Football Set for First-Place Showdown at Holy Cross

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- After back-to-back wins over Lafayette and Fordham, the Bucknell football team is squarely in the Patriot League title chase with two games to play. In fact, the Bison even have a path to clinch a berth in the FCS playoffs with a win at Holy Cross and some help on Saturday.

Bucknell, Holy Cross, and Lehigh all enter the weekend with 3-1 Patriot League records, with Georgetown a game behind at 2-2. The Bison have already beaten Lehigh but lost to Georgetown. A Bucknell win in Worcester combined with a Lehigh loss to Colgate would assure the Bison at least a share of the Patriot League title. A win and losses by BOTH Lehigh and Georgetown (at Fordham) would clinch the automatic bid to the FCS playoffs. Bucknell would also earn the AQ with wins in its final two games of the regular season.

The Bison are chasing their first Patriot League championship since 1996. That was before the league had the automatic bid to NCAAs, so Bucknell is also looking to make its first-ever postseason appearance.

To do so, however, the Bison will have to get past a Holy Cross team that has won or shared the last five Patriot League titles. After four straight NCAA appearances, the Crusaders tied for first place with Lafayette last season and lost out on the tiebreaker for the AQ. This will be Bucknell's first appearance at Fitton Field since 2018. Four of the last five meetings have come in Lewisburg, including the Patriot League championship game in the COVID-modified 2021 spring season. The teams met in Worcester in 2022, but that game was played downtown at Polar Park. So even though Holy Cross has a five-game series winning streak, Bucknell has actually won the last three played at Fitton Field. The Bison won 19-16 there in 2018, 21-20 in 2016, and 31-24 in overtime in 2014.

Close games have been the norm for the Bison in Patriot League play this season. Their three wins have come by a field goal in double overtime at Lehigh, by seven points against Lafayette, and by one point against Fordham. The lone loss was a one-point decision at Georgetown.

When: Saturday, Nov. 16, 12 p.m.
Where: Fitton Field, Worcester, Mass.
Internet Video: ESPN+
Radio: 1070 AM (WKOK)
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Follow on X: @Bucknell_FB
Media Notes: Bucknell | Holy Cross

With a Victory, Bucknell Would ...
• ... move to 4-1 in Patriot League play.
• ... win four PL games in a season for the first time since 2014 (4-2).
• ... win six total games in a season for the first time since 2014 (8-3).
• ... clinch at least a share of the championship if Lehigh loses to Colgate.
• ... clinch at least a share of the championship and the AQ to the FCS playoffs if Lehigh loses to Colgate and Georgetown loses to Fordham.
• ... snap a five-game series losing streak to the Crusaders.

Willis Named National Player of Week
• Sophomore LB Gavin Willis had another monster game in last Saturday's win over Fordham, and on Monday he was named the Stats Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the Week, presented by FedEx, as well as the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week and the Bison of the Week.
• Already one of the leading tacklers in all of Division I football, Willis added 13 more stops against Fordham, and he recorded his national-best fourth and fifth fumble recoveries of the season. The first of those he returned 79 yards for the game's first touchdown, and the other recovery came at the Bucknell 4-yard line with the Bison protecting a 21-14 lead late in the third quarter.
• Willis also recorded a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry that led to an interception.
• The Louisville, Ky., native already has 110 tackles (64 solo) in 10 games this season His 11.0 tackles per game rank third in FCS behind only Blake Gotcher of Northwestern State (13.4) and Cole Kozlowski of Colgate (11.7). Willis' 11.0 tackles per game is the seventh-best mark in either FBS or FCS.
• The five fumble recoveries are tied for the most in all of college football, including the FBS, FCS, Division II, and Division III levels. The only other player with five is Andrew Esmay of Division III Martin Luther.

