Saturday, August 31
Philadelphia, Pa.
3 p.m.
Bucknell University
0-1
12
at
56
Temple
1-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Bucknell
0
9
3
0
12
Temple
21
14
7
14
56
Photo by: Jon Lambert
Bucknell Football Faces Temple at Lincoln Financial Field
8/31/2019 6:15:00 PM | Football
PHILADELPHIA – Brandon Sanders caught nine passes for 115 yards, and Gavin Pringle returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown, but Temple rolled to a 56-12 victory over the Bucknell football team on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in front of 26,378 fans.
Sanders's play and the energy displayed on the Bison sideline were highlights of head coach Dave Cecchini's debut. The Owls, Bucknell's first FBS opponent since 2015, used stout defensive play, particularly in the first quarter, and a banner game by quarterback Anthony Russo to take the first meeting between the once long-time rivals since 1970.
"I'm really proud of how we sustained our effort in the second half," Cecchini said. "We had some great drives on offense. We moved the football but couldn't finish. We made some three-and-outs on defense, and we did it playing a lot of third-team guys. Unfortunately, we gave up a couple of big plays, and that was young guys making mistakes. We can live with that."
Temple (1-0) set the tone early, covering 75 yards in 12 plays to score a touchdown on its opening drive. By the end of the first quarter, the Owls held a 21-0 lead; they posted 229 yards of total offense and 12 first downs while limiting the Bison to a single first down and 22 passing yards.
Bucknell (0-1) chipped away at Temple's edge during the second quarter. After the Owls scored a touchdown on their first possession of that frame to make it a 28-0 game, the Bison put together the next two scoring plays.
Pringle's pick 6 gave the Bison new life with 8:13 on the clock. The freshman stepped in front of a Russo pass and dashed 36 yards up the sideline to the end zone; a failed extra point kept the score at 28-6.
The Owls ultimately went into the intermission up by a 35-9 margin after Russo found Re'Mahn Davis for a 51 yard touchdown with 1:02 remaining in the half. They held sizable advantages in total offense (427-66) and first downs (22-4) at that point in the contest.
Tarrin Earle came in at quarterback to start the second half and led Bucknell on a 13-play, 64-yard march down the field. The Bison ultimately settled for a 28-yard Torres field goal that made it a 35-12 game.
Temple went on to score three more touchdowns to bring the final score to 56-12. Russo set a new career high with his four touchdown throws; despite exiting the game early in the fourth quarter, he finished with 409 yards on 32-for-41 passing. The Owls ended the game with advantages in total offense (695-211), first downs (32-16) and time of possession (30:31-29:29).
"With how well we performed in the second half, it was sad to see it go to 56-12," Cecchini said. "I felt like we competed a little bit better than the final score shows. On the whole, I'm really proud of them. We didn't just show glimpses of being a very good football team out there, we showed some drives. Overall, there's a lot to work with, a lot to go from, and we're going to have to do that if we're going to win at Sacred Heart."
For Bucknell, Logan Bitikofer (6-for-9, 39 yards), Chiarolanzio (3-for-8, 69 yards) and Earle (11-for-25, 82 yards) all saw action at quarterback. In his return from an injury that cost him the 2018 campaign, Chad Freshnock led all Bison running backs with 30 rushing yards.
Conner Romango paced Bucknell with 12 tackles (nine solo), matching his career-high total set last year at then No. 14/15 Villanova. Rick Mottram also reached the double digits, making 10 tackles (eight solo). Cooper Kim and Joe Schiano each posted a tackle for a loss.
Temple was led by Davis, who totaled 60 rushing yards and 78 receiving yards; he also ran for one touchdown and caught one touchdown pass. Branden Mack caught nine passes for 130 yards. The Owl defense registered five tackles for a loss of 27 yards and two sacks for a loss of 17 yards.
Bucknell next travels to Sacred Heart for a 6 p.m. game on Saturday, Sept. 7.
NOTES
The Bison never turned the ball over during the contest; it was the first time since their 12-0 shutout of Georgetown on Nov. 11, 2017 that they didn't commit a turnover. They also committed only three penalties.
Pringle's pick 6 was the first by a Bison since Sterling Deary returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown in a 29-27 loss to Lafayette on Oct. 20, 2018. Like Pringle, Deary was a freshman at the time.
Sanders was the first Bison to record at least 100 receiving yards in a single game since Justin Bethea posted 111 during the 2018 Lafayette game. Bethea was the first Bison since 2016 to accumulate at least 100 receiving yards.
All-American punter Alex Pechin averaged 51.6 yards on eight punts with a long of 65. The NFL prospect set a new career high in punting average, a figure just 0.4 shy of the school record set in 1962.
