Football Opens Season Saturday at Home vs. Marist

9/2/2015 1:36:00 PM | Football

By: TBD

What: Marist Red Foxes (0-0, 0-0 PFL) at Bucknell Bison (0-0, 0-0 PL)
Where: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
When: Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015, 6 p.m.
Tickets: 570-577-1000 or www.bucknell.edu/boxoffice
Internet Video: Patriot League Network
Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 WEGH)
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Statistics: BucknellBison.com

Probable Starters - Offense
QB 6 R.J. Nitti (Jr., 6-4, 230) - 13 TDs in 2014 were most by Bison QB since 2008
RB 4 C.J. Williams (Jr., 6-0, 210) - 2-time Second Team All-PL RB
FB 80 Andrew Owers (Fr., 6-3, 240) - Only freshman expected to start; came to Bucknell as TE
WR 2 Bobby Kaslander (Sr., 6-2, 200) - Third on team in both receptions (27) and yards (362) in 2014
WR 9 Matthew Jegede (Sr., 6-4, 212) - Played both WR and TE during career
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
C 62 Ned Bent (Jr., 6-2, 290) - Started 7 games at C as a freshman in 2013
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) - 31 career games, 23 career starts
TE 87 Andrew Podbielski (So., 6-4, 240) - Expected to make first career start

Probable Starters - Defense
DE 90 Doug Whitlock (So., 6-2, 250) - Played in all 11 games last year, 1 start vs. Sacred Heart
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) - 10 tackles in eight games in 2014
DE 15 Jimmy King (Sr., 6-1, 250) - Appeared in 22 straight games, 11 consecutive starts
Mike LB 29 Ben Richard (So., 6-1, 235) - 5 games played in 2014, first career start vs. Fordham
Sam LB 42 Mark Pyles (So., 6-0, 220) - Played in all 11 games last year, expected to make 1st start
SS 5 Clayton Ewell (Sr., 6-1, 195) - Second Team All-PL in 2014, Preseason All-PL selection
FS 12 Bret Berg (Jr., 6-1, 200) - Expected to make 1st career start, local product from Danville
WS 43 Louis Taglianetti (Sr., 5-11, 200) - Team co-captain along with Julie'n Davenport
CB 13 Colin Jonov (So., 5-11, 195) - One of only two freshmen to start last year's season opener
CB 22 Brian Regan (Sr., 5-9, 195) - Played both CB and RB during career

With a Victory over Marist, Bucknell Would ...
• ... win its season opener for the eighth time in the last 10 years.
• ... improve to 90-39-1 all-time in season openers.
• ... win five consecutive season openers for the first time since 1995 to 1999.
• ... improve to 96-32-1 all-time in home openers.
• ... win its home opener for the third straight year and fourth time in five years.
• ... win a sixth consecutive home season opener (2006, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014).
• ... win for the 14th time in 18 games dating back to 2013.
• ... snap a two-game home losing streak.
• ... stretch its September winning streak to four games.
• ... defeat the Red Foxes for a fifth consecutive season.

About the Game
Bucknell will play Marist in its season opener for the third time in the last four years. The Bison have been strong in season openers, winning each of the last four years (2011 vs. Duquesne, 2012 at Marist, 2013 vs. Marist, 2014 vs. VMI). Bucknell won last year's matchup against Marist by a 22-0 score in Poughkeepsie, New York, and will look to extend its 9-1 series edge. The Bison are 13-4 in their last 17 games and will try to build on the recent success, which included a second-place finish in the Patriot League standings in 2014. Bucknell, which is opening its 130th season, has had tremendous success in season openers, owning an 89-39-1 all-time mark in the first game of the year. The Bison are a strong 7-2 in openers since 2006. Marist will be aiming for its first win in a season opener since 2012.

Two Players Suspended
Bucknell head football coach Joe Susan has announced the suspension of two student-athletes for violating team policy. Junior wide receiver Will Carter will be suspended from the first two games of the 2015 season. Junior defensive back Nick O'Brien will be suspended indefinitely. Coach Susan will have no further comment on the nature of the suspensions.

