Bucknell University
0-1 , 0-0
James Madison
1-0 , 0-0
Football Falls to James Madison on the Road, 38-3
9/2/2023 10:09:00 PM | Football
HARRISONBURG, VA – The Bucknell football team held the James Madison offense, which ranked 13th in the nation in scoring last season, in check through most of Saturday's 38-3 loss at Bridgeforth Stadium. The Bison defense limited the FBS foe to 30 passing yards and 24 points through the first three quarters. Bucknell made its way onto the scoreboard with a 49-yard Matt Schearer field goal as time expired in the first half to make it a 17-3 game at the break.
The 38 points allowed were not indicative of the defense's efforts, as six of JMU's 13 drives began in Bison territory. Bucknell stood strong and allowed the Dukes to score on just three of those. The Bison put together two goal-line stands, and Ethan Robinson grabbed an interception on JMU's opening possession of the game.
Schearer's 49-yard kick, which was one shy of his career long, was one of the brighter spots on special teams for the Bison. JMU racked up 94 yards on six punt returns, and Bucknell had one punt blocked.
The defense did break late in the game on a 57-yard touchdown pass from Jordan McCloud to Reggie Brown that gave the Dukes a 31-3 lead.
Bucknell's offense created several chunk plays as well, including a 32-yard pass from Ralph Rucker to Damian Harris and a 30-yard run by Rushawn Baker that set the Bison up at the JMU 23. Harris hauled in all three of his receptions in the first half for 61 yards. Rucker finished the game 13 of 19 (68.4%) for 140 yards. He also used his legs to escape the pocket on numerous occasions and finished with 17 rushing yards.
Blake Leake led the defense with nine tackles and one tackle for loss. Robinson added two pass breakups to go with his interception.
Both teams turned the ball over on their opening possessions of the game, as Bucknell fumbled four plays in. Bucknell punted it away on its second possession, and the Dukes returned it 25 yards to set up the game's first score – a 36-yard field goal. JMU returned Bucknell's next punt 35 yards and got down to the 6-yard line, but the Bison defense forced incompletions on third and fourth down to get the ball back.
The Bison offense followed it up with a 7-play, 71-yard drive and got down to the JMU 23-yard line but were stuffed on 4th-and-1.
Bucknell got the ball back with 2:02 remaining in the first half and trailing 17-0 when Rucker led the team on a 7-play, 43-yard drive that ate up the remaining time. The Bison called timeout with one second left before Schearer split the uprights with ease.
Bucknell forced JMU to punt on its first two drives of the third quarter, but Bucknell's offense stalled as well. The Bison managed just 16 yards of offense over the final 30 minutes after piling up 204 in the first half.
JMU added one final touchdown with 6:35 to go in the fourth quarter on a 13-yard pass from McCloud to Maxwell Moss. McCloud finished the game 7 of 11 for 144 yards and two touchdowns after entering the game in the second half. Kaelon Black led a dynamic rushing attack for the Dukes, gaining 125 yards on 12 attempts.
Also impressive for the Bison was Eric Weatherly, who pulled down three catches for 20 yards, and Adam Barakat, who made a pair of tough catches for 19.
Up next, Bucknell plays its home opener against VMI at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9. The Bison will be celebrating First Responder and Hero Appreciation Night at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, and the game will be followed by a fireworks show, presented by Bucknell Football Alumni and Weis Markets.
Team Stats
BUC 0, JMU 3
JMU - Wise,Camden 36 yd field goal 8 plays, 24 yards, TOP 02:27
BUC 0, JMU 10
JMU - Barnett III,Alonza 9 yd run (Wise,Camden kick), 3 plays, 77 yards, TOP 00:39
BUC 0, JMU 17
JMU - Palmer,Latrele 13 yd run (Wise,Camden kick), 4 plays, 45 yards, TOP 01:07
BUC 3, JMU 17
BUC - Schearer,Matt 49 yd field goal 7 plays, 43 yards, TOP 02:02
BUC 3, JMU 24
JMU - Lawton,Ty Son 5 yd run (Wise,Camden kick), 5 plays, 43 yards, TOP 01:40
BUC 3, JMU 31
JMU - Brown,Reggie 57 yd pass from McCloud,Jordan (Wise,Camden kick) 4 plays, 84 yards, TOP 01:55
BUC 3, JMU 38
JMU - Moss,Maxwell 13 yd pass from McCloud,Jordan (Wise,Camden kick) 7 plays, 55 yards, TOP 03:10
