Football Hosts Cornell for Homecoming Game Saturday Afternoon

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell football returns home this Saturday on Homecoming when Cornell visits Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium in the 60th edition of the "Battle of the 'Nells". Saturday's game is a 1 p.m. kickoff in Lewisburg and is presented by Payroc. Doug Birdsong and Charlie Fisher have the call on ESPN+, while Joe Vasile and Luke Smith will have the local radio call on WKOK 1070 AM.

Both teams are looking to rebound from losses. The Bison saw their two-game winning streak snapped by Penn, 31-21 at Franklin Field on Saturday. Bucknell made a season-high 28 first downs and piled up 429 yards of offense against a typically stout Quakers defense, but the Bison came away without points on drives to at least the Penn 33-yard line on five different occasions. The inability to finish drives proved costly, as a number of Bucknell players had big offensive days.

Meanwhile, Cornell fell to 1-3 after a 38-20 home loss to Harvard last Friday night. The Big Red have a new head coach this year in Dan Swanstrom, who was previously the Penn offensive coordinator after a five-year stint as head coach at Division III power Ithaca College. Like Bucknell, Cornell has put up some big offensive numbers this season, most notably in a 47-23 rout of Yale on Sept. 28. The Big Red have also fallen to Colgate (41-24) and UAlbany (31-10). Cornell features one of the Ivy League's top quarterbacks in Jameson Wang, who ranks sixth in FCS in completion percentage (.709), 10th in total offense (278.3), and 13th in pass efficiency (158.4).

Bucknell is 16-43 all-time against Cornell, but the series has evened up after the Big Red won 26 of the first 27 meetings. The Bison have claimed three straight and five of the last six, and the current three-game run is Bucknell's longest streak since the series began in 1888.

When: Saturday, Oct. 19, 1 p.m.
Where: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, Pa.
Internet Video: ESPN+
Radio: 1070 AM (WKOK)
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Follow on X: @Bucknell_FB
Media Notes: Bucknell | Cornell
Digital Program

Luke Rohrbaugh Enshrined
• Luke Rohrbaugh '71 is one of five Bison alumni being inducted into the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame as part of Homecoming Weekend festivities. Rohrbaugh was an outstanding offensive lineman for the Bison. He started every game over his final three seasons and earned All-Middle Atlantic Conference and AP All-State honors. After graduating in 1971, he was one of the final training camp cuts by the Baltimore Colts.
• Rohrbaugh joins Ted Peterson '76 (soccer), Garrin Kapecki '89 (water polo), Amy Mantush Filanowski '10 (track & field), and Austin Winter '10 (lacrosse) in the 46th Hall of Fame Class. The official indicution ceremony will be held on Friday night, and the inductees will be honored again at halftime of Saturday's football game.

Happy 100th birthday, CMMS!
• Bucknell Athletics is proudly celebrating Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium's 100th anniversary season in 2024. The actual 100th anniversary of the first game ever played in the facility is this Friday. On Oct. 18, 1924, Bucknell lost its Homecoming game to Lafayette 21-3. It was one of only two losses in an 8-2 season.
• Over the course of 10 decades, the historic landmark has played host to more than 450 football games along with countless other athletic events and community gatherings. The Bison are celebrating a century of tradition throughout the 2024-25 academic year
• 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 256-187-10 all-time at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.

With a victory, Buckenll would...
• ... improve to 4-3 on the season, which would be its best seven-game start since 2017.
• ... improve to 2-1 at home this season.
• ... win its fourth straight game over Cornell, which would extend its longest series winning streak.

