Patriot League Stretch Drive Starts Saturday at Georgetown

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- After back-to-back losses to two good Ivy League teams, the Bison football squad is eager to dive back into Patriot League play this Saturday at Georgetown. Bucknell has five games remaining in the regular season, and all five are conference clashes. The Bison started Patriot League play with a thrilling 38-35 double-overtime win at Lehigh on Sept. 28, and now they will look to stay unbeaten in the league against a dangerous Georgetown team.

Holy Cross sits atop the Patriot League standings with a 2-0 record, followed by Bucknell at 1-0, and then Georgetown, Lafayette, and Colgate are all 1-1. This is an interesting week, as the two unbeatens play at two of the 1-1 teams (Holy Cross at Lafayette; Bucknell at Georgetown), and the two winless teams (0-1 Lehigh and 0-2 Fordham) also meet.

If recent history is any indication, overtime could be in the cards again this week in D.C., as Bucknell and Georgetown have gone to OT in each of the last two seasons. The Bison won 24-21 at Cooper Field two seasons ago, and then last year the Hoyas prevailed 50-47 in an absolutely bonkers game in Lewisburg. The Bison trailed 37-15 late in the third quarter after the Hoyas hit a 95-yard TD pass, but then Bucknell stormed back with 29 unanswered points to take a 44-37 lead. Georgetown tied it with 1:45 remaining, and in OT the Hoyas answered a Bucknell field goal with a touchdown to win it. It was the second-highest scoring game in Bucknell history.

The Hoyas come in with a 4-3 record and a 1-1 mark in the Patriot League. Georgetown was impressive in a 17-0 shutout win on the road at defending champion Lafayette two weeks ago, but last week they traveled again and fell 38-28 at Colgate. Georgetown started the season 2-0 with wins over Davidson and Marist, dropped two straight against Sacred Heart and Brown, and then edged Columbia 20-17 to wrap up non-league play.

When: Saturday, Oct. 26, 2 p.m.
Where: Cooper Field, Washington, D.C.
Internet Video: ESPN+
Radio: 1070 AM (WKOK)
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: GUHoyas.com
Follow on X: @Bucknell_FB
Media Notes: Bucknell | Georgetown
Digital Program

With a Victory, Bucknell Would...
• ... snap a two-game losing streak and climb back to .500 at 4-4 on the season.
• ... start Patriot League play 2-0 for the first time since the COVID-modified 2021 spring season, and for the first time in a "normal" year since a 3-0 start in 2014.
• ... improve to 3-2 on the road this season.
• ... improve to 21-14-1 all-time against Georgetown and 14-8-1 against the Hoyas in D.C.

Thomas in Good Company
• Freshman RB Tariq Thomas eaned his third Patriot League Rookie of the Week honor on Monday, and on Wednesday he was one of 30 players named to the Jerry Rice Award Watch List. The Jerry Rice Award, which is named after the legendary Hall of Fame wide receiver, is presented to the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Rookie of the Year.
• Montana's Eli Gillman received the award last season, and past recipients include familiar names such as Shedeur Sanders (Jackson State 2021), Trey Lance (North Dakota State 2019), Chase Edmonds (Fordham 2014), and Cooper Kupp (Eastern Washington 2013).
• Thomas has captured the Patriot League Rookie of the Week honor after each of Bucknell's last three games. Last week against Cornell he ran for a career-high 94 yards on nine carries – an average of 10.4 yards per carry.
• Thomas has started each of Bucknell's last six games, and over the last three he has amassed 228 yards on the ground. The Springfield, Mass., native has now earned Rookie of the Week citations after the last three games against Lehigh, Penn, and Cornell. The only week in which he did not win the award was when the Bison were on a bye.

