed in the first half, held the Rams more than two touchdowns below their season average of 40.0 points and limited them to 345 yards of total offense after entering the game averaging more than 472 per contest. Fordham (8-2, 4-1 PL) All-America RB Chase Edmonds was held to just 62 yards rushing and the last-second 22-yard touchdown that extended the final margin to eight points.
Matt DelMauro was the offensive standout for the Bison with a career-high 168 rushing yards, 131 of which came in the first half. Nitti completed 19 of 31 passes for 222 yards and one touchdown as Bucknell outgained Fordham 353-345.
CB Nick O'Brien returned to the lineup for the Bison and posted a game-high 11 tackles and intercepted his third career pass in the second half. Bucknell's defense totaled four sacks and a season-high 11 tackles for loss.
It was a tight game throughout as the final eight-point margin of victory was the largest spread of the game.
The first half was especially close. Both teams registered a touchdown in the first quarter and a field goal in the second quarter as the score was tied 10-10 at the half.
Bucknell went up 7-0 on its first drive behind a big start by DelMauro. The senior who earned his third start of the year in place of injured C.J. Williams, rushed for 47 yards on the Bison's opening drive of the game, including runs of 21 yards and 12 yards (twice). A 31-yard pass from Nitti to Kaslander moved Bucknell within just a couple yards of the end zone and a couple plays later DelMauro pushed through the line for his second touchdown of the season.
Fordham tied the game up late in the first quarter when QB Kevin Anderson found Jonathan Lumley from six yards out to wrap up a four-play, 49-yard drive.
Bucknell went back on top late in the second quarter as it capitalized on Ben Schumacher's first career interception. The defensive lineman's pick gave the Bison the ball at the 23-yard line. Three plays later Alex Pechin connected on a 37-yard field goal, the first of his career, with 2:24 left in the first half.
An apparent interception by Connor Golden on the next drive would have given Bucknell excellent field position once again, but offsetting penalties called it back and possession remained with the Rams.
Fordham was able to tie the score at 10-10 heading into halftime thanks to a 38-yard field goal by Alejandro Cardenas as time expired in the second quarter.
After a Nitti fumble on Bucknell's first possession of the second half, Fordham covered 43 yards on four plays, concluding with a five-yard Anderson touchdown pass to Phazahn Odom. The Rams held a 150-38 edge in total yards in the third quarter after the Bison outgained them 214-150 in the first half.
Odom's touchdown was the final score for either team until Kaslander's pivotal touchdown grab in the final minutes. The Bison had four straight possessions end in punts, while Fordham threw an interception, missed a field goal and punted twice.
Anderson led Fordham's offense by completing 20 of 27 passes for 296 yards and two touchdowns, while Dawson had 10 tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble and one pass breakup to go along with his big defensive play on the two-point conversion attempt.
Both Bucknell and Fordham struggled on third downs. The Bison were 3-for-15, while the Rams were 2-for-12.
Pechin was strong punting for Bucknell, averaging 46.8 yards on eight kicks. Fordham's Joe Pavlik averaged 46.9 yards on seven punts.
There were a combined 17 penalty flags in the contest, including 10 on the Bison.
Bucknell will wrap up its home schedule next Saturday, Nov. 14, when it hosts Holy Cross at 1 p.m. on Senior Day at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
“We have two games left,” commented Susan. “We would really like the support of the Bucknell fans next week. It will be nice for the fans to come out and make Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium a place our seniors will cherish for the rest of their lives.”
