Bucknell University Athletics
Football Back in Action Saturday at VMI
9/28/2015 1:54:00 PM | Football
What: Bucknell Bison (2-1, 0-0 PL) at VMI Keydets (1-3, 0-0 So. Con.)
Where: Foster Stadium, Lexington, Va.
When: Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015, 1:30 p.m.
Internet Video: ESPN3.com
Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 WEGH)
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Statistics: VMIKeydets.com
Probable Starters - Offense
QB 6 R.J. Nitti (Jr., 6-4, 230) - Seven completions shy of 200 in career
RB 4 C.J. Williams (Jr., 6-0, 210) - 11th career 100-yard rushing game last time vs. Cornell
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; 15 total starts
C 54 Cary Hess (Jr., 6-4, 290) - Made first career start at C last game 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) - 34 career games, 26 career starts
TE 87 Andrew Podbielski (So., 6-4, 240) - Started two of three 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) - Tied for sixth on team with 2 TFL this year
DE 15 Jimmy King (Sr., 6-1, 250) - Appeared in 25 straight games, 14 consecutive starts
Mike LB 29 Ben Richard (So., 6-1, 235) - Leads team in tackles (23) and TFL (6.0)
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 17 nationally in TFL per game (1.7)
FS 12 Bret Berg (Jr., 6-1, 200) - Started this year vs. Marist and at Cornell
WS 28 Connor Golden (So., 6-0, 195) - Missed season opener vs. Marist due to injury; 5 tackles last 2 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) - 6 tackles, INT in 1st career start at Cornell
With a Victory over VMI, Bucknell Would ...
• ... post its first winning streak of the season.
• ... win its first game after a bye week for a third consecutive time.
• ... defeat the Keydets for a third consecutive season.
• ... improve to 5-1 in its last six October games.
• ... improve to 16-5 in its last 21 games.
• ... help Joe Susan tie Pete Reynolds for ninth place on Bucknell's career wins list (27).
• ... guarantee an above-.500 non-league record in 2015.
About the Game
Bucknell makes its second trip in three years to VMI's Foster Stadium this Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. contest. The game will air live on ESPN3.com and it is Military Appreciation Day. The Keydets are coming off a three-point loss at Furman, a team that defeated UCF of the FBS. The Bison are coming off a bye week, but defeated Cornell in their first road game of the year two weeks ago. Bucknell has defeated VMI each of the last two years.
About VMI
• VMI is 1-3 overall and 0-1 in Southern Conference play.
• The average winning score in VMI's four games this season is 38.5 points.
• Freshman RB Brice Tucker leads the Keydets in rushing this season with 307 yards on 65 carries.
• 2014 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year Al Cobb has completed 94 of 158 passes for 1,120 yards and six touchdowns. He has also thrown nin interceptions.
• Sophomore LBs Ryan Francis and Allan Cratsenberg ared tied for the team lead with 39 tackles apiece. They have combined for five of the team's 17 tackles for loss.
• VMI was 2-10 last year with wins over Davidson and Furman.
Bucknell vs. VMI Series Notes
• Bucknell leads the all-time series 2-1.
• VMI won the first meeting in 1978 by a 25-14 score.
• The Bison have won the last two meetings in 2013 and 2014.
• Two of the first three games in the series have been played in Lexington.
• The average score for the winning team is 34.0 ppg.
Last Time vs. VMI
Bucknell 42, VMI 38 (Aug. 30, 2014 - Lewisburg, Pa.)
• Bucknell won its season opener for the seventh time in nine years.
• C.J. Williams ran for 164 yards on 17 carries.
• There were four ties in the contest and Bucknell never trailed.
• Bucknell had seven plays of at least 35 yards. Three of its six touchdowns were scored on plays of at least 50 yards.
• Three different Bison - Josh Brake, Matt DelMauro, C.J. Williams - scored two touchdowns apiece.
Inside the Cornell Box Score
• Bucknell won at Cornell for the first time since 1995, breaking a seven-game road losing streak in the series.
• The game was played within one score throughout.
• Bison RB C.J. Williams rushed 35 times for 133 yards, his 11th career 100-yard outing.
• Bucknell ran 30 more plays from scrimmage (77-47) than the Big Red and converted 10 of 20 third downs.
• Cornell was playing its season opener and it was Homecoming on the Ithaca, New York, campus.
• Bucknell DB Bryan Marine and OL Cary Hess made their first career starts.
• Bucknell's Will Carter made his return to the lineup after missing the first two games of the season. He caught a team-high seven passes for 65 yards and a touchdown.
• The Bison possessed the ball for 30:32 of a possible 45:00 over the final three quarters.
• The average length of Bucknell's three scoring drives was more than 15 plays. Cornell's longest drive of the game was 11 plays.
• At 2 hours, 33 minutes, it was Bucknell's fastest game of the year by seven minutes.
• Bucknell registered its first safety since a 2011 road game at Princeton.
• Bucknell won a game with less than 300 yards of total offense for the first time since defeating Georgetown 17-7 in the second-to-last game of the 2013 campaign.
Career Highs Set vs. Cornell
• Alan Butler: receptions (3), punt returns (2), punt return yards (18), long punt return (10), all-purpose yards (60)
• Nick Craven: tackles (1)
• Joey DeFloria: receptions (4), receiving touchdowns (1)
• Omar Garcia: tackles (1)
• Jimmy King: tackles (7), tackles for loss (3), sacks (2)
• Colby Klingerman: tackles (2)
• Bryan Marine: tackles (6), interceptions (1)
• Fisayo Oluleye: tackles (2)
• Alex Pechin: punt average (42.8), long punt (50), punt attempts (5)
• Andrew Podbielski: receptions (2)
• Mark Pyles: tackles for loss (0.5)
• Ben Richard: sacks (1)
• C.J. Williams: rushing attempts (35)
Bucknell vs. Southern Conference
• Bucknell is 6-3 all-time against teams that currently compose the Southern Conference: Furman (4-0), The Citadel (0-2) and VMI (2-1).
