Saturday, October 12
Philadelphia, Pa.
1 p.m.
Bucknell University
3-3 , 1-0
21
at
31
Penn
2-2 , 0-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Bucknell
7
0
7
7
21
Penn
7
3
21
0
31
Penn Rides Big Third Quarter to 31-21 Win over Bison Football
10/12/2024 4:40:00 PM | Football
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Malachi Hosley ran for 146 yards and two big third-quarter touchdowns to help Penn pull away and snap Bucknell's two-game winning streak, 31-21 on a sunny Saturday at Franklin Field. The Bison piled up 429 total yards, including 314 through the air, five times they lamented coming away without points on drives to at least the Penn 33-yard line.
Ralph Rucker IV completed his first 13 passes of the day and was 26 of 34 for 241 yards before leaving with an injury on the first play of the fourth quarter. Backup Michael Hardyway was just as effective, hitting on 6 of 9 passes for 53 yards and engineering a fourth-quarter scoring drive that kept Bucknell within striking distance.
Josh Gary caught a career-high 13 passes – two shy of the team record – on 15 targets for 137 yards, and Eric Weatherly (7) and Nate Anderson (6) accounted for another 13 catches. Freshman Tariq Thomas paced the ground attack with 57 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns.
"I thought our guys played tremendous team football today, but unfortunately we were not able to finish drives," said head coach Dave Cecchini. "Penn won more of those critical moments in the football game, and that was the difference today."
Bucknell got out to a promising start when FCS kickoff return leader TJ Cadden ran the opening kickoff out to midfield. The Bison picked up a couple of first downs but were ultimately stopped on 4th-and-1 at the Penn 20.
The Quakers, boosted by the fourth-down stop, drove 80 yards in eight plays to take the lead. The key play was a 44-yard catch and run on a wide receiver screen by Bisi Owens on a 3rd-and-8 down to the Bucknell 22. After a Penn holding penalty, Hosley ran it 27 yards down to the 5 and then Jamal Bing scored on the next play for a 7-0 Quakers lead.
Bucknell immediately responded, driving 78 yards in 10 plays, knotting the game on a 9-yard run by Thomas and the PAT by Matt Schearer. Rucker was 6-for-6 for 53 yards on the drive, plus a big 14-yard scramble on 3rd-and-13.
John Schlendorf's sack on 3rd-and-5 from the Bucknell 6 forced Penn to settle for a 30-yard Sam Smith field goal with 9:22 left in the second quarter, and Penn escaped with that 10-7 lead into the halftime break after the Bison missed two field goals in the final 5:13.
Penn broke it open in the third quarter with two more Hosley touchdown runs of 32 and 13 yards stretching the margin to 24-7.
Rucker connected with Anderson on an 11-yard fade route in the left corner of the end zone to make it 24-14, but the Quakers answered in only three plays, with Aidan Sayin hitting Jared Richardson on a 49-yard strike.
Hardyway led an 11-play touchdown drive, culminating with Thomas' 4-yard run with 11:56 to go in the fourth. A Sam Milligan to Charlie Kreinbucher halfback option for a fourth-down conversion kept the drive alive.
Alex Smith Jr. broke up a fourth-down pass to give the Bison the ball back at their own 21 with 8:14 to go, and they drove all the way to the Penn 32 with a chance to make it a one-score game. Hardyway called his own number to pick up a 4th-and-3, and four completions to Gary set up a 49-yard field goal attempt, but it was off the mark with 3:10 to go, and the Quakers made two first downs to run out the clock.
Sayin finished 15-for-20 for 190 yards and a touchdown, and he was intercepted once by Mason Taylor.
The Bison outgained the Quakers 429-324 and won the possession battle 33:07 to 26:46. Neither team punted in the game.
Bucknell faces another Ivy League team next Saturday when Cornell visits Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on Homecoming.
Ralph Rucker IV completed his first 13 passes of the day and was 26 of 34 for 241 yards before leaving with an injury on the first play of the fourth quarter. Backup Michael Hardyway was just as effective, hitting on 6 of 9 passes for 53 yards and engineering a fourth-quarter scoring drive that kept Bucknell within striking distance.
Josh Gary caught a career-high 13 passes – two shy of the team record – on 15 targets for 137 yards, and Eric Weatherly (7) and Nate Anderson (6) accounted for another 13 catches. Freshman Tariq Thomas paced the ground attack with 57 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns.
"I thought our guys played tremendous team football today, but unfortunately we were not able to finish drives," said head coach Dave Cecchini. "Penn won more of those critical moments in the football game, and that was the difference today."
