Bucknell University Athletics
Football Hosts Duquesne Saturday at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium
9/8/2015 12:30:00 PM | Football
What: Duquesne Dukes (1-0, 0-0 NEC) at Bucknell Bison (1-0, 0-0 PL)
Where: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
When: Saturday, Sept. 12, 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
Related Videos:
Bucknell vs. Marist Recap
Bucknell vs. Marist Field Level Highlights
Probable Starters - Offense
QB 6 R.J. Nitti (Jr., 6-4, 230) - Passed 2,000 career passing yards last week
RB 4 C.J. Williams (Jr., 6-0, 210) - 10th career 100-yard rushing game last week
FB 80 Andrew Owers (Fr., 6-3, 240) - Led team in receptions and receiving yards vs. Marist
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; 13 total starts
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) - 32 career games, 24 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) - 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) - Second career sack last week vs. Marist
DE 15 Jimmy King (Sr., 6-1, 250) - Appeared in 23 straight games, 12 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, made 1st start last week vs. Marist
SS 5 Clayton Ewell (Sr., 6-1, 195) - Second Team All-PL in 2014, Preseason All-PL selection
FS 43 Louis Taglianetti (Sr., 5-11, 200) - Team co-captain along with Julie'n Davenport
WS 28 Connor Golden (So., 6-0, 195) - Missed last week's game due to injury
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 Duquesne, Bucknell Would ...
• ... open its season 2-0 for the second straight year.
• ... improve to 7-2 in its last nine games at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
• ... improve to 15-4 in its last 19 games.
• ... stretch its September winning streak to five games.
• ... defeat the Dukes for a second straight time (most recent meeting was 2011).
About the Game
Bucknell and Duquesne enter Saturday's game with matching 1-0 records. The Bison posted a 17-0 shutout of Marist to pick up its victory, while the Dukes defeated NAIA opponent Kentucky Christian by a 47-7 score last Saturday in Pittsburgh. This will be Bucknell's last home game for nearly a month, while Duquesne is starting a three-game road trip. The Bison are 14-4 in their last 18 games and are 6-2 in their last eight home contests. Duquesne is coming off a 6-6 campaign and was 1-4 on the road last year.
About Duquesne
• Duquesne is 1-0 this year thanks to a 47-7 home victory over NAIA opponent Kentucky Christian last week. The Dukes led 37-0 at halftime.
• Duquesne ranks in the top 10 nationally in rushing offense, total offense, scoring defense and turnover margin.
• Five different Dukes scored at least one touchdown last week.
• Nine different Duquesne players were credited with at least one rushing attempt last week, while eight different players had at least one reception. Three players attempted passes.
• Duquesne will play its next three games on the road against Bucknell, Dayton and Albany.
Bucknell vs. Duquesne Series Notes
• This is the 16th all-time meeting between Bucknell and Duquesne. The Bison lead the series 10-5.
• Bucknell has won 10 of the 13 meetings since 1997, including six of the last eight.
• Bucknell is 7-0 against Duquesne at home and 3-5 on the road.
• This is the first meeting between Bucknell and Duquesne since 2011 after they played each other six straight years from 2006 to 2011.
• The teams played in 1933 and 1934 before taking a 63-year break in the series. Fourteen of the 16 games in the series have been played since 1997.
Last Time vs. Duquesne
Bucknell 27, Duquesne 26 (Sept. 3, 2011 - Lewisburg, Pa.)
• Jeremiah Young ran 19 times for 105 yards for Bucknell. He became the first Bison in two years to rush for 100 yards.
• Brandon Wesley dove into the end zone on a fourth-down, one-yard run with 57 seconds remaining to clinch the victory for Bucknell.
• Josh Eden blocked his seventh career extra point, tying Tim Hauck (Montana, 1987-89) for the top spot in FCS history.
• Bucknell started an all-senior offensive line.
• Twenty-one of Bucknell's 27 points came inside the final two minutes of each half.
Battle of Past Orange Bowl Champs
• Saturday's Bucknell-Duquesne matchup is a battle of former Orange Bowl champions. Bucknell defeated Miami (Fla.) 26-0 in the very first Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 1935. On New Year's Day in 1937, Duquesne defeated Mississippi State 13-12 in Orange Bowl No. 3.