Thomas in Good Company
• Freshman RB Tariq Thomas recently earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors four times in a six-week stretch, and he was named 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 set career rushing highs in three consecutive games. He ran for a career-high 94 yards on nine carries – an average of 10.4 yards per carry — against Cornell; he logged 136 yards and two touchdowns at Georgetown the following week; and he ran for 141 yards on 29 attempts in the win over Lafayette.
• Thomas started eight straight games before missing last week's contest against Fordham with an injury. He leads the team and ranks fifth in the Patriot League with 634 rushing yards on the season.

Bucknell at a Glance
• After struggling to run the ball last week against Fordham, the Bison go up against the Patriot League's top rushing defense this Saturday. Holy Cross allows a league-low 122.6 yards per game on the ground.
• Bucknell (243.2) and Holy Cross (216.9) rank 1-2 in the Patriot League in passing offense. The Crusaders have thrown only four interceptions all season while the Bison have been picked off only six times. Those are the two lowest marks in the conference.
• Bucknell now has three defensive touchdowns this season after Gavin Willis' 79-yard scoop and score last week against Fordham. Aaron Davis and Alex Smith Jr. have both returned interceptions for TDs.
• Bucknell's defense has been on the field for just over 34 minutes per game, which is the second-most in all of FCS. Only Houston Christian have had their defenses on the field more.
• Before suffering an injury against Lafayette, TJ Cadden was 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.
• 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.
• Eric Weatherly and Josh Gary have both surpassed the 1,000 mark in career receiving yards this season. Weatherly is in his second season at Bucknell after transferring from Duke. Weatherly ranks fourth in the Patriot League in receiving yards per game with 56.2 per game this season. Gary is right behind Weatherly, ranking fifth in receiving yards with 54.7 yards per game.
• Ralph Rucker IV is in his second season leading the Bison offense after transferring from Oklahoma. Rucker missed the Cornell game with an injury before returning against Georgetown. In 19 games at Bucknell he has thrown for more than 4,500 yards, he has completed 64% of his passes, and he has 36 touchdown passes against only 10 interceptions. The 36 TD tosses are second-most in team history, and his 4,575 passing yards rank 5th all-time.

Bucknell Career Passing Leaders
1. Brandon Wesley (2010-13)   6277
2. Scott Auchenbach (1986-89)  5256
3. R.J. Nitti (2013-16) 5171
4. Jim Given (1985-87) 4790
5. Ralph Rucker IV (2023-24) 4575
6. Marcello Trigg (2006-09)   4090
7. Jim Fox (1993-96) 3988
8. Don McDowell (1997-99) 3982
9. Rob Glus (1991-94) 3940
10.Bob Gibbon (1983-84) 3895

Bucknell Career Passing Touchdown Leaders
1. Scott Auchenbach (1986-89)   42
2. Ralph Rucker IV (2023-24) 36
3. R.J. Nitti (2013-16) 34
4. Marcello Trigg (2006-09) 31
5. Bob Gibbon (1983-84) 30

• 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.

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). Last week against Fordham, Rucker became the first Bucknell QB to have four career 300-yard passing games.
• On Bucknell's all-time career lists, Rucker now ranks second in touchdown passes (36), fifth in passing yards (4575), and fifth in completions (390) — all in just 19 games played.
• Rucker's .634 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 6 touchdown passes to tie Scott Auchenbach's school record of 42, which has stood since 1989.
• Rucker needs 425 passing yards for 5,000 in his career.
• Eric Weatherly needs four catches for 100 in his career.
• Josh Gary needs eight catches to reach 100 in his career.
• Derrick Anderson Jr. needs 8 receiving yards to reach 500 for his career.

Up Next
• The Bison close out the regular season with a Senior Day game against Colgate on Nov. 23.

Football Set for First-Place Showdown at Holy Cross

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Derrick Anderson Jr.

Derrick Anderson Jr.

Michael Cadden

TJ Cadden

Aaron Davis

Josh Gary

Brad Jamison

Brad Jamison

Danny Meuser

Danny Meuser

John Ohnegian

John Ohnegian

Ralph Rucker IV

Matt Schearer

Matt Schearer

Alex Smith Jr.

Casey Stephenson

Casey Stephenson

Tariq Thomas

Eric Weatherly

Gavin Willis