About Marist
• Marist was 4-7 overall and 4-4 in Pioneer Football League play last year. The Red Foxes tied for fourth place in the conference.
• Marist last had a winning record in 2013 when it posted an 8-3 mark and tied for the Pioneer Football League title.
• Marist opens the 2015 campaign with back-to-back road contests against Patriot League opponents. The Red Foxes play at Georgetown next Saturday.

Bucknell vs. Marist Series Notes
• Bucknell holds a 9-1 edge in the series that has been contested every year since 2005.
• Bucknell owns an undefeated 5-0 advantage in Lewisburg.
• Marist has never scored 20 points vs. Bucknell and is averaging just 12.5 points per game in the series.
• Bucknell posted its first shutout (22-0) since 2011 last year against Marist.
• Along with Cornell, Marist is one of two non-league teams that have been on Bucknell's schedule every year since 2005.
• This is the third time in four years Marist is Bucknell's season-opening opponent.

Last Time vs. Marist
Bucknell 22, Marist 0 (Sept. 6, 2014 - Poughkeepsie, N.Y.)
• Bucknell posted its first shutout since 2011.
• Eight different Bison caught passes, led by Bobby Kaslander's six receptions for 80 yards.
• Bucknell RB C.J. Williams rushed for a game-high 161 yards.
• Bucknell dominated the time of possession 36:15-23:45. The Bison had control of the ball for 10:07 in the first quarter and 12:30 in the fourth quarter.
• Bison WR Josh Brake had five catches for 34 yards, pushing his career total (1,017) over the 1,000-yard plateau.

Season Openers
• Bucknell is 89-39-1 in season-opening contests. The Bison are 7-2 in their last nine season openers.
• Bucknell has won four consecutive season openers by a combined 20 points.
• Bucknell has faced Duquesne (six times), Marist (two times) and VMI (one time) in its last nine season openers.

Bucknell vs. Pioneer Football League
• Bucknell is 26-5 all-time against teams that currently compose the Pioneer Football League: Davidson (15-3), Dayton (2-1) and Marist (9-1).

Team Captains
• Junior OL Julie'n Davenport and senior S Louis Taglianetti were elected team captains last spring.
• Davenport is a two-year starter at left tackle and is a two-time All-Patriot League selection. He was a Preseason All-Patriot League choice this year.
• Taglianetti is a two-year starter at safety who has piled up 124 career tackles, including a career-high 62 last fall.

130th Season
• Bucknell opens its 130th season of football Saturday vs. Marist. Only Princeton (146), Yale (143), Harvard (141), Penn (139), Dartmouth (134), Lafayette (134), Lehigh (132) and Richmond (132) have played longer among current FCS teams. Bucknell ranks 19th among all FCS programs with 588 all-time victories.

2014 Success
• Bucknell had its longest unbeaten start (4-0) to a season since 1997 (10-0).
• Bucknell was one of the final nine unbeaten teams in all of FCS.
• Bucknell opened a campaign with at least a 7-1 mark for just the fifth time in program history, joining the 1924, 1929, 1951 and 1997 squads.
• Bucknell has its most wins (8) since posting setting the school record with 10 victories in 1997.
• Bucknell reached the eight-win plateau for just the fifth time in program history.
• Bucknell had its longest undefeated Patriot League start (3-0) since 2001.
• The Bison finished alone in second place in the Patriot League standings for the first time since 1997.
• Bucknell was one of the final 11 teams nationally to be undefeated in conference play.
• Bucknell is 13-4 in its last 17 games, outscoring opponents 459-323 (27.0-19.0) during that stretch.
• Bucknell had its longest home winning streak (5) since 2000 snapped late in the season against Fordham.

All-Patriot League
• Bucknell had nine players named All-Patriot League last fall and five of them return in 2015.
• First-team selections WR Will Carter and OL Julie'n Davenport return, as do second-team picks DL Abdullah Anderson, S Clayton Ewell and RB C.J. Williams.
• Anderson, Carter, Davenport, Ewell, OL Ramy Kased and Williams were named Preseason All-Patriot League, tying Bucknell for the most honorees in the league.
• Bucknell has had 23 All-Patriot League selections the last three years and 15 of them have returned the following season.

