Football Returns to Patriot League Play Saturday at No. 21/24 Lehigh
11/1/2016 3:53:00 PM | Football
What: Bucknell Bison (3-5, 2-1 PL) at No. 21/24 Lehigh Mountain Hawks (7-2, 4-0 PL)
Where: Goodman Stadium, Bethlehem, Pa.
When: Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, 12:30 p.m.
Internet Video: Patriot League Network
Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 WEGH)
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Statistics: LehighSports.com
Probable Starters - Offense
QB 6 R.J. Nitti (Sr., 6-6, 230) - 115 passing yards shy of 5,000 for career
RB 23 Joey DeFloria (Jr., 5-9, 195) - Four 100-yard rushing games this season
FB 88 Marcus Ademilola (So., 6-3, 225) - Expected to make first career start at FB/TE (1 start at WR)
WR 18 Will Carter (Sr., 5-11, 180) - Owns Bucknell records for career receptions and receiving yards
WR 2 Alan Butler (So., 6-1, 180) - Multiple receptions in all seven games played this season
LT 70 Julie'n Davenport (Sr., 6-7, 315) - 3-time All-Patriot League selection; 41 straight starts
LG 66 Devlin Brennan (Sr., 6-4, 310) - 35 career games played, started all 11 games at RG in 2015
C 62 Ned Bent (Sr., 6-2, 290) - Started 5 games at C in 2015, 34 career games played
RG 54 Cary Hess (Sr., 6-4, 295) - Four straight starts, 22 career games played
RT 63 Griff Barth (Sr., 6-4, 290) - Moved to RT from RG Oct. 22 vs. Lafayette
TE 87 Andrew Podbielski (Jr., 6-4, 230) - First career TD reception Oct. 22 vs. Lafayette
Probable Starters - Defense
DE 90 Doug Whitlock (Jr., 6-2, 250) - 14.5 of 63 career tackles have been for loss
DT 40 Abdullah Anderson (Jr., 6-4, 295) - 2-time All-Patriot League selection; started all 30 games of career
NG 96 Troy Glenn (Sr., 6-1, 270) - Five straight starts before Lafayette game on Oct. 22
DE 48 R.J. Sheldon (Sr., 6-3, 235) - Had game-clinching sack Oct. 8 at Holy Cross
Mike LB 29 Ben Richard (Jr., 6-1, 240) - Second Team All-PL in 2015; Top 10 in PL in tackles, TFL, sacks
Sam LB 5 Mark Pyles (Jr., 6-0, 220) - Preseason All-PL, second on team with 143 career tackles
SS 26 Joe Lauro (So., 5-11, 200) - 3 double-figure tackle games this season
FS 12 Bret Berg (Sr., 6-1, 205) - Averaged 9.6 tackles from Sept. 10 to Oct. 15
WS 43 Connor Golden (Jr., 6-0, 200) - Second career multi-INT game last week
CB 9 Bryan Marine (So., 5-9, 175) - Most pass breakups (11) by a Bison since 2004
CB 8 Nick O'Brien (Sr., 5-9, 180) - 24 career starts, 135 career tackles
Specialists
PK 93 John Burdick (Jr., 6-0, 195) - 10-for-10 on XP the last two weeks
KO 93 John Burdick (Jr., 6-0, 195) - Averaging 57.8 yards on 26 kickoffs this season
P 12 Bret Berg (Sr., 6-1, 205) - Starting safety, first time as starting punter Oct. 22 vs. Lafayette
PR 8 Nick O'Brien (Sr., 5-9, 180) - Third in PL with 8.9 punt return average
KR 8 Nick O'Brien (Sr., 5-9, 180) - Leads team with 24.8 kick return average
9 Bryan Marine (So., 5-9, 175) - Returned first three kicks of career vs. Colgate (23.3 avg.)
LS 58 Dillon Paprota (Fr., 5-11, 225) - In first year as long snapper
H 11 Alexander Romango (Sr., 6-2, 230) - Also a backup QB
With a Victory over Lehigh, Bucknell Would ...
