Bison Football Plays Host to No. 24/18 Fordham Rams

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell hosts No. 24/18 Fordham at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium for its fourth Patriot League game of the season on Saturday. The Bison are challenged with stopping the nation's top scoring offense in their 38th all-time meeting with the Rams.

The Bucknell defense has limited its last two opponents to 16 points per game, but Fordham represents the second ranked opponent the Bison have faced this season. Saturday's game against the Rams is one of two home games remaining on the schedule for the Bison.

Media Notes & Game Program:

When: Saturday, Nov. 5 – 1 p.m.
Where: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium
Watch: ESPN+
Radio: 100.9 The Valley (WVLY)
Internet Radio: WVLY.com/The__Valley
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_FB

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With a victory Bucknell would...
• defeat the Rams for the first time since 2012
• beat a ranked opponent for the first time since 2013
• win its first home game this season
• even the all-time series with the Rams at 19-19

Bucknell at a Glance
• Bucknell (1-7, 1-3 PL) seeks its second Patriot League win and its first victory at home when it hosts Fordham at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The Bison are coming off a loss to Colgate, which proved to be a defensive battle featuring just three scores.
• Bucknell was picked to finish seventh in the Patriot League based on a vote by the league's head coaches and sports information directors ahead of the 2022 season.
• The Bison finished 1-10 overall in the 2021 season and went 0-6 against league opponents. They were picked in the same spot prior to the shortened 2021 spring season before capturing the Patriot League South Division title and earning a spot in the first-ever Patriot League Championship. Bucknell eventually fell to Holy Cross in the title game that spring, and the Crusaders were picked to win the league again in 2022 as the three-time defending champions.
• Senior DB Gavin Pringle was voted to the 2022 Preseason All-Patriot League Team for a third time in his career. Pringle is a two-time All-Patriot League selection and tied for the team lead in pass breakups last year despite missing more than half the season with injury.
• The Bison returned a staggering 51 letterwinners in 2022, as dozens of underclassmen gained playing experience during an injury-plagued season last fall. The young group of returning lettermen include 18 sophomores, 23 juniors and 10 seniors. Five seniors are three-time letterwinners: Pringle, DB Jonathan Searcy, LB Ben Allen, Jackson and DL Cooper Kim.
• Bucknell's lone victory during the 2021 campaign came at home in week 4 against Cornell. The Bison scored two unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter and generated four turnovers during Homecoming Weekend. Quarterback Nick Semptimphelter connected with tight end Christian Spugnardi for the go-ahead touchdown. Semptimphelter later ran for a two-yard touchdown.
• Bucknell is in its fourth season under head coach Dave Cecchini, who spent the previous five years at Valparaiso. For leading the Bison to a spot in the Patriot League Championship Game during the 2021 spring season, he was voted as the Patriot League Dick Biddle Coach of the Year.
• Searcy, Allen, Jackson and junior OL Ethan Pitzel were selected as team captains for the 2022 season.

Inside the Colgate Box Score
• S Brent Jackson led a Bison defense that limited the Raiders to just 13 points as the senior captain posted a career-high 16 tackle, including 12 solo stops and three tackles for loss, along with a sack and a pass breakup. Tyler Alston added a sack for Bucknell as well.
• Bucknell punched it into the end zone on a 1-yard Rushawn Baker rushing touchdown to draw within six of tying in the fourth quarter, but the Bison were unable to score again in the 13-7 loss. It was Baker's fourth touchdown in the last three weeks and his sixth overall this season.
• QBs Ethan Grady and Alex Brown combined for 147 passing yards, while RB Coleman Bennett led the rushing attack with 71 yards on 12 carries. The Bison saw a number of long completions, including a 31-yard reception by WR Damian Harris, a 23-yard catch by Bennett, a 39-yard reception by WR Marques Owens and a 22-yard catch by TE Charlie Kreinbucher.
• Along with his two completions for 62 yards, Brown added 29 yards on 11 rushing attempts.
• DL Aneesh Vyas blocked his second kick of the season, getting his hand on Colgate's first PAT attempt of the game. It was Bucknell's first blocked PAT since 2017.
• The only turnover of the game was on a muffed punt by the Bison in the first quarter that gave Colgate possession at their own 47-yard line.
• QB Michael Brescia rushed for both of Colgate's touchdowns, finishing with 66 yards on the ground. He also completed 20 of 28 pass attempts for 176 yards. He hooked up with WR Brady Hutchison on a 46-yard pass for the longest play of the game by either team.
• Colgate RB Jaedon Henry contributed 66 yards on 12 carries in the game.
• The Colgate defense was led by Mikey Jarmolowich, who totaled 11 tackles and four pass breakups.

