Football Travels to Fordham for Saturday Afternoon Conference Game

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell comes off of its bye-week on Saturday and heads on the road to take on Fordham in a conference game at 1 p.m. in New York. This will be the 41st meeting between the two teams since their first game in 1929. Fordham holds the overall winning record 21-19 and leads the Bison in games at Moglia Stadium, 11-10. The Bison, however, took last year's contest in a tight 28-27 victory at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. Bucknell enters the game 4-5 (1-3 PL) after its bye and Fordham comes into the contest off of a narrow 17-14 loss to Richmond.

In the Bison's last time out prior to its bye-week, Naiteitei Mose returned an interception 65 yards for a touchdown with 12 seconds remaining in the game, lifting Georgetown to a wild 31-24 win over Bucknell. The Bison overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit thanks to a TJ Cadden 20-yard touchdown catch and a Matt Schearer 27-yard field goal with 3:02 left. Georgetown had a long TD called back on an offensive pass interference penalty, and the Bison got the ball back near midfield after a shanked punt with 42 seconds to go. But after a short completion, Christopher Dietrich's pass toward the left sideline was picked off by Mose, and the linebacker rumbled down the sideline for the winning score. Chris Dietrich had the nod at quarterback and went 18-of-30 for 222 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for a touchdown, his career first of that nature. TJ Cadden led the Bison in receiving with 5 receptions for 76 yards and one touchdown. In this game, Cadden also surpassed 1,000 career receiving yards. Tariq Thomas led the team in rushing with 12 carries for 93 yards. Brandon Biagiarelli led the team in tackles with 11 total (7 solo, 4 assisted) and had two tackles for loss and one sack. Five different Bison recorded sacks in the game; Biagiarelli, England Allen, Nick Hoying, Jack Goheen and Jack Inserra.

In the Rams last time out, they dropped their last contest at University of Richmond in a narrow 17-14 game that came down to the fourth quarter of play. James Conway hit 567 career tackles which is just ten shy of the NCAA Division I career record of 577 set by Troy's Carlton Martial. The game was back-and-forth at first and then the Spiders took a 17-7 lead after making a field goal and scoring a touchdown thanks to an interception giving them the ball back. The Rams were able to find the endzone about midway through the fourth quarter to make it a three-point game, but the remainder of the clock would wind down with neither team notching another point. The loss put Fordham on a four-game losing streak.

Media Notes:

When: Saturday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m.

Where: Moglia Stadium at Jack Coffey Field

Watch: ESPN+

Radio: 1070 AM WKOK

Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com

Live Stats: fordhamsports.com

Media Notes: Bucknell

Follow on X: @Bucknell_FB

Bucknell at a Glance

Bucknell takes to the road for a conference game against Fordham. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8 in New York.
The Bison are coming off of a 31-24 loss to Georgetown. Bucknell is now on a three-game losing streak. The Bison lost due to a pick-six in the final 12 seconds of the game to give Georgetown the win.
The Bison have had three Patriot League Players of the Week this season: Zachary Corna (Rookie of the Week,9/15), James Schlendorf (Rookie of the Week, 10/6) and Ralph Rucker IV (Offensive Player of the Week, 10/6).
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.

Fordham at a Glance

Fordham enters the contest 1-8 overall and 1-4 in the Patriot League. It's currently on a four-game losing streak.
The Rams dropped their last contest at University of Richmond in a narrow 17-14 game.
In their last time out, James Conway hit 567 career tackles which is just ten shy of the NCAA Division I career record of 577 set by Troy's Carlton Martial. The game was back-and-forth at first and then the spiders took a 17-7 lead after making a field goal and scoring a touchdown after an interception. The Rams came back within three, but it wasn't enough to overtake the Spiders.
Gunnar Smith is 190-of-332 for 2,050 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also leads the team in rushing touchdowns with four.
Ricky Parks leads the Rams in rushing with 89 attempts for 326 yards and one touchdown.
Jack Freeburg leads Fordham in receiving with 37 attempts for 446 yards and four touchdowns.
James Conway leads the team in tackles with 131 total tackles (55 solo, 76 assisted). He also has five tackles for loss, two sacks, one interception, two pass breakups and one forced fumble.
Will Haslett has punted 39 times for 1,621 yards this season. His season-long punt is 69-yards and he has had two touchbacks, six fair catches, eight punts inside the 20-yardline and five 50+ yard punts.
Bennett Henderson is 7-for-11 in field goals with a season long 46-yarder.

Bucknell / Fordham Series

This will be the 41st meeting between the two teams since 1929, when they first met.
Fordham leads the series 19-21.
Bucknell is on a one-game winning streak over Fordham.
The last time in the Bronx (11/4/23), Fordham took the victory 27-21.
On the road against Fordham, Bucknell is 10-11.

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) and completion percentage (.650).
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 returns 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 118 passing attempts away from the career record for passing attempts.
Ralph Rucker is 5 pass completions away from the career record.
Matt Schearer is 6 field goals away from the career record.

Milestone Watch

Charlie Kreinbucher is 65 yards away from a career 500 receiving yards.
Nick Hoying is 23 tackles away from 150 total tackles.
Michael Cadden is 143 rushing yards away from 500.

Bison Award Winners

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 are all against conference opponents. Bucknell hosted Georgetown on Oct. 25, travels to Fordham on Nov. 8, takes 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.

Up Next

Bucknell will host Holy Cross at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 15 at noon in its last home game of 2025.

Football Travels to Fordham for Saturday Afternoon Conference Game

Next Event

Players Mentioned

England Allen

Brandon Biagiarelli

Michael Cadden

TJ Cadden

Aaron Davis

Christopher Dietrich

Jack Goheen

Nick Hoying

Jack Inserra

Charlie Kreinbucher

Sam Milligan

John Ohnegian

Ralph Rucker IV

Matt Schearer

Tariq Thomas

Terian Williams II

Football Travels to Fordham for Saturday Afternoon Conference Game

Next Event

Players Mentioned

England Allen

Brandon Biagiarelli

Michael Cadden

TJ Cadden

Aaron Davis

Christopher Dietrich

Jack Goheen

Nick Hoying

Jack Inserra

Charlie Kreinbucher

Sam Milligan

John Ohnegian

Ralph Rucker IV

Matt Schearer

Tariq Thomas

Terian Williams II

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