Bucknell University Athletics
Football Opens Season Saturday at Marist
8/30/2016 1:30:00 PM | Football
What: Bucknell Bison (0-0, 0-0 PL) at Marist Red Foxes (0-0, 0-0 PFL)
Where: Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
When: Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016, 6 p.m.
TV: Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (HD Channel 323 in New York)
Internet Video: Red Fox Network
Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 WEGH)
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Statistics: GoRedFoxes.com
Probable Starters - Offense
QB 6 R.J. Nitti (Sr., 6-6, 230) - Ranks 4th on Bucknell career passing yards list (4,401)
RB 23 Joey DeFloria (Jr., 5-9, 195) - Ranked 3rd on team in rushes (36) and yards (107) in 2015
FB 80 Andrew Owers (So., 6-2, 250) - Only freshman to start last year's season opener vs. Marist
WR 18 Will Carter (Sr., 5-11, 180) - 2-time All-Patriot League selection
WR 2 Alan Butler (So., 6-1, 180) - Three multi-reception games in 2015
LT 70 Julie'n Davenport (Sr., 6-7, 315) - 3-time All-Patriot League selection; 33 straight starts
LG 66 Devlin Brennan (Sr., 6-4, 310) - 27 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, 26 career games played
RG 63 Griff Barth (Sr., 6-4, 290) - Expected to make first career start, 6 career games played
RT 72 Chase Watkins (Jr., 6-4, 280) - Expected to make first career start, 2 career games played
TE 87 Andrew Podbielski (Jr., 6-4, 230) - At least one reception in each of final 6 games in 2015
Probable Starters - Defense
DE 90 Doug Whitlock (Jr., 6-2, 250) - Started first 6 games in 2015 before suffering injury
DT 40 Abdullah Anderson (Jr., 6-4, 295) - 2-time All-Patriot League selection
NG 99 Ben Schumacher (Sr., 6-2, 285) - First Team All-Patriot League in 2015
DE 48 R.J. Sheldon (Sr., 6-3, 235) - Started final 5 games at DE in 2015 in place of injured Whitlock
Mike LB 29 Ben Richard (Jr., 6-1, 240) - Second Team All-PL in 2015
Sam LB 5 Mark Pyles (Jr., 6-0, 220) - Second Team All-PL in 2015, led team with 95 tackles
SS 31 Brice Sydnor (So., 5-11, 195) - Expected to make first career start
FS 12 Bret Berg (Sr., 6-1, 205) - Ranked 6th on team with 47 tackles in 2015
WS 43 Connor Golden (Jr., 6-0, 200) - Ranked 4th on team with 60 tackles in 2015
CB 9 Bryan Marine (So., 5-9, 175) - Earned Clarke Hinkle Award as team's top defensive back in 2015
CB 8 Nick O'Brien (Sr., 5-9, 180) - At least five starts each year since 2013
With a Victory over Marist, Bucknell Would ...
• ... win its season opener for the ninth time in the last 11 years.
• ... improve to 91-39-1 all-time in season openers.
• ... win six consecutive season openers for the first time since 1952 to 1957.
• ... win its road opener for the third consecutive year and fourth time in five years.
• ... snap a three-game losing streak.
• ... stop a two-game road losing streak.
• ... improve to 6-1 in September since beginning of 2014 season.
• ... defeat the Red Foxes for a sixth consecutive season.
• ... improve to 2-1 all-time on September 3.
About the Game
Bucknell will play Marist in its season opener for the fourth time in the last five years. The Bison have been strong in season openers, winning each of the last five years (2011 vs. Duquesne, 2012 at Marist, 2013 vs. Marist, 2014 vs. VMI, 2015 vs. Marist). Bucknell won last year's matchup against Marist by a 17-0 score at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, and will look to extend its 10-1 series edge. The Bison lost six of their last seven games a year ago, but return a league-high seven All-Patriot League players from a team that had five losses by 11 points or less. Bucknell, which is opening its 131st season, has had tremendous success in season openers, owning a 90-39-1 all-time mark in the first game of the year. The Bison are a strong 8-2 in openers since 2006. Marist will be aiming for its first win in a season opener since 2012.
About Marist
• Marist was 5-6 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 2016 campaign with back-to-back home contests against Patriot League opponents. The Red Foxes host Georgetown next Saturday.
• Marist was picked to finish in sixth place in the 2016 Pioneer Football League Preseason Poll. There are 11 teams in the Pioneer Football League.
• Marist sophomore wide receiver Juston Christian was named to the Preseason All-Pioneer Football League Team. Last season, Christian led the Football Championship Subdivision by averaging 23.6 yards per reception. He led the Red Foxes with 826 receiving yards and six touchdown catches in nine games, and was second on the team with 35 receptions.
Bucknell vs. Marist Series Notes
• Bucknell holds a 10-1 edge in the series that has been contested every year since 2005.
• Bucknell is 4-1 against the Red Foxes in Poughkeepsie with the only loss coming in 2010. It was the second game of the Joe Susan era for the Bison.
• Marist has never scored 20 points vs. Bucknell and is averaging just 11.4 points per game in the series.
• Marist has not scored a point against Bucknell in more than nine quarters (135 minutes, 35 seconds).
• 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 fourth time in five years Marist is Bucknell's season-opening opponent.
Last Time vs. Marist
Bucknell 17, Marist 0 (Sept. 5, 2015 - Lewisburg, Pa.)
