Bucknell Football Closes Season at Colgate

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell is set to play its 2025 season finale game on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 1 p.m. against Colgate as it looks to end the season with a .500 record. This will be the 73rd meeting between the two teams since they first met in 1894. Colgate holds the overall winning record 20-52 and leads the Bison in games in Hamilton, 29-10. Bucknell however, currently holds a two game winning streak over the Crusaders. The Bison enter the game 5-6 (2-4 PL) after a home loss to Holy Cross and Colgate enters the contest 4-7 (2-4 PL) after a loss to #4 Lehigh.

Media Notes:

When: Saturday, Nov. 22 - 1 p.m.

Where: Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium

Watch: ESPN+

Radio: 1070 AM WKOK

Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com

Live Stats: colgateathletics.com

Media Notes: Bucknell

Follow on X: @Bucknell_FB

In the Bison's last time out, despite closing the gap to one score at the end of the third quarter, Bucknell fell to Holy Cross 37-20 in its final home game of 2025 at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Bison were the first to put points on the board, but the second half would prove to be their downfall as the Crusaders outscored Bucknell 30-14 to take the win. Bucknell played Nicholas Penuvchev for the majority of the game as Ralph Rucker and Chris Dietrich both went down with injuries. The freshman, who saw one snap at Fordham, went 13-of-22 for 237 yards and 2 touchdowns, including his career first passing touchdown which made it a one score game at the end of the third quarter. Sam Milligan led the Bison in receiving with 5 catches for 154 yards and 2 touchdowns. He now ranks second in school history for receiving touchdowns in a single-season with 10 and is just two away from the single-season record. Logan Bush led the team in rushing with 2 carries for 32 yards. Nick Hoying led the Bison in tackles with 12 total (4 solo and 8 assisted).

In the Raiders last time out, Lehigh took a comfortable 20-0 lead in the first half before Colgate got on the board. The Raiders were then shutout for the second half. The game was called with 3:14 left in regulation due to lightning. Colgate held Lehigh to 134 yards on the ground as Lehigh averaged 225.8 rushing yards per game heading into the game. Freshman receiver Matt Folgar caught his fifth touchdown of the year as he went for 83 yards in the game.

Bucknell at a Glance

Bucknell hits the road to take on Colgate in the 2025 season finale with a 1 p.m. kickoff at Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium.
The Bison are coming off of a 37-20 loss against Holy Cross.
The Bison have had four Patriot League Players of the Week this season and three Patriot League Rookies of the Week: Zachary Corna (Rookie of the Week,9/15), James Schlendorf (Rookie of the Week, 10/6), Ralph Rucker IV (Offensive Player of the Week, 10/6) and (Nick Penuvchev, 11/17)
The Bison were picked to finish fourth in the 2025 Preseason All-Patriot League Poll.
Alongside Ralph Rucker IV (PL OPOTY) and Tariq Thomas (PL ROTY), the Bison are returning two other Patriot League First Team selections in return specialist TJ Cadden and special teams standout Sam Milligan. Bucknell also returns two Patriot League Second Team selections in offensive lineman and 2024 Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year, John Ohnegian and punter Matt Schearer.
The Bison are entering their seventh season under head coach Dave Cecchini in 2025. Cecchini was voted the Patriot League Dick Biddle Coach of the Year during the 2021 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 season where the squad broke 13 individual records, seven team records and scored the most single-season points in program history.
Bucknell returned a total of 65 players from the 2024 season and lost 34 athletes from the roster.
The Bison welcomed 40 newcomers this season, including 32 freshmen. The additional eight players came from the transfer portal.
The Bison welcomed a host of new faces to the staff during the offseason; offensive coordinator Drew Folmar, tight ends coach P.J. Barr, defensive line coach Kentwan Balmer, running backs coach Jerome Smith, wide receivers coach Sam Costantino, linebackers and special teams coach Chase Murdock and Strength and Conditioning Coach Tim Warren.
Bucknell's 2025 captains are second-time captain and offensive lineman John Ohnegian, fifth-year quarterback Ralph Rucker IV, senior punter/kicker Matt Schearer and senior cornerback Terian Williams II.

Colgate at a Glance

Colgate enters the contest 4-7 overall with a 2-4 Patriot League record. The Raiders are coming off of a 27-7 loss to #4 Lehigh.
In their loss to Lehigh, Lehigh took a comfortable 20-0 lead in the first half before Colgate got on the board. The Raiders were then shutout for the second half. The game was called with 3:14 left in regulation due to lightning.
Freshman receiver Matt Folgar caught his fifth touchdown of the year as he went for 83 yards in the game.
Colgate held Lehigh to 134 yards on the ground as Lehigh averaged 225.8 rushing yards per game heading into the game.
The Raiders have used four quarterbacks this year. Jake Stearney leads the team with 2,096 yards and is 171-for-302 with 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Zach Osborne has played in seven games, throwing 56-for-93 with six touchdowns and two interceptions.
Danny Shaban leads the team with 78 carries for 414 yards (5.3 ypc) and five touchdowns. Cole Fulton has 57 carries for 304 yards (5.3 ypc) and two touchdowns.
Reed Swanson leads the Raiders with 51 receptions for 806 yards and seven touchdowns. In only six games played, Treyvhon Saunders has 50 catches for 700 yards and six touchdowns. Matt Folger is third on the team with five touchdowns.
Colgate leads the Patriot League with 277.0 passing yards per game. The Raiders rank seventh in the PL in passing defense.
The Raiders lead the league with 13 interceptions and one pick-six.
The Raiders also headline the league with 238 first downs. The Raiders rank third in third-down conversions and second in fourth-down conversions.
Luke Vogeler is 11-17 on field goals with a long of 43 yards. Tyler Fontenot is averaging 39.89 yards per punt with a long of 58 yards.