Bucknell at a Glance
• Bucknell dropped to 3-3 on the season after Saturday's 31-21 loss at Penn. The Bison had won their previous two games against Marist and Lehigh, the latter a 38-35 double-overtime thriller in Bethlehem on Sept. 28. The Bison also have a win over VMI, with the losses coming to FBS Navy, Merrimack, and Penn.
• Every Patriot League team has now played at least one conference game. Holy Cross moved to the top of the standings at 2-0 after beating Fordham last week, and Bucknell and Georgetown are both 1-0. The Bison and Hoyas meet next week in D.C. Bucknell will have nothing but league games remaining on the schedule after this week's contest with Cornell.
• Freshman RB Tariq Thomas eaned his second Patriot League Rookie of the Week honor on Monday. Thomas scored his first two career touchdowns in the Penn game.
• The Bison rank second in the Patriot League in points (28.3) and total yards (367.5) per game, and they lead the league in passing yards (241.0) per game. Nationally, the Bison are 50th out of 123 FCS teams in total offense but only 109th in red zone offense, so finishing drives will be a focus moving into the second half of the season.
fense, and special teams.
• TJ Cadden is in the midst of a historic special teams season for the Bison, as he added to his two punt return touchdowns with a 100-yard kickoff return TD at Lehigh. Cadden leads the nation in return TDs and ranks third kickoff return average (32.1) and fourth in punt return average (17.5).
• QB Ralph Rucker IV is in his second season leading the Bison offense after transferring from Oklahoma, but Rucker is expected to miss this week's game after suffering an injury early in the fourth quarter at Penn.
• In 16 games at Bucknell he has thrown for more than 3,800 yards, he has completed 64.0% of his passes, and he has 32 touchdown passes against only nine interceptions. The 32 TD tosses are third-most in team history, and his 3,803 passing yards rank 10th all-time.
• Senior Michael Hardyway is poised to make his first career start on Saturday. Hardyway played in one game as a freshman in 2021 before departing with a season-ending injury, and he didn't appear in another contest until earlier this season at Navy. He engineering long scoring drives in relief roles against Navy, Merrimack, and Penn, and he is 11-for-17 for 160 yards and a TD this season.
• The Bison have rotated four running backs throughout the first six games, but the freshman Thomas has started to carry more of the load. The Springfield, Mass., native has started the last five games and he leads the team in rushing attempts (73) and yards (263). Paul Neel (41 carries), Michael Cadden (21), and Danny Meuser (13) have also seen time in the backfield.
• Michael Cadden, a freshman, is TJ's younger brother. Both have reached the end zone this season. Michael scored on a 2-yard run in the Navy game on opening day, and TJ has five touchdowns, with two TD catches in addtition to the three return scores.
• The Bison were picked to finish seventh in the 2024 Patriot League Football Preseason Poll after finishing the 2023 campaign in a tie for sixth with a 4-7 (1-5 PL) record.
• Matt Schearer was named to the 2024 Preseason All-Patriot League Team for a second season in a row. The Bison also landed eight on the Phil Steele 2024 Patriot League Preseason All-Conference Team.
• Bucknell is in its sixth season under head coach Dave Cecchini, who was voted as the Patriot League Dick Biddle Coach of the Year during the 2021 spring campaign for leading the Bison to a spot in the first-ever Patriot League Championship Game following the abbreviated season. Cecchini's team is coming off a record-setting campaign in 2023 that saw the offense average 38.8 points per game over the final four contests.
• Bucknell returned a total of 42 letterwinners in 2023, a group that includes two fifth-year seniors, 18 seniors, 14 juniors and eight sophomores. 11 Bison are three-time letterwinners, and fifth-year RB Danny Meuser is a four-time letterwinner. Bucknell lost 32 letterwinners last year.
• Bucknell welcomed 33 newcomers this season, including 27 freshmen. Five newcomers transferred to Bucknell.
• The Bison welcomed a host of new faces to the staff during the offseason: special teams coordinator/linebackers coach Brad Jarman, running backs coach Jalen Banks, defensive line coach Codey Cole, assistant offensive line coach/run game analyst Ashley Cornwell, defensive quality control/cornerbacks coach Roger Wright-Lester, and video coordinator Kiem LeGrant.
• Fifth-year senior OL Casey Stephenson, senior LB Brad Jamison, senior S Alex Smith Jr., and junior OL John Ohnegian were selected by their teammates to serve as team captains for the 2024 season. Stephenson is just the 12th multi-year captain in program history.
• The "CD" stickers Bucknell is wearing on its helmets are to honor fallen teammate Calvin Dickey, who tragically passed away in July.