• ... keep its chances for a Patriot League title alive.
• ... equal its win total from all of 2015.
• ... defeat the Mountain Hawks three times in a four-year span for the first time since 1994 to 1997.
• ... exceed its Patriot League win total from 2015.
• ... clinch at least a .500 finish in Patriot League play.
• ... snap a four-game November losing streak.
• ... defeat a nationally ranked opponent for the first time since upending the No. 15 Mountain Hawks in 2013.
• ... help Joe Susan tie Tim Landis for seventh place on the Bucknell career wins list with 32.
About the Game
Bucknell returns to Patriot League play after traveling to Charleston Southern last week for its final non-conference game of the season. The Bison lost to the No. 9-ranked Buccaneers by a 49-28 score, but have won two of their first three Patriot League contests. Bucknell has been strong offensively the last two weeks, averaging 35.0 points per game. Lehigh enters Saturday's contest ranked No. 21/24 nationally and has won seven games in a row since dropping its first two to start the season. The Mountain Hawks are ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense (5th - 42.2 ppg), passing offense (5th - 336.7 ypg) and total offense (7th - 504.4 ypg). A win on Saturday will clinch at least a share of the Patriot League title for Lehigh, which has a bye next week and faces rival Lafayette in its final contest of the season on Nov. 19.
Broadcast Options
• Doug Birdsong and Kevin Herr will call all the action on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3) and BucknellBison.com.
• A free live video broadcast will be available on the Patriot League Network (PatriotLeague.tv). The broadcast will be produced by Campus Insiders.
• Lehigh's radio broadcast can be heard on ESPN Radio in the Lehigh Valley.
About Lehigh
• Lehigh is 7-2 overall and is 4-0 in Patriot League play.
• The Mountain Hawks are the only Patriot League team still undefeated in conferene play.
• Lehigh lost its first two games of the season to Monmouth and Villanova by a combined seven points. Since then, the Mountain Hawks have won seven in a row and outscored their opponents by more than 23 points per game.
• Lehigh's seven-game winning streak is tied for the third-longest in the nation. Only Sam Houston State and The Citadel have longer streaks (8).
• Oct. 24 & 31 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week Dom Bragalone leads Lehigh with 910 rushing yards this season. He has 13 total touchdowns this year.
• Senior Nick Shafnisky has completed 145 passes for 1,916 yards and 16 touchdowns this season. He has started seven of the team's nine games at quarterback.
• Juniors Gatlin Casey (948) and Troy Pelletier (937) are both closing in on 1,000 receiving yards this season. They have combined for 21 touchdown catches with Casey's 12 ranked second nationally.
• Senior LB Evan Harvey leads Lehigh with 54 tackles this season.
• Eleven different Mountain Hawks have recorded at least 0.5 sacks this year.
Bucknell vs. Lehigh Series Notes
• Lehigh leads 45-31-3.
• Lehigh won 15 straight games with an average margin of victory of more than 23 points before Bucknell snapped that streak with a 48-10 victory in 2013 at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
• Bucknell won the 2013 and 2014 meetings by a combined 93-34 score.
• Bucknell's wins in 2013 and 2014 marked the first time the Bison defeated Lehigh in back-to-back years since 1996 and 1997.
• The winning team has scored at least 30 points in 13 of the last 18 meetings and at least 40 points eight times over that span.
• Last year's meeting (Lehigh 21-10) marked the lowest-scoring game in the series since 2002 (Lehigh 24-0).
• Bucknell and Lehigh have met every year since 1950.
• Lehigh (79 games) is Bucknell's second-most-common opponent behind Lafayette (94 games).
Last Time vs. Lehigh
Lehigh 21, Bucknell 10 (Oct. 10, 2015 - Lewisburg, Pa.)
• Lehigh's 21 points marked the lowest winning score in the series since 2001 when the Mountain Hawks defeated the Bison 21-14.
• The 11-point final margin was the closest in a Bucknell-Lehigh contest since 2001.
• Bucknell had 148 yards of total offense on its two scoring drives and 85 yards on its other eight drives.