Inside the Marist Box Score
• Bucknell posted a shutout of Marist for the second straight year.
• C.J. Williams ran for 131 yards - 114 of which came in the second half - to record his 10th career 100-yard outing.
• After totaling just 111 yards of total offense in the first half, Bucknell recorded 260 in the second half, including 162 on the ground.
• Bucknell's three scoring drives totaled 36 plays and took 18:11 off the clock. The Bison's other nine drives featured 41 plays and were less than 18 combined minutes in length.
• Four different Bison (Abdullah Anderson, Clayton Ewell, Jimmy King, Ben Schumacher) recorded a sack.
• Bucknell held Marist to 161 yards of total offense, including just 21 rushing yards.
• Three field goals were blocked in the game, including two by the Bison (Abdullah Anderson, Clayton Ewell).
• Robert Naylor, who is recovering from a spine injury suffered last season, led the Bison onto the field at the start of the game.
• Bucknell's defense totaled 10 tackles for loss.
• Bucknell improved to 10-1 all-time vs. Marist.
• R.J. Nitti scored the first two rushing touchdowns of his career for Bucknell.
• Bucknell was 11-for-18 on third downs, while Marist was 1-for-12.
• Bucknell's nine pass breakups were its most against any opponent since at least 2001.
• R.J. Nitti threw for 188 yards and crossed the 2,000-yard plateau for his career (2,112).
Career Highs Set vs. Marist
• Abdullah Anderson: tackles for loss (2), sacks (1), blocked field goals (1)
• Bret Berg: tackles (7), pass breakups (3)
• John Burdick: PATs (2), field goals (1), long field goal (30), points (5)
• Alan Butler: receptions (2), receiving yards (44), long reception (31), punt returns (1), punt return yards (8), long punt return (8), all-purpose yards (52)
• Joey DeFloria: rushing attempts (2), rushing yards (5), long rush (4), all-purpose yards (5)
• Clayton Ewell: blocked field goals (1)
• Bobby Kaslander: punt returns (3), punt return yards (37), long punt return (16)
• Colby Klingerman: receptions (2), receiving yards (23), long reception (12), all-purpose yards (23), tackles (1)
• Joe Lauro: tackles (1)
• Bryan Marine: tackles (1)
• R.J. Nitti: rushing yards (21), long rush (24), rushing TDs (2)
• Andrew Owers: receptions (5), receiving yards (59), long reception (21), all-purpose yards (59)
• Alex Pechin: punt average (40.2), long punt (49), punt attempts (4)
• Mark Pyles: tackles (5), pass breakups (1)
• Ben Richard: tackles (5), tackles for loss (1), pass breakups (1)
• R.J. Sheldon: tackles (2), tackles for loss (2)
Bucknell vs. Northeast Conference
• Bucknell is 14-7 all-time against teams that are current members of the Northeast Conference: Bryant (1-1), Duquesne (10-5), Robert Morris (2-0) and Sacred Heart (1-1).
• Bucknell defeated Northeast Conference member Sacred Heart 36-20 and lost to conferencemate Bryant (34-15) last year.
Bucknell Success
• Bucknell is 14-4 in its last 18 games dating back to 2013. The last time the Bison won at least 14 games in an 18-game stretch was 1997 to 1998.
• Bucknell is outscoring opponents 476-323 (26.4-17.9) during that 18-game stretch.
• Bucknell is 6-2 in its last eight home contests.
• Bucknell was one of four teams in the Patriot League to win last week.
• The Bison have won their season opener five straight years for the first time since 1995-99.
Shutouts
• Thanks to its 17-0 win last Saturday, Bucknell has now shut out Marist two consecutive seasons.
• This is the first time the Bison have had shutouts in back-to-back seasons since 1982 and 1983. Bucknell posted shutouts against Rochester and Davidson in 1982 and against Howard in 1983.
• The Bison had not shut out an opponent in back-to-back years since blanking Rochester in both 1981 and 1982.
Bucknell's Most Recent Shutouts
Sept. 5, 2015 - Bucknell 17, Marist 0
Sept. 6, 2014 - Bucknell 22, Marist 0
Nov. 12, 2011 - Bucknell 21, Fordham 0
Oct. 20, 2001 - Bucknell 34, Georgetown 0
Nov. 15, 1997 - Bucknell 33, Towson State 0
Defense vs. Marist
• Marist has not scored against Bucknell in more than nine quarters (135:35) and has amassed just 299 yards of total offense against the Bison the last two years.
