Football Makes Trip to Cornell Saturday for First Road Game of Season

9/15/2015 10:33:00 AM | Football

By: TBD

What: Bucknell Bison (1-1, 0-0 PL) at Cornell Big Red (0-0, 0-0 Ivy)
Where: Schoellkopf Field, Ithaca, N.Y.
When: Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015, 3 p.m.
Internet Video: Ivy League Digital Network
Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 WEGH)
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Statistics: CornellBigRed.com

Probable Starters - Offense
QB 6 R.J. Nitti (Jr., 6-4, 230) - Scored Bucknell's only touchdowns this season
RB 4 C.J. Williams (Jr., 6-0, 210) - Crossed 2,000 career rushing yards mark last week
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) - Third on team in both receptions (27) and yards (362) in 2014
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; 14 total starts
C 54 Cary Hess (Jr., 6-4, 290) - Expected to make first career start
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) - 33 career games, 25 career starts
TE 87 Andrew Podbielski (So., 6-4, 240) - Made first career start vs. Marist

Probable Starters - Defense
DE 90 Doug Whitlock (So., 6-2, 250) - Career-high 10 tackles last week 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) - Tied for fifth on team with 2 TFL this year
DE 15 Jimmy King (Sr., 6-1, 250) - Appeared in 24 straight games, 13 consecutive starts
Mike LB 29 Ben Richard (So., 6-1, 235) - Career-high 12 tackles last week vs. Duquesne
Sam LB 42 Mark Pyles (So., 6-0, 220) - Played in all 11 games last year, ranks 3rd on team in tackles in '15
SS 5 Clayton Ewell (Sr., 6-1, 195) - Ranks 3rd nationally in TFL per game (2.5)
FS 12 Bret Berg (Jr., 6-1, 200) - Expected to make 2nd start of year (Marist)
WS 28 Connor Golden (So., 6-0, 195) - Missed season opener vs. Marist due to injury; 3 tackles last week
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) - Expected to make 1st career start

With a Victory over Cornell, Bucknell Would ...
• ... avoid falling below .500 for the first time since November 2013.
• ... win its road opener for the second straight year and third time in four years.
• ... help Joe Susan tie Lou Maranzana for 10th place on Bucknell's career wins list (26).
• ... avoid its first back-to-back losses since October 2013.
• ... extend its winning streak vs. Ivy League foes to three games.
• ... improve to 5-1 in its last six September games.
• ... win a road game in the series vs. the Big Red for the first time since 1995.
• ... improve to 15-5 in its last 20 games.

About the Game
Bucknell will be looking to bounce back from its first loss of the season as it hits the road for the first time after two straight home contests at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. Cornell, like all Ivy League teams, opens its 2015 campaign this weekend. It is Homecoming on the Cornell campus. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.

About Cornell
• Cornell was 1-9 in 2014 and 1-6 against Ivy League foes.
• The Big Red's lone win last year was a 30-27 victory at Columbia.
• Cornell returns 17 starters from last year's squad, including 10 on the defensive side of the ball.
• Cornell will play three of its first four games at home.

Bucknell vs. Cornell Series Notes
• Cornell leads 42-12.
• Bucknell snapped a seven-game losing streak in the series with a 20-7 home victory on Family Weekend last September.
• The home team has won 12 of the last 15 games.
• The scheduled 2001 meeting in Ithaca, N.Y., was cancelled due to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It was the first Bison game to be cancelled since 1963.
• The first 25 games in the series were played in Ithaca, N.Y.
• Cornell won 26 of the first 27 meetings.
• Cornell has been on Bucknell's schedule every year since 2000, the longest current stretch of any non-league opponent.
• Bucknell has scored more than 20 points vs. Cornell just once in the last 16 meetings (2000: W, 38-15).
• This is the 11th time Bucknell has been Cornell's season-opening opponent since 2002.

Last Time vs. Cornell
Bucknell 20, Cornell 7 (Sept. 27, 2014 - Lewisburg, Pa.)
• Bucknell improved to 4-0 for the first time since starting the 1997 season 10-0.
• Bison RB C.J. Williams ran for a career-high 188 yards.
• All three of Bucknell's touchdowns were scored on plays of 20 yards or longer.
• Bucknell's defense limited Cornell to 65 yards of total offense in the second half.
• Cornell held the time of possession edge in all four quarters.
• The game was played mainly in the middle of the field as each team advanced into the red zone just once.

