Football Travels to Cornell Saturday for Non-League Action

Saturday, October 14

Ithaca, N.Y.

1 p.m.

Bucknell University

Cornell

Photo by: John Rooney

Football Travels to Cornell Saturday for Non-League Action

10/10/2023 1:26:00 PM | Football

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell goes back on the road this weekend for a non-Patriot League game against the 2-2 Cornell Big Red. The Bison are looking to put an end to a three-game losing skid and defeat the Big Red for a fifth time over the last six meetings. Bucknell is 1-2 in non-league action this season, capturing its only victory of the year so far against VMI.

Cornell began the season 2-0 for the first time since 2000 but is coming off back-to-back losses. The Big Red host the Bison for the first game of a three-game homestand and will look to defeat their second Patriot League team of the season.

Saturday marks the 59th time the Bison and Big Red have squared off since the series began in 1888.

Media Notes:

When: Saturday, Oct. 14 – 1 p.m.
Where: Schoellkopf Field – Ithaca, N.Y.
Internet Video: ESPN+
Radio: 100.9 The Valley (WVLY)
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: CornellBigRed.com
Follow on Twitter: @BucknellBison
Media Notes: Bucknell | Cornell

With a Victory the Bison would…
• move to 2-4 on the season
• improve to 1-2 on the road
• move to 2-2 in non-league play
• improve to 16-43 in the all-time series with Cornell
• win a third straight game over Cornell
• move to 2-0 against Cornell under Coach Cecchini

Bucknell at a Glance
• Bucknell fell to 1-4 (0-2 PL) with a loss at home to No. 12 Holy Cross last weekend. It was Bucknell's third consecutive loss, as the Bison fell to 0-2 in Patriot League play. Teams that have beat the Bison have a combined 17-3 record.
• The Bison put up 400 yards of total offense and 27 points on Saturday, both of which were the most Bucknell has posted in a single game since March 27, 2021.
• QB Ralph Rucker has thrown for over 200 yards in three consecutive contests and now has the most single-season passing yards (1,124) by a Bison since Logan Bitikofer (1,686) in 2019.
• WR Derrick Anderson Jr. posted a career day against Holy Cross, hauling in six catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns. He's now scored three touchdowns in two games and is the third Bison to record a 100-yard receiving game this season.
• RB Coleman Bennett also had one of the best games of his career, totaling 240 all-purpose yards with 106 rushing, 50 receiving and 84 kick return yards against the Crusaders. It was the second time this season Bucknell has had a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receiver in the same game.
• Bucknell currently ranks second in the league in passing but last in rushing. The Bison are averaging 236.2 pass yards per game.
• The Bison were picked to finish in a tie for sixth in the Patriot League based on a vote by the league's head coaches and sports information directors ahead of the 2023 season.
• Bucknell went 3-8 (2-4 PL) during the 2022 campaign, finishing in a tie for fourth. The Bison, who were picked to finish last in that season's Patriot League preseason poll, earned league wins over Lehigh (19-17) and Georgetown (24-21, OT) before ending the year with a victory over Marist (24-13).
• Bucknell is in its fifth season under Cecchini, who spent the previous five as head coach at Valparaiso. Cecchini was honored as the Patriot League Dick Biddle Coach of the Year during the four-game spring 2021 campaign.
• Bucknell returned a total of 56 letterwinners in 2023, a group that includes 23 seniors, 20 juniors and 13 sophomores. 12 seniors are three-time letterwinners.
• RB Coleman Bennett, LB Blake Leake, QB Nick Semptimphelter and OL Casey Stephenson are serving as 2023 team captains, as voted on by their teammates.
• Bucknell welcomed a host of new faces to the staff this season, including new offensive coordinator John Bear. Wide receivers coach Braelon Roberts, offensive line coach Sean Pearson, defensive backs coach Pat Clark and safeties coach McNeil Parker are all new assistants on the staff as well.

Inside the Holy Cross Box Score
• Bucknell trailed throughout Saturday's game against the 12th-ranked Crusaders but was on the verge of cutting it to a one-possession game on several occasions. Trailing 41-27 late in the third quarter, Bucknell threw an interception six yards away from the Holy Cross end zone. Then, early in the fourth quarter the Bison missed on a pass to the end zone on fourth down at the Holy Cross 23-yard line that also would have cut the deficit to a single touchdown.
• Bucknell racked up 400 yards of offense compared to 574 for Holy Cross. Penalties were a major factor for both teams. The Crusaders were penalized 12 times for 130 yards, and Bucknell seven times for 50 yards.
• Bucknell came up empty on three fourth down conversions in the game, and Holy Cross was stopped on its only fourth down try. The Crusaders were 6-for-6 in the red zone, while Bucknell was 1-for-3.
• QB Ralph Rucker completed 19 of 35 pass attempts for 248 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. It was Rucker's second three-touchdown game of the season and only his second pick.
• Sophomore WR Derrick Anderson Jr. caught six balls for 115 yards and two touchdowns, while WR Eric Weatherly scored a 40-yard touchdown on his only reception for Bucknell.
• RB Coleman Bennett totaled 240 all-purpose yards, including 106 rushing yards on 21 carries. He posted a career-long 47-yard rushing touchdown and also grabbed seven catches.
• Holy Cross QB Matthew Sluka completed 19 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 122 yards. RB Jordan Fuller rushed for 147 yards and four touchdowns.
• Both teams recorded just one sack each.