Inside the Bucknell Depth Chart
• Bucknell's projected starters on offense have made a combined 140 starts at Bucknell.
• Bucknell's projected starters on defense have made a combined 153 starts at Bucknell.
• On offense, one fifth-year (OL Casey Stephenson), one senior, seven juniors, one sophomore, and one freshman are expected to start.
• On defense, seven seniors, two juniors and two sophomores are expected to start.
• 17 Bison have made at least 10 starts entering Saturday's game. S John Schlendorf leads the team with 28 career starts. Schlendorf is joined by five other Bison that have started 20 or more games: Stephenson, TE Charlie Kreinbucher, DL Aneesh Vyas, Alex Smith Jr., and Jake Guy.
• 12 Bison in total have made their first career starts this season. The latest was OL Mark Mulhern last week at Penn.
• Six Bison have starting streaks of 10 or more games in a row: Schlendorf (28), Kreinbucher (20), S Alex Smith Jr. (17), OL John Ohnegian (17), Stephenson (15), and Rucker (10).
• Seniors Schlendorf and Smith Jr. have played in all 39 of the team's games over their three-plus seasons.

In the Record Book
• TJ Cadden became just the third Patriot League player to return two punts for touchdowns in a single season, and his three total return touchdowns in a season is a school and league record.
• Cadden's 100-yard kickoff return at Lehigh was just the second 100-yard play of any kind in Bucknell history. A.J. Kizekai had a 100-yard kickoff return against Lafayette in 2008.
• QB Ralph Rucker in 2023 set single-season records for passing completions (211), passing yards (2,537) and total yards (2,667). He also tied the single-season passing touchdowns mark (21).
• Rucker also tied for the second-most touchdown passes in a game (4) and set the record for the most passing yards in a single game (387). At VMI this season, Rucker became just the second Bucknell quarterback with three 300-yard passing games in his career, joining Jim Given '87.
• On Bucknell's all-time career lists, Rucker now ranks third in touchdown passes (32), 10th in passing yards (3803), and ninth in completions (328) — all in just 16 games played.
• Rucker's .640 career completion percentage would be a school record. The current record is .631 by Daris Wilson from 2001-04.
• WR Eric Weatherly tied for fifth in single-season receiving touchdowns in 2023 with seven.
• Bucknell's 400 passing attempts in 2023 were second-most in program history behind the 426 attempts in 2019. The team's 242 completions, 2,854 passing yards and 24 touchdown passes were each records.

Milestones to Watch
• Ralph Rucker IV needs 10 touchdown passes to tie Scott Auchenbach's school record of 42, which has stood since 1989.
• Eric Weatherly needs 15 receiving yards to reach 1,000 in his Bucknell career.
• Josh Gary needs 199 receiving yards to reach 1,000 in his career.
• Derrick Anderson Jr. needs 8 receiving yards to reach 500 for his career.
• John Schlendorf needs three tackles for 200 in his career.

Bison Award Winners
• The National Football Foundation announced the 203 semifinalists for the 2024 William V. Campbell Trophy®, college football's premier scholar-athlete award. Bucknell senior linebacker Brad Jamison was among the semifinalists this year. Only Bucknell and Dayton have had a Campbell Trophy semifinalist each of the past 19 years.
• Bucknell has earned seven Patriot League weekly awards this season.
• TJ Cadden has twice been an honorable mention for Stats Perform FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week this season, and Gavin Willis earned the same distinction on defense after the Lehigh game.
• The Bison returned one All-Patriot League player, LB Brad Jamison.
• K Matt Schearer was named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team in July. It was his second time being named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team after earning the honor in 2023 as well.
• Eight Bison were named to the 2024 Phil Steele Patriot League Preseason All-Conference Team: K Schearer (1st Tm), LB Jamison (2nd Tm), QB Ralph Rucker (3rd Tm), WR Eric Weatherly (3rd Tm), OL Xavier Allen (3rd Tm), OL Casey Stephenson (3rd Tm), OL John Ohnegian (3rd Tm) and S John Schlendorf (3rd Tm).
• The Bison lost First Team All-Patriot League CB Ethan Robinson as well as First Team All-Patriot League KR and Second Team All-League RB Coleman Bennett from last season.
• Bucknell returned one of its three Academic All-Patriot League honorees from last season: OL Ohnegian.

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 24 All-Patriot League First/Second Team awards as well as one First Team All-American.