Bucknell at a Glance
• The Bison might be wise not to play blackjack anytime soon. Bucknell is 0-4 this season and 2-6 over the last two seasons when scoring exactly 21 points.
• Gavin Willis recorded a career-high 19 tackles against Cornell on Saturday. That is the highest total by a Bucknell player since Evan Byers had 23 against VMI in 2014, and it is the second-highest total by an FCS player in 2024. Blake Gotcher of Northwestern State logged 23 tackles against Prairie View A&M earlier this season, and Campbell's Jalen Brooks also had 19 in a game against William & Mary.
• Willis is now second in the Patriot League in tackles per game (10.1), trailing only Colgate's Cole Kozlowski (11.1), and he is one of only seven FCS players averaging double-digit tackles.

FCS Leaders, Tackles Per Game
1. Blake Gotcher, Northwestern State 13.8
2. Garret Oliendieck, Indiana State    11.5
3. Cole Kozlowski, Colgate    11.1
4. Kimal Clark, Central Connecticut State   10.4
5. Evan DiMaggio, Furman    10.3
Andrew Jones, Grambling     10.3
7. Gavin Willis, Bucknell      10.1
8. Noah Martin, Samford 9.7
9. Frankie Monte, Holy Cross 9.6
10. Jalen Brooks, Campbell 9.6

• The Bison rank second in the Patriot League in points (27.3) and third in total yards (361.7) per game, and they lead the league in passing yards (237.1) per game. Nationally, the Bison are 59th out of 123 FCS teams in total offense but only 110th in red zone offense, so finishing drives is a focus moving into the home stretch of the season.
• Pressuring the quarterback is something to watch on Saturday, as Georgetown has been one of the best teams in the nation in both getting to the opposing QB and protecting its own. The Hoyas rank third nationally with 3.0 sacks per game, and they rank eighth in FCS with only 0.9 sacks allowed per game. Georgetown's QBs have only been sacked six times all year, compared with 26 by Bucknell's QBs.
• 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 seventh in kickoff return average (28.8) and fifth in punt return average (16.1).
• Cadden ranks fourth in the Patriot League in touchdowns with six. In addition to the three return scores, he also has three TD receptions as a wide receiver. Cadden's 121.9 all-purpose yards per game lead the league.
• 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.
• WR Eric Weatherly surpassed the 1,000 mark in career receiving yards as a Bison against Cornell. Weatherly is in his second season at Bucknell after transferring from Duke.
• QB Ralph Rucker IV is in his second season leading the Bison offense after transferring from Oklahoma. Rucker missed last week's game against Cornell with an injury, but 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.
• 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.
• K 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.
• 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 151 starts at Bucknell.
• Bucknell's projected starters on defense have made a combined 164 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 29 career starts. Schlendorf is joined by five other Bison that have started 20 or more games: Stephenson, TE Charlie Kreinbucher, DL Aneesh Vyas, DB Alex Smith Jr., and OL Jake Guy.
• 13 Bison in total have made their first career starts this season. The latest was QB Michael Hardyway last week against Cornell
• Five Bison have starting streaks of 10 or more games in a row: Schlendorf (29), Kreinbucher (21), S Alex Smith Jr. (18), OL John Ohnegian (18), and Stephenson (16).
• Seniors Schlendorf and Smith Jr. have played in all 40 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.
• Rucker needs 197 passing yards for 4,000 in his career.
• Eric Weatherly needs 20 catches for 100 in his career.
• Josh Gary needs 142 receiving yards to reach 1,000 in his career and 25 catches to reach 100 in his career.
• Derrick Anderson Jr. needs 8 receiving yards to reach 500 for 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 eight 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.

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 was last 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 256-188-10 all-time at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.

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
• Bucknell will play its next two games and three of its final four at home. The Bison host Lafayette next Saturday at 1 p.m.

Patriot League Stretch Drive Starts Saturday at Georgetown

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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

John Ohnegian

Ethan Robinson

Ralph Rucker IV

Matt Schearer

John Schlendorf

Alex Smith Jr.

Casey Stephenson

Tariq Thomas

Aneesh Vyas

Eric Weatherly

Gavin Willis