Bucknell got out to a promising start when FCS kickoff return leader TJ Cadden ran the opening kickoff out to midfield. The Bison picked up a couple of first downs but were ultimately stopped on 4th-and-1 at the Penn 20.
The Quakers, boosted by the fourth-down stop, drove 80 yards in eight plays to take the lead. The key play was a 44-yard catch and run on a wide receiver screen by Bisi Owens on a 3rd-and-8 down to the Bucknell 22. After a Penn holding penalty, Hosley ran it 27 yards down to the 5 and then Jamal Bing scored on the next play for a 7-0 Quakers lead.
Bucknell immediately responded, driving 78 yards in 10 plays, knotting the game on a 9-yard run by Thomas and the PAT by Matt Schearer. Rucker was 6-for-6 for 53 yards on the drive, plus a big 14-yard scramble on 3rd-and-13.
Tariq Thomas ties it up! #rayBucknell
— Bucknell Football (@Bucknell_FB) October 12, 2024
Watch: https://t.co/Uwu9nCFBRN@PatriotLeagueHQ | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/KuzbXVXjBJ
John Schlendorf's sack on 3rd-and-5 from the Bucknell 6 forced Penn to settle for a 30-yard Sam Smith field goal with 9:22 left in the second quarter, and Penn escaped with that 10-7 lead into the halftime break after the Bison missed two field goals in the final 5:13.
Penn broke it open in the third quarter with two more Hosley touchdown runs of 32 and 13 yards stretching the margin to 24-7.
Rucker connected with Anderson on an 11-yard fade route in the left corner of the end zone to make it 24-14, but the Quakers answered in only three plays, with Aidan Sayin hitting Jared Richardson on a 49-yard strike.
Ralph Rucker with a 🎯 to Nate Anderson! #rayBucknell
— Bucknell Football (@Bucknell_FB) October 12, 2024
Watch: https://t.co/Uwu9nCFBRN@PatriotLeagueHQ | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/9V3H07U8Bi
Hardyway led an 11-play touchdown drive, culminating with Thomas' 4-yard run with 11:56 to go in the fourth. A Sam Milligan to Charlie Kreinbucher halfback option for a fourth-down conversion kept the drive alive.
Alex Smith Jr. broke up a fourth-down pass to give the Bison the ball back at their own 21 with 8:14 to go, and they drove all the way to the Penn 32 with a chance to make it a one-score game. Hardyway called his own number to pick up a 4th-and-3, and four completions to Gary set up a 49-yard field goal attempt, but it was off the mark with 3:10 to go, and the Quakers made two first downs to run out the clock.
Sayin finished 15-for-20 for 190 yards and a touchdown, and he was intercepted once by Mason Taylor.
The Bison outgained the Quakers 429-324 and won the possession battle 33:07 to 26:46. Neither team punted in the game.
Bucknell faces another Ivy League team next Saturday when Cornell visits Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on Homecoming.
Team Stats
BUC
PEN
Total Yards
429
394
Pass Yards
314
190
Rushing Yards
115
204
Penalty Yards
35
50
1st Downs
28
19
3rd Downs
9
6
4th Downs
3
2
TOP
33:07
26:46
1st Quarter
BUC 0, PEN 7
PEN - Bing, Jr.,Jamal 5 yd run (Smith,Sam kick), 8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 04:26
BUC 7, PEN 7
BUC - Thomas,Tariq 9 yd run (Schearer,Matt kick), 10 plays, 78 yards, TOP 04:56
2nd Quarter
BUC 7, PEN 10
PEN - Smith,Sam 30 yd field goal 14 plays, 36 yards, TOP 07:18
3rd Quarter
BUC 7, PEN 17
PEN - Hosley,Malachi 32 yd run (Smith,Sam kick), 6 plays, 58 yards, TOP 01:57
BUC 7, PEN 24
PEN - Hosley,Malachi 13 yd run (Smith,Sam kick), 7 plays, 62 yards, TOP 03:18
BUC 14, PEN 24
BUC - Anderson,Nate 11 yd pass from Rucker IV,Ralph (Schearer,Matt kick) 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:04
BUC 14, PEN 31
PEN - Richardson,Jared 49 yd pass from Sayin,Aidan (Smith,Sam kick) 3 plays, 62 yards, TOP 01:12
4th Quarter
BUC 21, PEN 31
BUC - Thomas,Tariq 4 yd run (Schearer,Matt kick), 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:13
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
26
TD
1
YDS
241
INT
0
CMP
6
TD
0
YDS
53
INT
0
CMP
1
TD
0
YDS
20
INT
0
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
QB
/ Football
TE
/ Football
WR
/ Football
QB
/ Football
P/K
/ Football
S
/ Football
S
/ Football
S
/ Football
RB
/ Football
WR
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