Offensive lineman P.J. Barr started his 20th career game; his starting streak, which began as a freshman in 2017, is now at 20 games.
The following five players made their first career start: offensive lineman Alex Bolinger, cornerback Eric Butler, defensive lineman John Hunt, wide receiver Dominic Lyles and offensive lineman Zack Tarburton. Tarburton was the lone freshman to start the 2019 opener and became the first freshman to start at center for a Cecchini-led team.
Two of Temple's touchdowns were of more than 50 yards: Davis's 51-yard catch and Todd Centeio's 89-yard throw to Travon Williams at the fourth quarter's 5:19 mark.
Bucknell is 0-7 against FBS schools since the FBS/FCS (formerly I-A and I-AA) classification began in 1978.
Bucknell leads the all-time series with Temple, 20-17-8. The Bison took the lead behind a series-best 12-game winning streak that stretched from 1954 to 1965. The two teams met every season between 1927 and 1970, with the winner receiving the "Old Shoe" trophy.
Gallery: (8/31/2019) Football at Temple
Sanders's play and the energy displayed on the Bison sideline were highlights of head coach Dave Cecchini's debut. The Owls, Bucknell's first FBS opponent since 2015, used stout defensive play, particularly in the first quarter, and a banner game by quarterback Anthony Russo to take the first meeting between the once long-time rivals since 1970.
"I'm really proud of how we sustained our effort in the second half," Cecchini said. "We had some great drives on offense. We moved the football but couldn't finish. We made some three-and-outs on defense, and we did it playing a lot of third-team guys. Unfortunately, we gave up a couple of big plays, and that was young guys making mistakes. We can live with that."
Temple (1-0) set the tone early, covering 75 yards in 12 plays to score a touchdown on its opening drive. By the end of the first quarter, the Owls held a 21-0 lead; they posted 229 yards of total offense and 12 first downs while limiting the Bison to a single first down and 22 passing yards.
Bucknell (0-1) chipped away at Temple's edge during the second quarter. After the Owls scored a touchdown on their first possession of that frame to make it a 28-0 game, the Bison put together the next two scoring plays.
Pringle's pick 6 gave the Bison new life with 8:13 on the clock. The freshman stepped in front of a Russo pass and dashed 36 yards up the sideline to the end zone; a failed extra point kept the score at 28-6.
Bucknell's defense forced a punt on Temple's next possession. John Chiarolanzio then engineered an eight-play, 60-yard drive capped by a 37-yard Ethan Torres field goal; the highlight of that drive was a sprawling, one-handed grab by Sanders on a Chiarolanzio deep ball that advanced the Bison 42 yards to the red zone.ALL THE WAY TO THE 🏠!
— Bucknell Football (@Bucknell_FB) August 31, 2019
Take a 👀 at Gavin Pringle's pick 6. #ACT | #rayBucknell pic.twitter.com/rxqPri6Ddj
The Owls ultimately went into the intermission up by a 35-9 margin after Russo found Re'Mahn Davis for a 51 yard touchdown with 1:02 remaining in the half. They held sizable advantages in total offense (427-66) and first downs (22-4) at that point in the contest.
Tarrin Earle came in at quarterback to start the second half and led Bucknell on a 13-play, 64-yard march down the field. The Bison ultimately settled for a 28-yard Torres field goal that made it a 35-12 game.
Temple went on to score three more touchdowns to bring the final score to 56-12. Russo set a new career high with his four touchdown throws; despite exiting the game early in the fourth quarter, he finished with 409 yards on 32-for-41 passing. The Owls ended the game with advantages in total offense (695-211), first downs (32-16) and time of possession (30:31-29:29).
"With how well we performed in the second half, it was sad to see it go to 56-12," Cecchini said. "I felt like we competed a little bit better than the final score shows. On the whole, I'm really proud of them. We didn't just show glimpses of being a very good football team out there, we showed some drives. Overall, there's a lot to work with, a lot to go from, and we're going to have to do that if we're going to win at Sacred Heart."
For Bucknell, Logan Bitikofer (6-for-9, 39 yards), Chiarolanzio (3-for-8, 69 yards) and Earle (11-for-25, 82 yards) all saw action at quarterback. In his return from an injury that cost him the 2018 campaign, Chad Freshnock led all Bison running backs with 30 rushing yards.
Conner Romango paced Bucknell with 12 tackles (nine solo), matching his career-high total set last year at then No. 14/15 Villanova. Rick Mottram also reached the double digits, making 10 tackles (eight solo). Cooper Kim and Joe Schiano each posted a tackle for a loss.