Fordham at a Glance
• The Rams enter the weekend No. 24 in the Stats Perform FCS rankings and No. 18 in the FCS Coaches Poll with a 6-2 overall record and a 2-1 mark in Patriot League play. Fordham is coming off a dramatic 53-52 overtime loss at Holy Cross. The Crusaders opted to go for the two-point conversion and won the game on a reverse sweep, handing the Rams their first league loss.
• Fordham currently leads the nation in total offense (605.8), passing offense (414.2) and scoring offense (49.5).
• QB Tim DeMorat is in the midst of an eye-popping statistical season, ranking first in the nation in passing touchdowns (38) and passing yards (3,279) while tossing just four interceptions.
• Three Fordham receivers have eclipsed 700 yards this season, and all three have hauled in eight touchdown passes. Senior Fotis Kokosioulis leads the group with 861 yards and is third in the nation in the category. In total, 10 different Rams have caught touchdown passes this fall.
• The Rams were picked second only behind Holy Cross in the Patriot League preseason poll following a 6-4 (4-2 PL) 2021 season.
• Fordham is led by fifth-year head coach Joe Conlin, who possesses a 20-25 overall record since taking over the reins of the program in 2018.

The Bucknell/Fordham Series
• Fordham took a 19-18 lead in the all-time series with Bucknell last season by winning its ninth straight game against the Bison. The series stands at 10-10 in Lewisburg, Pa. and at 9-8 in favor of the Rams in the Bronx.
• The Rams are currently riding a nine-game winning streak over the Bison. In three of those contests, their margin of victory was less than 10 points.
• Bucknell's last win over the Rams was in 2012 when RB Tyler Smith rushed 29 times for 179 yards and the Bison scored 20 unanswered points in the second half to defeat Fordham 27-24 at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
• The two teams first met in 1929 and have met in each of the past 33 seasons.
• Bucknell won five straight over Fordham between 1993 and 1997.

The Last Meeting with the Rams
• Fordham won 66-21 in the Bronx, N.Y. last season after finding the end zone on its first four drives of the game and converting on five of its first six overall.
• QB Tim DeMorat threw for 318 yards and a school-record six touchdowns in just two and a half quarters of work.
• For Bucknell, RBs Rushawn Baker, Jared Cooper and Danny Meuser rushed for touchdowns. In addition, Ethan Robinson made 15 solo tackles in his first collegiate start while Aneesh Vyas recovered a pair of fumbles; Vyas also forced the first, which led to Baker's touchdown run.
•' Fordham led 21-7 at the end of the first quarter and 45-14 entering halftime. DeMorat matched his school's record by throwing six touchdown passes in the first half alone, with half being hauled in by Fotis Kokosioulis.
• Fordham added three rushing touchdowns in the second half, all of at least 39 yards.

Inside the Bucknell Depth Chart
• Bucknell's projected starters on offense have made a combined 120 starts. All 11 projected offensive starters have made at least one start.
• Bucknell's projected starters on defense have made a combined 176 starts. All 11 projected starters on defense have made at least one start.
• On offense, one senior (OL R.J. Mehan), six juniors and four sophomores are expected to start. Junior LT Ethan Pitzel leads the offensive group with 21 starts under his belt.
• On defense, four seniors, three juniors and four sophomores are expected to start. DB Gavin Pringle leads the entire roster in career starts (24).
• 19 Bison currently have at least 10 career starts.
• 12 Bison have started all seven games this season: Allen, Carretta, Harris, Jackson, Leake, Pitzel, Pringle, Robinson, Schlendorf, Searcy, Sturgis and Vyas.
• Only Allen and Jackson started all 11 of Bucknell's 2021 games. On the offensive side of the ball, Harris, Pitzel and Mehan each made 10 starts last season.
• Six Bison currently boast starting streaks in the double digits: Allen (18), Jackson (18), Carretta (15), Leake (14) and Robinson (13) and Harris (10).
• Only two seniors have played in all 34 of Bucknell's games during their time in Lewisburg to date: Allen and Searcy.
• Two juniors have played in all 23 of Bucknell's games during their time in Lewisburg to date: DL Tyler Alston and P/K Ruben Anderson.
• In 2021, a staggering 30 players each made their first career start. The total of 30 represented just over 34 percent of that team's roster; two were seniors, four were juniors, 12 were sophomores and 12 were freshmen.