Bucknell / Colgate Series

This will be the 73rd meeting between the two teams since 1894, when they first met.
Colgate leads the series 52-20 and leads the Bison in Hamilton 29-10.
The Bison are currently on a two-game winning streak over the Raiders.

Inside the Record Book

QB Ralph Rucker IV re-invented the record books. Rucker is now Bucknell's single-season leader in touchdown passes (25), passing yards (2,826), completion percentage (.672), passing completions (244) and total offense (2,922) Rucker also leads Bucknell in single game passing yards (437) and single game touchdown passes (5 TD passes 3X). With this being his final season, Rucker holds career records in passing touchdowns (56), passing yards (6,873), total offense (7,254), passing completions (572) and completion percentage (.660).
Sam Milligan ranks first in touchdown catches in a single game with four against VMI on Saturday, Sept. 13. He also ranks sixth all-time in receiving yards in a single game with 192 yards in that VMI win for Bucknell.
TJ Cadden tied for the longest kickoff return (100 yds) and holds the records for most punt return touchdowns in a season (2) and most total return touchdowns (3; two punt return and one kickoff return).
Matt Schearer holds the record for season PAT's with 45.
As a 2024 team, Bucknell broke even more records. The 2024 team holds the records for; single season completions (277), single season passing yards (3,220), single season average passing yards per game (268.33), single season total yards (4,651), single season total plays (836), single season total points (346), single season first downs (252), single game total offense (428) and single season touchdown passes (28).

On Record Watch

Ralph Rucker is 111 passing attempts away from the career record for passing attempts.
Matt Schearer is 3 field goals away from tying the career record and one field goal away from tying the single-season record.
Sam Milligan is 2 touchdowns away from tying the single-season touchdown record.

Milestone Watch

Charlie Kreinbucher is 56 yards away from a career 500 receiving yards.
Nick Hoying is 3 tackles away from 150 total tackles.
Michael Cadden is 105 rushing yards away from 500.
Sam Milligan is 35 yards from becoming the third 1,000-yard receiver in school history.

Bison Award Winners

Nicholas Penuvchev was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week (11/17) after stepping in at quarterback after two injuries occurred back-to-back.
James Schlendorf was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week (10/6) and was named a Stats Perform FCS Freshman Player of the Week Honorable Mention athlete (10/6).
Ralph Rucker IV was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week (10/6).
Zachary Corna was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week (9/15) and was named a Stats Perform FCS Freshman Player of the Week Honorable Mention athlete (9/15).
Sam Milligan was named a Stats Perform FCS National Offensive Player of the Week Honorable Mention athlete (9/15/)
Terian Williams II was named a Stats Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the Week Honorable Mention athlete (9/8/).
The Bison returned six 2024 All-Patriot League Selections; Ralph Rucker IV, Tariq Thomas, TJ Cadden, Sam Milligan, John Ohnegian and Matt Schearer.
Rucker was the 2024 PL Offensive Player of the Year and Thomas was the 2024 PL Rookie of the Year.
Rucker was named the 2025 Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and 2025 Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America Third Team.
Five Bison were named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team; Rucker, Ohnegian, Aaron Davis, TJ Cadden and Milligan.

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

Inside the 2025 Schedule

This is the 140th season of football at Bucknell. The Bison played their first-ever game in 1883 and have been playing a consistent schedule since 1887.
Bucknell is scheduled to play 12 games for just the fourth time in program history. The Bison will host six games and have six games on the road.
Bucknell opened the 2025 season with back-to-back away games at Air Force and Marist before going on a four-game home stand.
This is the first time since the Bison's Patriot League Championship season of 1996, that there will be four home games in a row.
Senior Night took place on Sept. 27 against Saint Francis at 6 p.m. and Homecoming was the final game of the homestand on Oct. 4 against Richmond at 12 p.m.
Bucknell's home opener was on Sept. 13 against VMI. The Bison then started Patriot League play against Lehigh on Sept. 20 at home, which was Bucknell's Family Weekend game.
After its home stand, Bucknell was on the road for two games against Lafayette and Cornell.
The final four games of the season were all against conference opponents. Bucknell hosted Georgetown on Oct. 25, traveled to Fordham on Nov. 8, took on Holy Cross at home on Nov. 15 and then ends its season at Colgate on Nov. 22.

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 Air Force, which will be shown on CBS Sports Network.
All of the Bison's games will be broadcast on 1070 AM (WKOK). 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.

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Players Mentioned

Logan Bush

Michael Cadden

TJ Cadden

Aaron Davis

Nick Hoying

Charlie Kreinbucher

Sam Milligan

John Ohnegian

Ralph Rucker IV

Matt Schearer

Tariq Thomas

Terian Williams II