Cornell at a Glance
• Cornell is 2-2 (1-1 IVY) on the season and coming off back-to-back losses to Colgate and No. 21/19 Harvard. The Big Red's two wins to open the season were at Lehigh and at Yale. The 2-0 start was Cornell's first since 2000.
• The Big Red was trailing 14-0 to Yale in the second quarter before outscoring the Bulldogs 23-7 the rest of the way.
• Cornell was picked to finish seventh in the 2023 Ivy League Preseason Poll after going 5-5 (2-5 IVY) last season. The Big Red went 2-0 against Patriot League teams in 2022 and was 3-0 against non-Ivy League foes.
• Cornell's team features nine Phil Steele Preseason All-Ivy League players, including First Team honoree senior linebacker Jake Stebbins and Second Team quarterback Jameson Wang. Wang is currently third in the Ivy League in passing and seventh in rushing.
• Cornell ranks top-30 in the FCS in passing offense (249.5, 25th), passing defense (177.2, 20th), punt return yards (13.6, 25th) and time of possession (23:27, 2nd).
• Cornell is led by head coach David Archer, who has led the Big Red to a 28-66 record in his 10 seasons with the team. Cornell is 2-4 against Bucknell under Archer.

The Bucknell/Cornell Series
• Cornell leads the all-time series 43-15 against the Bison, bolstered by a 23-game winning streak that stretched from 1892 to 1979.
• The series began in 1888, which was Bucknell's third season and Cornell's second.
• Bucknell and Cornell played every season from 2002 to 2017. The Big Red won 10 of those 16 contests.
• The Bison are 4-1 against Cornell in the last five meetings. In 2014, the Bison halted a seven-game losing skid to the Big Red with a 20-7 win at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
• Bucknell is 7-33 when playing Cornell on the road and has won the last two in Ithaca in 2015 and 2017.
• Bucknell's last meeting with Cornell was the Bison's only win of the 2021 season, a 21-10 home victory.

The Last Meeting with the Big Red
• Bucknell rallied to defeat Cornell, 21-10, in its Homecoming game on Oct. 2 by scoring two unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
• The Bison defense generated four key turnovers, including two by S Jonathan Searcy that halted Big Red drives in the red zone.
• QB Nick Semptimphelter orchestrated Bucknell's go-ahead scoring drive, which covered 78 yards in 10 plays and was capped by a touchdown throw to TE Christian Spugnardi.
• Three plays after going up by a 14-10 margin, the Bison got the ball back after CB Sterling Deary intercepted a pass and returned it 22 yards to Cornell's 28-yard line. They took advantage of their favorable field position, with Semptimphelter finishing off the abbreviated drive with a two-yard touchdown run.
• Suddenly down by a 21-10 margin, the Big Red responded with a march all the way to Bucknell's one-yard line. After a pass interference penalty gave Cornell a fresh set of downs on 3rd and goal, QB Richie Kenney faked the handoff and went for the quarterback keeper score. Searcy leveled him inches before the goal line, knocking the ball free; LB Ben Allen ultimately came up with it in the end zone.
• With the teams tied at 7-7, the Big Red had an opportunity to take a lead into halftime. Cornell began the first half's final drive on its own 19-yard line and advanced all the way to the Bison's 11-yard line. Searcy picked off a pass four yards outside of the end zone, giving Bucknell the momentum entering the break.
• Semptimphelter threw for 85 yards and one touchdown while also running for a score; both his touchdown throw and run were the first of his career.
• QB Tyler Beverett posted a career-high 61 yards through the air and added a career-best 28 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
• RB Coleman Bennett (41) and WR Marques Owens (49) were the Bison leaders in rushing yards and receiving yards respectively, each setting a new career-high total.
• The Bison held advantages in time of possession (31:44-28:16) and rushing yards (97-34) while the Big Red led in total offense (340-243) and passing yards (306-146); the teams finished tied at 15-15 in first downs.

Inside the Bucknell Depth Chart
• Bucknell's projected starters on offense have made a combined 107 starts.
• Bucknell's projected starters on defense have made a combined 165 starts.
• On offense, three seniors, three juniors and four sophomores and one freshman (OL Xavier Allen) are expected to start.
• On defense, four seniors, five juniors one sophomore (CB Roman Pearson) and one freshman (S Deuce Geter) are expected to start.
• 18 Bison have made at least 10 career starts. Eight have started 20 games or more.
• Four Bison have starting streaks of 10 or more games in a row: Leake (23), Robinson (22) Harris (18), S John Schlendorf (16).
• Five Bison, Harris, Leake, Robinson, Schlendorf and Vyas, started all 11 of Bucknell's games in 2022.
• Only seniors P Ruben Anderson and Alston have played in all 31 of Bucknell's games over their four years. Leake has missed just one appearance during his career.
• Of the junior class, Schlendorf, Robinson and S Alex Smith Jr. have played in all 27 of the team's games over three seasons.
• 12 Bison have made their first career starts this season, including three freshmen. In 2022, seven players each made their first career starts. Two were juniors, two were sophomores, and three were freshmen.