Milestones to Watch
• RB Coleman Bennett needs 66 rush yards to reach 500 in his career
• WB Damian Harris needs 76 receiving yards to reach 500 in his career
• RB Rushawn Baker needs 61 rush yards for 500 on the season
• S Brent Jackson needs 17 tackles to reach 100 on the season

Bison Award Winners
• S Brent Jackson has been named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week each of the last two weeks. He's the first Bucknell player to earn back-to-back weekly awards since Alex Peachin was named Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week on Oct. 14, 2019 and Oct. 21, 2019.
• K Matt Schearer was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week on Oct. 24.
• Jackson was named a semifinalist for the 2022 William V. Campbell Trophy®, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced last week. Only Bucknell and Dayton have had a Campbell Trophy semifinalist each of the past 17 years.
• The Bison returned one All-Patriot League player in DB Gavin Pringle (1st in '21S, 2nd in '19).
• Pringle has been voted to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team in three consecutive seasons, and RB Coleman Bennett was voted to the 2021 Preseason All-Patriot League Team, representing Bucknell as a return specialist.
• The Bison graduated All-Patriot League honorees RB Jared Cooper and WR Dominic Lyles following the 2021 season.
• DB Brent Jackson was voted to the 2021 Academic All-Patriot League Team, earning the award for the first time in his career.
• Bennett and Jackson were named 2022 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars by the publication Diverse: Issues in Higher Education in May. The award recognizes undergraduate students of color who have excelled in the classroom as well as on the athletic fields.

Head Coach Dave Cecchini
• Dace Cecchini, one of the all-time great wide receivers in Patriot League history who has since gone on to achieve tremendous success in the coaching ranks, was named the 27th Bob Odell Head Football Coach at Bucknell University on February 6, 2019.
• Cecchini was voted as the 2021 Spring Patriot League Dick Biddle Coach of the Year for guiding the team to a spot in the Patriot League Championship Game. In addition, he was selected as a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, presented by STATS to the FCS Coach of the Year, for the second time in his career.
• In his first season at the helm, Cecchini led the Bison to a third-place finish in the Patriot League, their highest placement since they were the 2014 runners-up. Their Patriot League victories came over defending champion Colgate (32-14), rival Lehigh (20-10) and Georgetown (20-17); two of their three league losses came by a touchdown or less.
• In 2017 while at Valparaiso, Cecchini was a finalist for the American Football Coaches Association's FCS National Coach of the Year and the STATS FCS Coach of the Year awards; he was also voted as the Pioneer Football League Coach of the Year and the AFCA FCS Region 4 Coach of the Year.

Inside the 2022 Schedule
• This is the 137th season of football at Bucknell. The Bison played their first game in 1883 and have played continuously since 1887.
• Bucknell's challenging 2022 schedule includes trips to FBS program Central Michigan and Ivy League opponent Yale. Central Michigan marks the third FBS team the Bison have scheduled in four seasons.
• Bucknell's 2022 opponents went a combined 58-64 in 2021, with Central Michigan winning its Sun Bowl game and Holy Cross advancing to the FCS playoffs for the third-straight season. VMI earned a spot in the 2021 spring FCS playoffs on the strength of its first conference title since 1977 while Towson, which did not compete during the 2020-21 school year, won seven games in both 2019 and 2018, advancing to the 2018 FCS playoffs.
• Bucknell begins Patriot League action at home against Lafayette on Oct. 1.
• Bucknell's other home contests include on Colgate on Oct. 29, Fordham on Nov. 5, and Pioneer Football League member Marist for Senior Day on Nov. 19 to close out the regular season on 19.

How to Follow the Bison
• All of Bucknell's home games and its road contests at VMI, Yale, Holy Cross, Lehigh and Georgetown will air on ESPN+, which became home of the Patriot League Network ahead of the 2020-21 school year.
• The Bison's game at FBS foe Central Michigan will be broadcast on ESPN3.
• All of the Bison's games will be broadcast on 100.9 The Valley (WVLY). The broadcast will also be available on WVLY.com/The__Valley and BucknellBison.com.
• Bucknell is active on Twitter (@Bucknell_FB) and Instagram (Bucknell_FB). Interact with the team using the hashtags #ACT and #rayBucknell.

Up Next
• Bucknell plays its final road game of the season at Georgetown on Saturday, Nov. 12.

Bison Football Plays Host to No. 24/18 Fordham Rams

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