• Lehigh possessed the ball for more than 19 minutes in the second half, including more than 11 minutes in the fourth quarter.
• Lehigh ran 82 offensive plays compared to 55 for Bucknell.
• Bucknell had four players reach double figures in tackles for the second straight week, led by 13 stops by Mark Pyles.
• Bucknell's defense posted four sacks in a game for the fourth time in 2015.
Inside the Charleston Southern Box Score
• Bucknell faced a ranked opponent for the first time in 2016.
• Bucknell flew to a game for the first time since playing at St. Mary's (Calif.) in 2002.
• Bucknell scored first and was within two touchdowns until the final minute of the third quarter.
• All 77 points scored came on touchdowns. Neither team attempted a field goal.
• Charleston Southern averaged 19.5 yards per pass completion. Bucknell averaged 8.1
• Bucknell QB R.J. Nitti completed 18 of 29 passes for 154 yards and moved into third place on the program's career passing yards list (4,885).
• Connor Golden recorded his second career multi-interception game with two picks in the contest. Bucknell won the turnover battle 3-2.
• Charleston Southern committed 15 penalties for 131 yards. Bucknell was flagged just once for five yards.
• The two teams combined to convert 20 of 30 third and fourth downs.
• The two teams were a combined 8-for-8 (with eight touchdowns) inside the red zone.
• Each team had two quarters with 10+ minutes time of possession. The Bison had the ball for 10:58 in the first quarter and 11:41 in the fourth quarter. The Buccaneer had the ball for 10:54 in the second quarter and 10:36 in the third quarter.
• Bucknell played without starting wide receivers Will Carter and Alan Butler, but still had seven different players catch passes. Kyle Kinner led the way with five receptions for 79 yards.
• Charleston Southern's defense posted 12 TFL and three sacks. Bucknell registered three TFL and zero sacks.
• The game marked the latest non-league contest for Bucknell since it played VMI in the 2013 season finale on Nov. 23.
Bucknell vs. Ranked Opponents
• Saturday's game will be Bucknell's second straight against a ranked opponent.
• It marks the first time the Bison will face ranked opponents in back-to-back weeks since taking on No. 21 Harvard and No. 7 Lehigh in consecutive games in October 2012.
• Bucknell's most recent win over a ranked foe was Oct. 26, 2013 when it posted a 48-10 win over No. 15 Lehigh.
• Bucknell is 1-9 in its last 10 games against ranked opponents.
• Bucknell has five wins over ranked foes since 2000.
Bucknell's Wins Over Ranked Teams (since 2000)
Bucknell 31, No. 14 Fordham 10 (Oct. 4, 2003)
Bucknell 42, No. 22 Colgate 7 (Nov. 13, 2004)
Bucknell 38, No. 18 Fordham 24 (Nov. 17, 2007)
Bucknell 23, No. 13 Holy Cross 17 (Nov. 21, 2009)
Bucknell 48, No. 15 Lehigh 10 (Oct. 26, 2013)
Scoring Offense
• Bucknell has scored 20 points in back-to-back games for the first time since late in the 2014 season.
• The 70 points the Bison have scored over the last two games marks their best two-game total since scoring 35 at VMI in the final game of 2013 and 42 vs. VMI in the opening game of 2014.
• It is the third-most points Bucknell has scored in consecutive games since Joe Susan took over as head coach in 2010.
Bucknell's Most Points in Back-to-Back Games (since 2010)
1. 77 - 35 at VMI in 2013 & 42 vs. VMI in 2014
2. 76 - 48 vs. Lehigh & 28 at Colgate in 2013
3. 70 - 42 vs. Lafayette & 28 at Charleston Southern in 2016
4. 69 - 34 at Princeton & 35 vs. Georgetown in 2011
5. 67 - 45 at Lehigh & 22 at Georgetown in 2014
Increased Offense
• Bucknell has already scored more points in 2016 than it did in all of 2015 (176-172).
• The Bison are averaging 22.0 points per game, compared to 15.6 last fall.