Milestone Watch
• Ralph Rucker needs one passing touchdown to reach 10 on the season.
• Brad Jamison needs 20 tackles to reach 100 in his career.

Milestones Met Last Week
• Tyler Alston eclipsed 100 career tackles.
• Blake Leake eclipsed 200 career tackles.
• Ralph Rucker eclipsed 1,000 passing yards on the season.
• Coleman Bennett eclipsed 500 career receiving yards.

Bison Award Winners
• Coleman Bennett was one of 201 college football players to be named a 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy semifinalist. Bucknell and Dayton are the only schools to have a Campbell Trophy semifinalist in each of the last 18 years.
• DL Aneesh Vyas was named the Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday, Sept. 25 for blocking an extra point and a field goal against Penn. He's the first Bison to earn a Patriot League weekly award this season.
• The Bison returned one All-Patriot League player, OL Ethan Pitzel (2nd Team in '22). DL Tyler Alston and K Matt Schearer were both voted to the 2023 Preseason All-Patriot League Team. Coleman Bennett was a 2021 Preseason All-League honoree as a return specialist.
• The Bison graduated three All-Patriot League players following the 2022 season: LB Ben Allen (2nd Team in '22), S Brent Jackson (2nd Team in '22), and CB Gavin Pringle (2nd Team in '22 and '19, 1st Team in 'S21).
• In 2022, Bennett was named an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar by the publication Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. The award recognizes undergraduate students of color who have excelled in the classroom as well as on the athletic fields.
• Last week, Bennett was named Bucknell's 2023 nominee for the William V. Campbell Trophy, which is awarded by the National Football Foundation to player with the best combination of academics, community service, and on-field performance. Bucknell and Dayton are the only schools that have had a Campbell Trophy semifinalist each of the past 17 years.
• Six Bison were named to the 2022 CSC Academic All-District Team: Ben Allen, Connor Carretta, Brent Jackson, Ethan Pitzel, Jonathan Searcy and Aneesh Vyas.
• Bucknell returned two of its three Academic All-Patriot League honorees from the 2022 season: Bennett and Pitzel.
• In March, 50 Bucknell football players were named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll for achieving a 3.2 GPA or higher. The Bison led all Patriot League teams in the category.

Head Coach Dave Cecchini
• Dave 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.
• Since arriving at Bucknell, Cecchini's players have combined to earn 20 All-Patriot League First/Second Team awards as well as one First Team All-American.

Inside the 2023 Schedule
• This is the 138th season of football at Bucknell. The Bison played their first-ever game in 1883 and have played continuously since 1887.
• The Bison opened the 2023 slate against FBS opponent James Madison, which tied for first place in the Sun Belt East Division during its inaugural season in the conference with an 8-3 (6-2 SBC) record.
• After hosting VMI for the home opener on Sept. 9, the Bison remain at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium to face Penn, which is coming off its winningest season in more than a decade. It marks the 44th time in the last 45 seasons that Bucknell has had an Ivy League program on the schedule.
• Bucknell's other non-league games include Cornell on Oct. 14 and Marist to close out the regular season on Nov. 18.
• Bucknell opened Patriot League play on the road at Lafayette on Sept. 30. The Bison will play host to reigning league champion Holy Cross, Lehigh and Georgetown.
• Bucknell's 2023 opponents went a combined 58-64 last season. They are off to a combined 33-26 record this season.

Facility Upgrades
• Thanks to the support of the Pascucci family, Bucknell's new artificial turf practice field was broken in last preseason camp. Offering additional training and practice space for several men's and women's teams, the new field provides even greater training opportunities for a variety of programs beyond the ones that call Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium home.
• The stadium's new state-of-the-art video board made its debut in 2021, greatly heightening the fan experience at home events.
• Currently under construction is The Pascucci Team Center which, upon completion, will include a new strength and conditioning center, locker rooms, and a team meeting and event space.
• In recognition of Pascucci's historic commitment to both financial aid and athletics, the area of campus that includes the stadium and the Christy Mathewson Gates was named the Pascucci Family Athletics Complex.
• The picturesque Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium was dedicated in 1924 and was known originally as Memorial Stadium as a tribute to Bucknell's numerous war veterans. The stadium underwent a major renovation in 1989, and at that time it was rededicated to honor the iconic Christy Mathewson, who was a three-sport star and model student-athlete during his playing days at Bucknell.
• Bucknell is 256-184-10 all-time at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.

How to Follow the Bison
• All of Bucknell's games this season, with the exception of the season finale at Marist, will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• All of the Bison's games will be broadcast on 100.9 The Valley (WVLY). The broadcast will also be available for internet streaming on 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 host to Pennsylvania rival Lehigh on Saturday, Oct. 21. The Bison defeated the Mountain Hawks on the road in comeback fashion last fall.