Head Coach Joe Susan
• Bucknell head coach Joe Susan enters his sixth year on the Bison sideline.
• Susan was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year last fall after guiding the Bison to their best season since 1997.
• Susan was Bucknell's first PL Coach of the Year since Tom Gadd in 1997.
• Susan ranks 10th in program history in games coached (55), two behind ninth-place Fred Prender.

Coaching Staff Consistency
• Bucknell head coach Joe Susan oversees a robust group of 12 coaches and support staff. Only one member of the staff left during the offseason - administrative coordinator Eric Hahn to Columbia. He was replaced by Tim Wait, a 2008 graduate of Moravian who spent the last four years coaching at his alma mater.

Robert Naylor Leads Team Out
• Bucknell senior DL Robert Naylor suffered a career-ending spinal injury last November against Lafayette. He will return to the Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium turf Saturday when he will lead the Bison on their pregame walk from the locker room to the sideline.
• Naylor, who is still involved with the program, posted 16 tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack in 14 career games.

Depth Chart Analysis
• Bucknell has 13 regular starters back from last year's team, including six on offense and seven on defense.
• Bison expected to make their first career starts on Saturday include: S Bret Berg, FB Andrew Owers, TE Andrew Podbielski, LB Mark Pyles, CB Brian Regan and DL Ben Schumacher.
• Bucknell is expected to start eight seniors, seven juniors, six sophomores and one freshman.
• Julie'n Davenport, Clayton Ewell, Ramy Kased and Louis Taglianetti enter the year each having started 22 consecutive games. All four are expected to start on Saturday.
• Bucknell's 22 expected starters have combined for 176 career starting assignments, the lowest total of any projected opening-day lineup since Joe Susan became head coach in 2010.

Back-to-Back Winning Seasons
• Bucknell's 8-3 record last year marked the second straight year the Bison finished above .500.
• It is the first time the Bison have finished above .500 in back-to-back years since 2000 and 2001.

33 Gamers
• The only two members of the Bison senior class to play in all 33 games over the last three years are safeties Clayton Ewell and Louis Taglianetti.

Night Games
• Bucknell is 20-17 in night games (6 p.m. or later starts) since 2000.
• The Bison were 3-1 at night last year and are scheduled to play two night games (vs. Marist, vs. Duquesne) this year.

100-Yard Games
• Junior RB C.J. Williams enters the 2015 season ranked 10th on Bucknell's career rushing yards list with 1,800. He is sixth in program history with nine career 100-yard rushing outings.
• Junior WR Will Carter is tied for seventh in school history with four career 100-yard receiving games.

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.
• Six of Bucknell's last nine games will be on the road.
• 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's 11 2015 opponents posted a combined 48-80 (.375) record in 2014.
• Bucknell has forced 100 turnovers over the last four years (2.3 per game), including 39 in 2011 to rank second nationally.
• 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.

Radio Coverage
• Once again, Bucknell football games can be heard locally on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM). Doug Birdsong will handle the play-by-play duties, while Kevin Herr, an employee of Sunbury Broadcasting, will serve as color analyst for an eighth consecutive year. The radio broadcasts are also available free of charge via BucknellBison.com.
• Bucknell's games against Lehigh (Oct. 10), Fordham (Nov. 7), Holy Cross (Nov. 14) and Colgate (Nov. 21) will air on Heritage Sports Radio Network, which features a Game of the Week broadcast nationally on Sirius/XM satellite radio.

Video Broadcasts
• Fans will be able to watch the majority of Bucknell's games via various sources:
• All five of Bucknell's home games, as well as road contests at Lafayette, Fordham and Colgate, will be broadcast online via the Patriot League Network. Patriot League Network contests can be watched at PatriotLeague.tv. The Oct. 31 game at Lafayette will also be televised on the American Sports Network.
• Road games at Cornell and VMI will have live video through the home team's video platform.
• The Oct. 17 contest at Army West Point will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.

Up Next
• Bucknell will conclude its season-opening two-game homestand with a 6 p.m. contest next Saturday, Sept. 12, against Duquesne. It will be the first meeting between the Bison and Dukes since 2011. Bucknell holds a 10-5 edge in the all-time series that began in 1933.