Patriot League Title Race Heats Up as Football Hosts Fordham Saturday

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- We're down to three games remaining in the 2024 regular season, with two of them at home including this week's date with Fordham. The Bison are coming off a 21-14 comeback victory over Lafayette last week, which kept them alive in the Patriot League title chase. Holy Cross leads the Patriot League with a 3-0 conference record, but the Bison are close behind with a 2-1 record along with Lehigh. Bucknell has beaten Lehigh and plays at Holy Cross next week, so the Bison have a chance to win their way to the championship with a strong finish. Georgetown is 2-2 in league play, while Colgate, Lafayette, and Fordham all have one win.

Last week, the Bison trailed the Leopards 14-7 entering the fourth quarter. Ralph Rucker IV's second rushing touchdown of the game and a receiving touchdown for Eric Weatherly gave the Bison two big scores in the fourth quarter. The defense came up big, allowing no points in the fourth quarter and forcing a big turnover with under two minutes to play

Fordham meanwhile, won its first game of the season in a tight one against Colgate. Tied at 14-14, the Rams put together an impressive drive from their own 10-yard line in 5:19, resulting in a game-winning touchdown.

This will be the 40th meeting between Bucknell and Fordham. Fordham currently holds the all-time record, going 21-18 against the Bison. The Rams have beaten the Bison in the last 11 matchups with Bucknell's last win coming on November 3, 2012. Bucknell has struggled to stop the Rams, who have averaged 42.8 points over the last five meetings.

When: Saturday, Nov. 9, 1 p.m.
Where: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium
Internet Video: ESPN+
Radio: 1070 AM (WKOK)
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Follow on X: @Bucknell_FB
Media Notes: Bucknell | Fordham

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With a Victory, Bucknell Would ...
• ... reach five wins in a season for the first time since 2017.
• ... move to 3-1 in Patriot League play for the first time since 2014.
• ... snap an 11-game series losing streak to the Rams.
• ... move to a .500 overall record this season.

Thomas in Good Company
• Freshman RB Tariq Thomas has earned four Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors in the last six weeks, and he was recently 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 three weeks ago, and he logged 136 yards and two touchdowns at Georgetown the following week.
• Last week against Lafayette, Thomas ran for 141 yards on 29 attempts. Thomas broke out for a 45-yard run to convert a long 3rd down which resulted in the Bison scoring on its opening drive.
• Thomas has started each of Bucknell's last eight games, and over the last five he has amassed 505 yards on the ground.

Bucknell at a Glance
• LB Gavin Willis recorded a career-high 19 tackles against Cornell and added 13 more in each of the last two weeks against Georgetown and Lafayette. The 19 tackles is the highest total by a Bucknell player since Evan Byers had 23 against VMI in 2014, and it is the third-highest total by an FCS player in 2024. Blake Gotcher of Northwestern State logged 23 tackles against Prairie View A&M, and Villanova's Shane Hartzell had 20 against New Hampshire.
• Willis is now second in the Patriot League in tackles per game (10.8), trailing only Colgate's Cole Kozlowski (11.1), and he is one of only four FCS players averaging double-digit tackles.

FCS Leaders, Tackles Per Game
1. Blake Gotcher, Northwestern State   13.3
2. Cole Kozlowski, Colgate   11.1
3. Gavin Willis, Bucknell 10.8
4. Geoffrey Brown, Indiana State 10.4
5. Noah Martin, Samford 9.9
6. Kimal Clark, Central Connecticut 9.8
Jace Benesch, Central Arkansas 9.8
Bryce Norman, Southeast Mo. St. 9.8

• After going up against the Patriot League's top two defenses in Georgetown and Lafayette, the Bison take on the league's lowest-ranked defense in Fordham. The Rams are allowing 33.7 points per game while the Bison are giving up an average of 29 points per game.
• Fordham is 1-8 this season, picking up its first win this past week over Colgate. Fordham has had Bucknell's number in recent history, winning the last 11 meetings between the two.
• In last year's game in the Bronx, Fordham defeated the Bison 27-21. The Rams threw for four touchdowns, with one going for 64 yards and another for 91 yards.
• Bucknell leads the PL with 10 interceptions, two of which have been returned for touchdowns. Aaron Davis leads the team with three picks, which ties him for the league lead with three others.
• The Bison would like to see its defense get more rest this week. Bucknell's defense has been on the field for just under 34 minutes per game, which is the second-most in all of FCS. Only Houston Christian has had its defense on the field more.
• 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.
• Cadden ranks sixth in the Patriot League in touchdowns with seven. In addition to the three return scores, he also has three TD receptions as a wide receiver. Cadden's 105.4 all-purpose yards per game currently rank fourth in 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.
• 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. Weatherly ranks fourth in the Patriot League in receiving yards per game with 54.9 per game this season.
Josh Gary is right behind Weatherly, ranking fifth in receiving yards with 50 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 18 games at Bucknell he has thrown for more than 4,000 yards, he has completed 64% of his passes, and he has 33 touchdown passes against only 10 interceptions. The 33 TD tosses are third-most in team history, and his 4,253 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) 4253
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. R.J. Nitti (2013-16) 34
3. Ralph Rucker IV (2023-24) 33
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.
• 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 170 starts at Bucknell.
• Bucknell's projected starters on defense have made a combined 184 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.
• 18 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 on Oct. 19 against Cornell
• Six Bison have starting streaks of 10 or more games in a row: Schlendorf (30), Kreinbucher (22), S Alex Smith Jr. (19), OL John Ohnegian (19), Stephenson (17), and Rooney (10).
• Seniors Schlendorf and Smith Jr. have played in all 42 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 (33), 5th in passing yards (4253), and sixth in completions (363) — all in just 18 games played.
• Rucker's .641 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 9 touchdown passes to tie Scott Auchenbach's school record of 42, which has stood since 1989.
• Rucker needs 747 passing yards for 5,000 in his career.
• Eric Weatherly needs 10 catches for 100 in his career.
• Josh Gary needs 23 receiving yards to reach 1,000 in his career and 17 catches to reach 100 in his career.
• Derrick Anderson Jr. needs 8 receiving yards to reach 500 for his career.
• Gavin Willis needs three tackles for 100 this season.

Up Next
• The Bison travel to Holy Cross at Fitton Field next Saturday, Nov. 16.

Patriot League Title Race Heats Up as Football Hosts Fordham Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Derrick Anderson Jr.

Michael Cadden

TJ Cadden

Aaron Davis

Josh Gary

Jake Guy

Michael Hardyway

Brad Jamison

Charlie Kreinbucher

Danny Meuser

John Ohnegian

Ralph Rucker IV

Matt Schearer

John Schlendorf

Alex Smith Jr.

Casey Stephenson

Tariq Thomas

Aneesh Vyas

Eric Weatherly

Gavin Willis