Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Cornell
Football Comes Up Short Against Cornell in Home Opener, 24-16
9/17/2016 10:25:00 PM | Football
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Joey DeFloria rushed for a career-high 154 yards and Will Carter recorded his sixth career 100-yard receiving game, but the Bucknell football team came up short against Cornell in its home opener Saturday evening at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, falling to the Big Red by a 24-16 score.
The Bison scored the game's first 10 points and had a chance to tie the game on their final drive, but came up short on a fourth-and-seven play from the Cornell 20-yard line.
Bucknell (1-2) turned the ball over three times, including twice in the second half. Cornell (1-0) did not turn the ball over at all.
DeFloria continued his strong early season play, rushing 27 times for 154 yards and his fifth and sixth touchdowns of the young season. He now has 397 rushing yards this year after totaling 107 in his first two seasons.
Carter had nine receptions for 122 yards, including a key fourth-down reception on the final drive of the game for the Bison. He moved into second place on the program's career receiving yards list with 2,215.
Bucknell jumped out on top on its first drive of the game after a Cornell punt. DeFloria ran seven times for 38 yards on the drive that concluded with a one-yard touchdown run by the junior.
The Bison were in touchdown range on their next drive, but quarterback Matt Muh, who made his first career start in place of R.J. Nitti, had a pass intercepted by a diving D.J. Woullard in the end zone.
Bucknell added a 21-yard field goal by Jack Chambers on its next drive, a 17-play, 77-yard marathon that took 7:28 off the clock. The Bison converted one third down and two fourth downs on the drive, including a 22-yard pass from Muh to Carter along the left sideline that put Bucknell on the verge of getting into the end zone.
Cornell, which punted on its first three possessions, then scored on four consecutive possessions, starting with a 41-yard field goal by Zach Mays midway through the second quarter.
The Big Red followed with three straight touchdowns sandwiched around halftime. First up was a Dalton Banks 10-yard touchdown run just 28 seconds before intermission. Banks had a one-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and he found Matt Sullivan for a 22-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left in the third.
Cornell's four scoring drives were an average of 10.5 plays and nearly 70 yards apiece.
DeFloria put Bucknell up 16-10 early in the third quarter when he scampered in to the end zone from 26 yards out. He ran five times for 53 yards on the drive. One-hundred and twenty of his 154 yards came on Bucknell's three scoring drives.
The key sequence in the game was Banks' one-yard touchdown run that put Cornell up 17-16. Woullard then recorded his second interception of the game and Cornell proceeded to add on the Sullivan touchdown on the ensuing possession. Bucknell then fumbled on its next possession.
Even with the turnovers, Bucknell still had a chance to tie on its last possession. The Bison took possession with 9:55 to play and ran 17 plays, but a fourth-down pass intended for Andrew Owers was short and Cornell ran out the remaining 1:47.
Bucknell converted three third downs and one fourth down on that final drive. The big play was a 29-yard completion to Carter on a fourth-and-14.
Muh finished the game 17-for-33 for 215 yards, while Banks was 17-for-24 for 160 yards and a touchdown for Cornell.
Bret Berg led the Bison defense with a career-high 13 tackles. Ben Richard added 10 stops and Bryan Marine recorded three pass breakups for the second consecutive week.
Daniel Crochet led Cornell with 11 tackles, while Woullard had four tackles to go along with his two interceptions.
Bucknell outgained Cornell 392-348, and the Big Red were flagged 11 times for 85 yards. The Bison converted 7 of 15 third downs and held a 33:16-26:44 advantage in time of possession thanks to holding the ball for nearly 12 minutes in the fourth quarter.
There were just five punts in the game, including just one for Bucknell.
At halftime, the Bucknell 1996 Patriot League Championship team was honored, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the only Patriot League title in program history.
The Bison will be back in action at home again next week, Sept. 24, when they host VMI at 3 p.m. It will be Family Weekend on the Bucknell campus.