• The last time the Bison faced a Southern Conference opponent other than VMI was when they lost to The Citadel in the 1971 season opener.
Bison Following Bye
• Bucknell is 7-4 in its last 11 games following a bye week.
• The Bison had two bye weeks last year and won both games (at Sacred Heart, at Georgetown) following the week off.
• This is the fifth consecutive time a road game has followed Bucknell's bye week.
Bucknell Success
• Bucknell is 15-5 in its last 20 games dating back to 2013.
• Bucknell is outscoring opponents 502-363 (25.1-18.2) during that 20-game stretch.
• Bucknell's record has been at or better than .500 since November 2013.
• Bucknell is 4-1 in its last five October games.
• Bucknell has not lost back-to-back games since the first half of the 2013 campaign.
Road Games
• Bucknell is 7-1 in its last eight road contests and 9-2 in its last 11.
• The Bison are in the midst of playing six of their final nine games this year on the road.
• Bucknell was 5-1 away from home last fall and is 1-0 this season.
Strong Defense
• Bucknell ranks third nationally in total defense (249.3 ypg) and 12th nationally in rush defense (94.7 ypg).
• Two of Bucknell's first three opponents have not recorded 100 yards rushing and only Duquesne has gone over 300 yards of total offense.
• One key for the Bison has been pressure in the offensive backfield. Bucknell ranks fifth nationally with 9.0 tackles for loss per game and also has seven total sacks.
Large Crowd
• The crowd of 16,057 that watched Bucknell's last game at Cornell marked the fifth-largest attendance at a Bison contest in the last 20 years.
Highest Attendance at Bucknell Game (since 1995)
Nov. 18, 1995: Army 37, Bucknell 6 (at Army - 30,023)
Sept. 15, 2012: Delaware 19, Bucknell 3 (at Delaware - 18,118)
Oct. 21, 2000: Lehigh 21, Bucknell 14 (at Lehigh - 16,906)
Oct. 15, 2011: Harvard 42, Bucknell 3 (at Harvard - 16, 236)
Sept. 19, 2015: Bucknell 19, Cornell 14 (at Cornell - 16,057)
Another 100-Yard Game for Williams
• Junior RB C.J. Williams rushed for 133 yards last time out at Cornell. It was his 11th career 100-yard performance and his second this season.
• Williams is tied for fourth place in program history with Ken Jenkins in 100-yard games.
• Williams moved past 2,000 career yards earlier this year and now ranks sixth in program history with 2,134. He is 202 yards behind fifth-place Jenkins.
• Williams has rushed for 100 yards in 52.3 percent of his career games (21), including seven of his last 11 appearances.
Variety of Receivers
• Already this year, Bucknell QB R.J. Nitti has completed passes to 10 different receivers.
• In all of 2014, 10 different Bison caught passes.
• Six receivers (Andrew Owers, Bobby Kaslander, Will Carter, Joey DeFloria, C.J. Williams, Alan Butler) have between five and nine receptions.
20 Completions for Nitti
• Two weeks ago against Cornell, Bucknell junior QB R.J. Nitti completed 20 of 33 passes for 174 yards.
• It was Nitti's third career game with at least 20 completions (20 vs. Holy Cross in 2013 & 21 at Marist in 2014).
• Nitti has completed 193 passes for 2,476 yards in his career.
Tackles for Loss
• Bucknell has three players (Ben Richard - 6th, Jimmy King - 8th, Clayton Ewell - 17th) ranked in the top 20 nationally in tackles for loss.
• Bucknell is listed fifth nationally in tackles for loss per game (9.0).
Most Tackles for Loss per game
1. Alcorn State - 11.0
2. Columbia - 9.5
South Carolina State - 9.3
4. Grambling State - 9.1
5. Bucknell - 9.0
Susan Moving Up Lists
• Saturday's game will be sixth-year head coach Joe Susan's 59th 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 10th in program history with Lou Maranzana in victories with 26, just one behind ninth-place Pete Reynolds.
• Susan was the 2014 Patriot League Coach of the Year, Bucknell's first honoree since Tom Gadd in 1997.
DelMauro Named a Semifinalist for Campbell Trophy
• Bucknell senior RB Matt DelMauro was recently named a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation (NFF) William V. Campbell Trophy. DelMauro is one of 135 semifinalists across all divisions of college football.
• This is the 10th straight year a Bison has been named a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy.
• Bucknell's Travis Nissley was one of 16 finalists in 2010.
• DelMauro has more than 1,100 rushing yards in his career and more than 1,300 all-purpose yards. He has 13 rushes for 70 yards this season.
• DelMauro is an accounting and financial management major who was a Capital One Academic All-District and Academic All-Patriot League selection last fall.
Milestone Watch
• Will Carter: 95 receiving yards shy of 10th place on program's career list; 3 receptions shy of 10th place on program's career list
• Bobby Kaslander: 227 receiving yards shy of 1,000 for career
Up Next
• Bucknell will open Patriot League play Oct. 10 at home against Lehigh. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. The Bison have won two games in a row against the Mountain Hawks by a combined 93-34 score after losing 15 straight in the series from 1998 to 2012.