• Bucknell has scored 41 points off turnovers this year, compared to 23 in 2015.
• The Bison have forced 16 turnovers this year, one more than in all of 2015.
New Starters
• Bucknell has had 16 first-time starters this season: Griff Barth, Justin Bethea, Sam Chitty, Joey DeFloria, Trevor Fennimore, Jon Fox, Troy Glenn, Jack Horan, Trey Johnson, Alex Jordan, Joe Lauro, Stefone Moore-Green, Matt Muh, Fisayo Oluleye, Brice Sydnor and Chase Watkins.
Victory Margin
• Bucknell's 25-point margin of victory Oct. 22 vs. Lafayette marked its largest since defeating Lehigh 48-10 in 2013.
• Bucknell had 17 wins in between those two victories and they were by an average of 11.2 points.
• Since Joe Susan took over as head coach in 2010, Bucknell has had four wins by 25+ points and three of them are against opponents from the Lehigh Valley.
Largest Victory Margins (since 2010)
1. +38 - vs. Lehigh (W, 48-10 - Oct. 26, 2013)
2. +26 - at Lafayette (W, 39-13 - Oct. 29, 2011)
3. +25 - at Princeton (W, 34-9 - Sept. 24, 2011)
+25 - vs. Lafayette (W, 42-17 - Oct. 22, 2016)
Five Games, Five Different Times
• Bucknell's players are in the midst of playing their final five games of the 2016 season at five different starting times.
• The stretch began with the Oct. 29 game vs. Lafayette that kicked off at 1 p.m.
• Bucknell then played at Charleston Southern at 11:45 a.m. last week.
• The Bison will now play at 12:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 12 p.m. over the next three weeks.
• Bucknell's games have seven different starting times this year.
100-Yard Rushers
• Bucknell has had a 100-yard rusher in five of its eight games this year.
• Joey DeFloria ran for 100 yards against Marist (145), Cornell (154), Holy Cross (149) and Lafayette (130), while Chad Freshnock did it against VMI (161).
• DeFloria finished with 98 rushing yards vs. Duquesne.
• Bucknell had a 100-yard rusher six times last year.
• DeFloria is the 21st player in program history to record at least four career 100-yard games.
• DeFloria is ranked 16th nationally in rushing yards per game (100.1).
1,000 Yards?
• Junior RB Joey DeFloria enters Saturday's game with a career-high 801 rushing yards this season.
• DeFloria is on pace to become Bucknell's first 1,000-yard rusher since Daris Wilson ran for 1,149 yards in 2004.
• Seven different players have rushed for 1,000 yards in a season for Bucknell. That figure has been reached just nine times (Rich Lemon did it three times).
• DeFloria is ranked third in the Patriot League in rushing, behind only Fordham's Chase Edmonds and Lehigh's Dom Bragalone.
Nitti Moving Up Lists
• Senior QB R.J. Nitti has already moved up the Bison career record books this season. He is 45-for-88 for 484 yards and four touchdowns.
• Nitti now ranks third in program history in career passing yards (4,885), and fourth in career pass completions (393) and career pass attempts (726). Nitti is ranked second on the school's all-time list with 34 touchdown passes.
Milestone Watch
• Will Carter: Needs 578 all-purpose yards to move into top 10 on program's career list
• Joey DeFloria: Needs 92 rushing yards to reach 1,000 in career
• Bryan Marine: Needs 7 tackles to reach 100 in career
• Matt Muh: Needs 157 passing yards to reach 1,000 in career
• R.J. Nitti: Needs 115 passing yards to become third player in school history with 5,000
Up Next
• Bucknell will conclude its three-game road stretch with a 3:30 p.m. contest at Georgetown next Saturday, Nov. 12.
• It will be the final road contest of the year for the Bison, who are 2-2 away from Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium this year.
• Georgetown is 3-5 this year, including 0-3 in Patriot League play. The Hoyas have lost five games in a row after a 3-0 start.
• Bucknell leads the all-time series 16-11-1 and has won six of the last eight meetings.