Temple was led by Davis, who totaled 60 rushing yards and 78 receiving yards; he also ran for one touchdown and caught one touchdown pass. Branden Mack caught nine passes for 130 yards. The Owl defense registered five tackles for a loss of 27 yards and two sacks for a loss of 17 yards.
Bucknell next travels to Sacred Heart for a 6 p.m. game on Saturday, Sept. 7.
NOTES
The Bison never turned the ball over during the contest; it was the first time since their 12-0 shutout of Georgetown on Nov. 11, 2017 that they didn't commit a turnover. They also committed only three penalties.
Pringle's pick 6 was the first by a Bison since Sterling Deary returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown in a 29-27 loss to Lafayette on Oct. 20, 2018. Like Pringle, Deary was a freshman at the time.
Sanders was the first Bison to record at least 100 receiving yards in a single game since Justin Bethea posted 111 during the 2018 Lafayette game. Bethea was the first Bison since 2016 to accumulate at least 100 receiving yards.
All-American punter Alex Pechin averaged 51.6 yards on eight punts with a long of 65. The NFL prospect set a new career high in punting average, a figure just 0.4 shy of the school record set in 1962.
Offensive lineman P.J. Barr started his 20th career game; his starting streak, which began as a freshman in 2017, is now at 20 games.
The following five players made their first career start: offensive lineman Alex Bolinger, cornerback Eric Butler, defensive lineman John Hunt, wide receiver Dominic Lyles and offensive lineman Zack Tarburton. Tarburton was the lone freshman to start the 2019 opener and became the first freshman to start at center for a Cecchini-led team.
Two of Temple's touchdowns were of more than 50 yards: Davis's 51-yard catch and Todd Centeio's 89-yard throw to Travon Williams at the fourth quarter's 5:19 mark.
Bucknell is 0-7 against FBS schools since the FBS/FCS (formerly I-A and I-AA) classification began in 1978.
Bucknell leads the all-time series with Temple, 20-17-8. The Bison took the lead behind a series-best 12-game winning streak that stretched from 1954 to 1965. The two teams met every season between 1927 and 1970, with the winner receiving the "Old Shoe" trophy.
Team Stats
BUCKNELL
TEM
Total Yards
211
695
Pass Yards
190
507
Rushing Yards
21
188
Penalty Yards
25
63
1st Downs
16
32
3rd Downs
4
11
4th Downs
2
1
TOP
29:29
30:31
1st Quarter
BUCKNELL 0, TEM 7
TEM - BLUE,Jadan 8 yd pass from RUSSO,Anthony (MOBLEY,Will kick) 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:19
BUCKNELL 0, TEM 14
TEM - GARDNER,Jager 11 yd run (MOBLEY,Will kick), 10 plays, 77 yards, TOP 4:32
BUCKNELL 0, TEM 21
TEM - GARDNER,Jager 1 yd run (MOBLEY,Will kick), 6 plays, 77 yards, TOP 2:23
2nd Quarter
BUCKNELL 0, TEM 28
TEM - WRIGHT,Isaiah 12 yd pass from RUSSO,Anthony (MOBLEY,Will kick) 9 plays, 96 yards, TOP 3:02
BUCKNELL 6, TEM 28
BUCKNELL - Pringle, Gavin 36 yd interception (Torres, Ethan kickfailed)
BUCKNELL 9, TEM 28
BUCKNELL - Torres, Ethan 37 yd field goal 8 plays, 60 yards, TOP 2:50
BUCKNELL 9, TEM 35
TEM - DAVIS,Re'Mahn 51 yd pass from RUSSO,Anthony (MOBLEY,Will kick) 6 plays, 81 yards, TOP 1:39
3rd Quarter
BUCKNELL 12, TEM 35
BUCKNELL - Torres, Ethan 28 yd field goal 13 plays, 64 yards, TOP 5:12
BUCKNELL 12, TEM 42
TEM - JARMAN,Aaron 10 yd pass from RUSSO,Anthony (MOBLEY,Will kick) 8 plays, 71 yards, TOP 3:29
4th Quarter
BUCKNELL 12, TEM 49
TEM - DAVIS,Re'Mahn 7 yd run (MOBLEY,Will kick), 10 plays, 82 yards, TOP 3:38
BUCKNELL 12, TEM 56
TEM - WILLIAMS,Travon 89 yd pass from CENTEIO,Todd (MOBLEY,Will kick) 3 plays, 95 yards, TOP 1:08
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
11
TD
0
YDS
82
INT
0
CMP
3
TD
0
YDS
69
INT
0
CMP
6
TD
0
YDS
39
INT
0
Players Mentioned
WR
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OL
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CB
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CB
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RB
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LB
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WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
P/K
/ Football
CB
/ Football
S
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DL
/ Football
OL
/ Football
P/K
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