• Bucknell shut out Marist for a second straight year and extended the Red Foxes' consecutive scoreless streak against the Bison to 135 minutes, 35 seconds.
• 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.
• Three field goals were blocked in the game, including two by the Bison (Abdullah Anderson and Bryan Marine).
• Freshmen Andrew Owers (5 catches for 59 yards) and Alan Butler (2 catches for 44 yards) combined for seven of Bucknell's 15 receptions in the contest.
• Bret Berg had three pass breakups for Bucknell, the most by a Bison player since 2013.
Shutouts
• Thanks to its 17-0 win last year, Bucknell has now shut out Marist in two consecutive seasons.
• 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
Broadcast Options
• As always, Doug Birdsong and Kevin Herr will call all the action on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3) and BucknellBison.com.
• A live video broadcast will be available on the Red Fox Network, which can be accessed through GoRedFoxes.com.
• Time Warner Cable SportsChannel will air the game throughout New York State. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel can be found on HD Channel 323 in the Hudson Valley, New York City, Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo markets.
Season Openers
• Bucknell is 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.
131st Season
• Bucknell opens its 131st season of football Saturday at Marist. Only Princeton (147), Yale (144), Harvard (142), Penn (140), Dartmouth (135), Lafayette (135), Lehigh (133) and Richmond (133) have played longer among current FCS teams. Bucknell ranks 19th among all FCS programs with 592 all-time victories.
Night Games
• Bucknell is 21-18 in night games (6 p.m. or later starts) since 2000.
• The Bison were 1-1 at night last year and are scheduled to play three night games (at Marist, at Duquesne, vs. Cornell) this season.
Bucknell vs. Pioneer Football League
• Bucknell is 27-5 all-time against teams that currently compose the Pioneer Football League: Davidson (15-3), Dayton (2-1) and Marist (10-1).
Team Captains
• Senior OL Julie'n Davenport, junior LB Mark Pyles and senior DL Ben Schumacher were voted as 2016 team captains near the conclusion of spring practice.
• Davenport is a four-year starter at left tackle who has been named All-Patriot League each of the last three seasons, including First Team in 2014 and 2015. Last fall, he was Bucknell's first non-senior captain since Josh Eden in 2010.
• Pyles led Bucknell with a career-high 95 tackles in his first year as a starter in 2015 on his way to Second Team All-Patriot League honors.
• Schumacher was a first-year starter in 2015 as well and he ranked among the league leaders in tackles for loss (13.5) and sacks (6.5) en route to a First Team All-Patriot League honor.
All-Patriot League
• Bucknell had 10 players named All-Patriot League last fall and seven of them return in 2016.
• First-team selections Abdullah Anderson, Julie'n Davenport, Alex Pechin and Ben Schumacher return, as do second-team picks Will Carter, Mark Pyles and Ben Richard.
• All-Patriot Leaguers Matt DelMauro, Clayton Ewell and Ramy Kased were seniors last fall and graduated this past May.
• Bucknell has had 33 All-Patriot League selections the last four years and 22 of them have returned the following season.
• Bucknell's 10 All-Patriot League selections marked its most since 12 Bison were honored in 2011.
Preseason All-Patriot League
• Bucknell had a league-high seven players named Preseason All-Patriot League this year.
• DL Abdullah Anderson, WR Will Carter, OL Julie'n Davenport, P Alex Pechin, LB Mark Pyles, LB Ben Richard and DL Ben Schumacher were the Bison named Preseason All-Patriot League.
Depth Chart Analysis
• Bucknell has 19 regular starters back from last year's team, including eight on offense and 11 on defense.
• Bison expected to make their first career starts on Saturday include: OL Griff Barth, RB Joey DeFloria, S Brice Sydnor and OL Chase Watkins.
• Bucknell is expected to start 10 seniors, eight juniors and four sophomores vs. Marist.
• Julie'n Davenport enters the year having started a team-high 33 consecutive games. He is expected to start for a 34th straight time on Saturday.
• Bucknell's 22 expected starters have combined for 222 career starting assignments.
Quick Hitters
• Ten of Bucknell's 11 opponents from 2015 remain on the Bison 2016 schedule. The only change is Charleston Southern taking the place of Army West Point.
• Bucknell will be on the road just once between its Sept. 10 game at Duquesne and its Oct. 29 contest at Charleston Southern. The Bison will play four home games during that stretch.
• Bucknell was picked to finish in fifth place in the Patriot League Preseason Poll.
• Bucknell's 11 2016 opponents posted a combined 61-66 (.480) record in 2015.
• Four of Bucknell's opponents (Charleston Southern, Colgate, Duquesne, Fordham) participated in the 2015 NCAA Playoffs.
• Senior WR Will Carter enters the season needing 27 receptions and 248 receiving yards to break Tom Mitchell's longstanding career records in both categories.
• Senior QB R.J. Nitti needs 1,877 passing yards to break Brandon Wesley's program record in that category.
• The average number of points scored in a Bucknell game in 2015 was 34.4.
• Bucknell is 22-5 in its last 27 games in which it has scored at least 20 points.
Up Next
• Bucknell will continue its two-game road swing to open the season when it plays a 6 p.m. game next Saturday, Sept. 10, at Duquesne. The Bison own a 10-6 edge in the all-time series, although the Dukes won last year's meeting by a 26-7 score.