• Marist managed to record just 161 yards of total offense as the Bison defense posted four sacks and 10 tackles for loss.
• Bucknell limited Marist to 21 rushing yards, giving the Red Foxes 40 total rushing yards in the last two meetings.
Bucknell's Fewest Yards Allowed Under Joe Susan (since 2010)
1. 138 - at Marist (9/6/14)
2. 161 - vs. Marist (9/5/15)
3. 171 - vs. Georgetown (11/16/13)
4. 192 - at Lafayette (10/29/11)
5. 194 - at Colgate (11/2/13)
Season Openers
• Thanks to last week's win over Marist, Bucknell is now 90-39-1 in season-opening contests. The Bison are 8-2 in their last 10 season openers.
• Bucknell has won five consecutive season openers by a combined 37 points.
• Bucknell has faced Duquesne (six times), Marist (three times) and VMI (one time) in its last 10 season openers.
Rookie Production
• Bucknell had eight freshmen appear in last Saturday's game vs. Marist.
• TE/FB Andrew Owers was the only Bison rookie to earn a start.
• Owers and classmate Alan Butler combined to make seven of Bucknell's 15 catches and totaled 103 of the team's 188 receiving yards.
Susan Moving Up Lists
• Saturday's game will be sixth-year head coach Joe Susan's 57th at Bucknell. It will tie him for ninth place on the Bison's all-time games coached list with Fred Prender (1969-74).
• 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.
Team Captains
• Junior OL Julie'n Davenport and senior S Louis Taglianetti were elected team captains last spring.
• Davenport is in his third year as 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 also in his third year as a starter at safety who has piled up 127 career tackles, including three in the season opener against Marist.
100-Yard Game for Williams
• Junior RB C.J. Williams rushed 31 times for 131 yards last week vs. Marist. It was his 10th career 100-yard rushing performance.
• Williams is tied for fifth place in program history with former QB Daris Wilson (2001-04) in 100-yard games.
• Williams has rushed for 100 yards in more than 50 percent of his career games (19), including six of his last nine appearances.
• Williams now ranks seventh on Bucknell's career rushing list with 1,931 yards.
• Last week's 131-yard performance marked the seventh-most yards Williams has rushed for in a game.
Berg Makes Most of Start
• Danville native Bret Berg made his first career start last week vs. Marist.
• The junior totaled a career-high seven tackles, including three on the game's first drive, and posted a career-high three pass breakups.
• Berg's three pass breakups were the most by a Bison player since current senior Clayton Ewell had three in a 2013 game against Lehigh.
Depth Chart Changes
• Bucknell had minimal changes to its depth chart this week.
• The two reserve wide receivers (Colby Klingerman and Alan Butler) changed which receiver position they are backing up.
• Connor Golden, who was injured in week one, is now the starting weak safety, while Louis Taglianetti has moved back to his customary free safety starting spot.
• Bret Berg, who started at free safety against Marist, is now in a reserve role.
130th Season
• Bucknell opened its 130th season of football last 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 589 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 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.
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 last Saturday when he led 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 who made their first career starts last Saturday included: 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, six juniors, seven sophomores and one freshman this week.
• Julie'n Davenport, Clayton Ewell, Ramy Kased and Louis Taglianetti have each started 23 consecutive games. All four are expected to start on Saturday.
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.
34 Gamers
• The only two members of the Bison senior class to play in all 34 games over the last four years are safeties Clayton Ewell and Louis Taglianetti.
Night Games
• Bucknell is 21-17 in night games (6 p.m. or later starts) since 2000.
• The Bison were 3-1 at night last year
• Saturday's game vs. Duquesne is the final night game of the year for Bucknell, which defeated Marist in a night game last week.
Up Next
• Bucknell will hit the road for the first time this season when it travels to Ithaca, New York, for a meeting with Cornell next Saturday. It will be Homecoming at Cornell and it will be the Big Red's season opener. Cornell was 1-9 a year ago, but leads the all-time series with the Bison 42-12. Bucknell last year posted its first win over the Big Red since 2006.