Inside the Duquesne Box Score
• Duquesne QB Dillon Buechel completed three touchdown passes to three different receivers.
• All three of Duquesne's touchdown receptions were for less than 10 yards.
• Duquesne scored points in all four quarters.
• Clayton Ewell (14), Ben Richard (12) and Doug Whitlock (10) all reached dougle-figures in tackles for Bucknell. All three posted new career highs for tackles.
• Duquesne won the turnover battle 4-1.
• Bucknell and Duquesne combined to make 2 of 4 field goals.
• The Bison defense totaled 10 tackles for loss compared to four for Duquesne.
• Bucknell freshman Andrew Owers led the Bison in receptions and receiving yards for a second straight game to start his college career.
• By scoring with 11:37 left in the fourth quarter, Bucknell avoided being shut out for the first time since a 16-0 loss to Sacred Heart in 2013.

Career Highs Set vs. Duquesne
• Joey DeFloria: rushing yards (6), receptions (3), receiving yards (30), long reception (18), all-purpose yards (36)
• Clayton Ewell: tackles (14)
• Matthew Jegede: receiving yards (22), long reception (22), all-purpose yards (22)
• Colin Jonov: tackles (6)
• Jimmy King: fumble recoveries (1)
• Andrew Owers: receiving yards (74), long reception (38), all-purpose yards (74)
• Alex Pechin: punt average (41.0)
• Andrew Podbielski: receptions (1), receiving yards (5), long reception (5), all-purpose yards (5)
• Mark Pyles: tackles (7)
• Brian Regan: tackles (3), pass breakups (2)
• Ben Richard: tackles (12), tackles for loss (2.5)
• Doug Whitlock: tackles (10)

Bucknell vs. Ivy League
• Bucknell is 3-13 in its last 16 games vs. Ivy League teams.
• Bucknell is 39-102-3 all-time against Ivy League opponents.
• The Bison have won two in a row against Ivy League foes, defeating Cornell last September and Dartmouth in October 2013.
• Cornell is Bucknell's lone Ivy League opponent for the second consecutive year.

Patriot League vs. Ivy League
• All seven Patriot League teams are in action on Saturday and six of them will play an Ivy League opponent.
• The only Patriot League team not playing an Ivy League foe is Holy Cross, which travels to Towson.

Bucknell Success
• Bucknell is 14-5 in its last 19 games dating back to 2013.
• Bucknell is outscoring opponents 483-349 (25.4-18.4) during that 19-game stretch.
• Bucknell's record has been at or better than .500 since November 2013.
• Bucknell is 4-1 in its last five September games.

Road Openers
• Bucknell won its first road game of the season last year (22-0 at Marist).
• The Bison have won their first road game in two of the last three years.
• This is the third time in the last five years Bucknell's first road trip has been to Cornell.

Road Games
• Bucknell is 6-1 in its last seven road contests and 8-2 in its last 10.
• The Bison will play six of their final nine games this year on the road.
• Bucknell was 5-1 away from home last fall.

Turnovers
• After ranking among the best in the country in turnover margin in recent years, Bucknell is at -2.5 to rank 108th nationally.
• The Bison lost the turnover battle against both Marist and Duquesne.
• Bucknell has six turnovers (4 INT, 2 FUM) and has forced just one (1 FUM) this season.
• Bucknell has not won the turnover battle in a game since last November's contest against Fordham.

Variety of Receivers
• Already this year, Bucknell QB R.J. Nitti has completed passes to nine different receivers.
• In all of 2014, 10 different Bison caught passes.
• Freshman Andrew Owers has been the most productive receiver so far, catching nine passes for 133 yards.

Nitti Runs for Touchdowns
• QB R.J. Nitti has scored all three of Bucknell's touchdowns this season on runs of 1, 4 and 17 yards.
• Nitti entered this season having played in 11 career games and had not scored a rushing touchdown.
• Nitti has completed 30 of 63 passes for 378 yards in the season's first two games. He crossed the 2,000-yard mark for his career against Marist and now has 2,302.

