Bucknell University
Cornell
Fourth Quarter Surge Not Enough as Bison Fall to Cornell
10/18/2025 4:16:00 PM | Football
ITHACA, N.Y. — Bucknell's late fourth quarter surge wouldn't be enough to combat the 23-7 lead that Cornell garnered at the end of the third, as the Bison (4-4, 1-2 PL) fell to Cornell (1-4, 0-2 IVY) 30-20 on Saturday at Schoellkopf Field.
Thanks to a fumble recovery by Nick Hoying, Bucknell scored back-to-back touchdowns in the final five-and-a-half minutes of the game to cut their deficit to 10 with just over two-and-a-half minutes left, but were unable to make up the difference in the final stretch as the Big Red came away with a game-ending interception with 1:45 remaining on the clock.
Christopher Dietrich found his second start at quarterback for the Bison and went 19-of-32 for 220 yards and two interceptions.
Sam Milligan led the Bison in receiving with 7 attempts for 78 yards and a fourth quarter, one-handed touchdown. Bush led the Bison in rushing with 29 yards and one touchdown on 9 carries. On defense, Brandon Biagiarelli led the bunch with 12 total tackles (5 solo and 7 assisted).
Bucknell opened with the ball and went a quick three-and-out on its first drive. Cornell answered with a 14-play drive that resulted in a field goal. The Big Red made it in the redzone, but an offensive holding call turned a 3rd-and-3 into a 3rd-and-13 and Nick Hoying and Terian Williams II held solid coverage to force an incomplete pass and limit the Big Red to a 32-yard field goal.
The Bison then traveled down the field as Logan Bush recorded 16 rushing yards and Sam Milligan made a 25-yard catch. Bucknell went for it on 4th-and-3 in Big Red territory, but were unable to convert and turned over the ball on downs. The Bison defense then stood strong to force Cornell to punt at their own 45-yardline.
The second quarter started with a strong Bucknell offensive drive that ended with a Logan Bush one-yard touchdown rush. On the drive, TJ Cadden had a 41-yard grab on a 3rd-and-4 play and then a 9-yard grab at the one yard-line to keep the Bison's offense going. Cornell answered on its next possession with a 10-play 60-yard drive that ended in a quarterback eight-yard rush by Garrett Bass-Sulpizio into the endzone. Jonathan Roost missed the extra-point.
The final seven minutes of the first half went scoreless, so the Big Red went into halftime with a 9-7 lead.
The Big Red opened the second half with a 47-yard kick return by Doryn Smith, who was tackled by Bucknell's kicker, Juan Garanton at the Bucknell 45-yardline. After the return giving Cornell great field position, it put together a seven-play 51-yard touchdown drive with all rushing plays. The Big Red defense forced Bucknell to go three-and-out and then the offense came back out and found the endzone on their next possession to have back-to-back scores and a 23-7 lead.
The next three minutes turned into a turnover frenzy as Dietrich threw an interception on Bucknell's first play of its offensive drive, Cornell's offense fumbled the ball on its first play of its drive and Deuce Geter recovered the fumble for Bucknell, and then as the Bison drove down the field they fumbled the ball and Cornell recovered the fumble to gain possession once again.
After the crazy rollercoaster of turnovers, the teams traded three-and outs to bring them into the fourth quarter. Cornell found the endzone once again with 9:09 left in the fourth quarter on a 30-yard reception for Ryder Kurtz.
Bucknell then ended its scoring drought with a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that ended with a one-handed grab at the goal line by Sam Milligan. Cornell's offense then fumbled the ball and Nick Hoying got the recovery which led to a 13-yard touchdown reception for Michael Cadden cut Bucknell's deficit to 10 with 2:36 seconds left in the game.
The Bison defense was able to come up with a stop, but with 1:45 remaining in the game, Cornell's Keith Williams Jr. came up with a game-winning interception for the Big Red.
Bucknell will head back home for a conference game against Georgetown on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 1 p.m.