Inside the 2024 Schedule
• This is the 139th season of football at Bucknell. The Bison played their first-ever game in 1883 and have played continuously since 1887.
• Bucknell is scheduled to play 12 games for just the third time in program history and for the first time since 2003. The Bison also played 12 games is 1916. Bucknell has six home games for the first time since 2017.
• The Bison opened the 2024 slate against FBS opponent Navy. It's the fifth FBS team Bucknell has faced under head coach Dave Cecchini and the third time it has faced an FBS foe in the season opener.
• Bucknell went on the road again in week two to face VMI for a third season in a row. The Bison defeated the Keydets for a second straight season.
• Bucknell hosted Merrimack for its home opener on Sept. 14 for what was the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The Bison then defeated Marist a week later for Family Weekend on Sept. 21, making it three wins over the Red Foxes in as many seasons.
• This marks the 45th time in the last 46 seasons that Bucknell has had at least one Ivy League program on the schedule.
• Bucknell's 2024 opponents went a combined 63-69 last season.

2023 In Review
• Bucknell went 4-7 (1-5 PL) during the 2023 campaign but saw noticeable improvements in several areas, including a potent offense that set several school records. The four wins were the most in a single season by the Bison since 2017.
• The Bison earned wins over VMI, Cornell, Colgate and Marist. The 49-34 victory over Colgate was arguably the team's best performance, as it posted 593 total yards and seven touchdowns. They were the most points the Bison had scored since 2003, and the 593 total yards tied for second in program history.
• Bucknell was also competitive in most of its losses, including a heartbreaking 50-47 overtime thriller against Georgetown, a narrow 27-21 loss at Fordham, and a decent first-half showing in the season opener at James Madison before the Dukes went on to start the season 10-0.
• Bucknell set program records for single-season passing yards (2,854), passing touchdowns (24), and average yards per game (259.45). Quarterback Ralph Rucker set records for single-season completions (211), passing yards (2,537), total yards (2,667) and tied the single-season passing touchdowns mark (21). He also set several single-game highs.
• Bucknell got stronger toward the end of the season, averaging 38.8 points over the final four contests.
• Three Bison earned All-Patriot League honors at the end of the 2023 campaign. Cornerback Ethan Robinson landed on the First Team, linebacker Brad Jamison landed on the Second Team, and Coleman Bennett received First Team honors as a kick returner and Second Team honors as a running back.

Facility Upgrades
• The Bison officially opened the doors to the Pascucci Team Center on April 15, 2024, completing a plethora of enhancements in and around Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium in recent years that were made possible through the generous support of Michael Pascucci '58, P'81, P'87, G'21, G'22.
• Standing prominently between the turf practice field and the north end zone of the stadium, the new facility is a 16,000-square-foot athletics hub that features a state-of-the-art strength and conditioning facility with an expansive weight room that overlooks the turf practice field. Adjacent to the weight room is a sports medicine center.
• Specifically designed to bridge the practice and game-day fields, the team center's south facade offers sweeping views of Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. Inside, a spacious team meeting room and conference room allows teams to review film and gather for off-field training and learning events. A Bison Fuel station ensures convenient access to nutritious snacks, supplements and hydration.
• Earlier phases of the project included the installation of a modern LED video board at the south end zone of Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium in 2021 and the completion of a turf practice field in 2022.
• The Bucknell football team's locker room, located within Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, was also redone over the summer and includes brand-new lockers, a player's lounge, and more.

How to Follow the Bison
• All of Bucknell's games this season will be broadcast on ESPN+ with the exception of the season opener at Navy, which was shown on CBS Sports Network.
• All of the Bison's games are aired on local radio on WKOK 1070 AM. The broadcast will also be available for internet streaming on BucknellBison.com.
• Bucknell is active on X (@Bucknell_FB) and Instagram (Bucknell_FB). Interact with the team using the hashtags #ACT and #rayBucknell.

Up Next
• It's all Patriot League action from here on out, starting with a trip to Georgetown next Saturday.

Football Hosts Cornell for Homecoming Game Saturday Afternoon

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Players Mentioned

Xavier Allen

Derrick Anderson Jr.

Coleman Bennett

Michael Cadden

TJ Cadden

Josh Gary

Jake Guy

Michael Hardyway

Brad Jamison

Charlie Kreinbucher

Danny Meuser

Mark Mulhern

Paul Neel

John Ohnegian

Ethan Robinson

Ralph Rucker IV

Matt Schearer

John Schlendorf

Alex Smith Jr.

Casey Stephenson

Tariq Thomas

Aneesh Vyas

Eric Weatherly

Gavin Willis