First-Time Starters
• After there were six first-time starters in the Bucknell lineup in the season opener against Marist, no Bison made his first career start last week vs. Duquesne.
• This week junior Cary Hess is expected to make his first career start. He is listed first on the depth chart at center.
• Freshman CB Bryan Marine is also expected to make his first career start. He has one tackle in the first two games.

Williams Over 2,000 Yards
• Junior RB C.J. Williams rushed for 70 yards last week vs. Duquesne. It pushed his career rushing total to 2,001 yards.
• Williams ranks seventh in program history in rushing, just 40 yards behind sixth-place Daris Wilson (former QB 2001-04).
• Williams rushed 31 times for 131 yards in the season opener against Marist. It was his 10th career 100-yard performance.
• Williams is tied for fifth place in program history with Daris Wilson in 100-yard games.
• Williams has rushed for 100 yards in 50 percent of his career games (20), including six of his last 10 appearances.

Tackles for Loss
• Ben Richard (2.5), Clayton Ewell (2.0) and Doug Whitlock (2.0) combined for 6.5 tackles for loss last week vs. Duquesne.
• Bucknell has had 10 tackles for loss in each of its first two games.
• With 20 tackles for loss this season, the Bison rank tied for fourth nationally in that category.

Most Tackles for Loss
1. North Carolina Central - 22
2. South Carolina State - 21
    Samford - 21
4. Bucknell - 20
    Eastern Illinois - 20
    Texas Southern - 20

Susan Moving Up Lists
• Saturday's game will be sixth-year head coach Joe Susan's 58th at Bucknell. It will move him into sole possession of ninth place on the Bison's all-time games coached list. Next up for Susan is Bob Odell, who coached 63 games from 1958-64. Bucknell's head coaching position is named the Bob Odell Head Coach.
• Susan ranks 11th in program history in victories with 25, just one behind 10th-place Lou Maranzana.
• Susan was the 2014 Patriot League Coach of the Year, Bucknell's first honoree since Tom Gadd in 1997.

Robert Naylor Leads Team Out
• Bucknell senior DL Robert Naylor suffered a career-ending spinal injury last November against Lafayette. He returned to the Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium turf prior to the season opener vs. Marist when he led the Bison on their pregame walk from the locker room to the sideline.
• Naylor is expected to continue to lead the team on its walk from the locker room to the field throughout the season.
• Naylor, who is still involved with the program, posted 16 tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack in 14 career games.

Robert Naylor Feature online This Week
• STATS feature writer Kevin Chroust recently visited Lewisburg to gather information for a lengthy feature on Robert Naylor's experience since he suffered a career-ending spinal injury last November. His piece will run this week on http://www.fcs.football/.
• The feature will run in five parts with one being posted each day from Sept. 14 to Sept. 18.

Milestone Watch
• Will Carter: 160 receiving yards shy of 10th place on program's career list

35 Gamers
• The only two members of the Bison senior class to play in all 35 games over the last four years are safeties Clayton Ewell and Louis Taglianetti.
• Taglianetti is not listed on this week's depth chart.

Quick Hitters
• Nine of Bucknell's 11 opponents from 2014 remain on the Bison 2015 schedule. Duquesne and Army West Point took the place of Bryant and Sacred Heart.
• Bucknell will play a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent for the first time since playing Kent State in the 2001 season opener when it travels to Army West Point for a mid-October matchup.
• Bucknell played an FCS-record-tying three consecutive overtime games last November.
• Bucknell had 29 offensive plays of at least 25 yards last season.
• The average length of a Bison touchdown last fall was 23.6 yards.
• The Bison are 7-2 in their last nine games decided by a touchdown or less.
• In 2014, Bucknell scored 293 points, the fifth-most in program history.
• Bucknell is 20-4 in its last 24 games it has scored at least 20 points.
• Bucknell and its opponents have combined to make 3 of 8 field goals this season.

Up Next
• Bucknell will be idle next Saturday thanks to its bye week. The Bison will return to action Oct. 3 with a 1:30 p.m. game at VMI. Bucknell has defeated the Keydets each of the last two years and leads the all-time series 2-1.