Bucknell University
#10/10 Lehigh
Bucknell Hosts #10/10 Lehigh for Family Weekend Game on Saturday Night
9/16/2025 1:10:00 PM | Football
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell will begin Patriot League play as it hosts its second of a four-game home stretch on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. against #10/10 Lehigh. Bucknell comes into the match-up 2-1, while Lehigh enters the game as an undefeated ranked opponent. Â
Bucknell found its first victory at Marist with a 34-23 win. Tariq Thomas led the offensive charge as he rushed for 77 yards and two touchdowns. Ralph Rucker IV went 18-of-23 for 236 yards through the air, and TJ Cadden (104 yards) and Sam Milligan (87 yards) both broke their career records in receiving yards. Freshman Logan Busson recorded his first career interception in the first half, and Terian Williams II and Deuce Geter paced the defense with 13 tackles each. This past weekend, the Bison extended their win streak to two as they defeated VMI 35-28 in their opener thanks to a record-breaking four-touchdown performance from Sam Milligan, which is the most in a single game in Bucknell history. The junior also recorded 192 yards on the afternoon. Ralph Rucker IV tied his school record of touchdown passes in a single game with five in the win. A Bison freshman safety, Zachary Corna, earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors for his 12-tackle performance.Â
Lehigh is currently ranked 10th in both the Stats Perform FCS Rankings and the AFCA FCS Coaches Polls heading into this week. The Mountain Hawks opened their season against a ranked Richmond conference match-up and defeated the spiders 21-14 to start off 0-1 and have one the next two of their games against Sacred Heart and Duquesne. Lehigh is coming off of a 35-21 victory over Duquesne where the Mountain Hawks scored on its final possession of the first half and first three possessions of the second half at Duquesne. Senior linebacker Tyler Ochojski was selected Patriot League Football Defensive Player of the Week after finishing with five tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble and sophomore punter/kicker Connor Poole received the Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week. He averaged 52.4 yards per punt on six attempts, pinning two inside the Duquesne 20-yard line. He recorded a career-long 57-yard punt in the second quarter.  Â
The contest between Bucknell and Lehigh will be sponsored by Giant and will serve as the Bison's Family Weekend Game.
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Media Notes:
When: Saturday, Sept. 20 at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium — Lewisburg, Pa.
Watch: ESPN+
Radio: 1070 AM WKOK
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Media Notes: BucknellÂ
Follow on X: @Bucknell_FB
ÂBucknell at a Glance
- Bucknell continues its four-game home-stand on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. as it takes on Lehigh at Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium for Family Weekend.Â
- 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.Â
- The Bison are coming off of a 35-28 victory over VMI which saw Sam Milligan break the record for touchdowns in a single game with his record-breaking fourth touchdown being the game winner for the Bison in the final two minutes of play.
- Zachary Corna earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week after his 12 tackle performance against VMI.Â
- 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.Â
- Bucknell returned a total of 65 players from the 2024 season and lost 34 athletes from the roster.Â
- 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.Â
Lehigh at a Glance
- Lehigh is currently ranked 10th in both the Stats Perform FCS Rankings and the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll.
- The Mountain Hawks have started the season off undefeated 3-0 and 1-0 in the Patriot League.
- Lehigh is coming off of a 35-21 victory over Duquesne where the Mountain Hawks scored on its final possession of the first half and first three possessions of the second half at Duquesne.
- Lehigh rushed for 166 yards and passed for 224, while the defense limited the Dukes to 318 yards and two takeaways.
- Hayden Johnson completed 17-of-25 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns. Geoffrey Jamiel was his top target with seven catches for 95 yards and a touchdown, while junior Mason Humphrey added 80 yards on four catches.Â
- Luke Yoder led the run game with 11 carries for 68 yards, Jaden Green gained 61 yards and a touchdown on nine carries and Aaron Crossley scored his first touchdown of the season with 22 yards on eight rushes.Â
- Jabari Odoemenem led the team in tackles with 12 (six solo, six assisted), one tackle for loss and one pass breakup.Â
- Connor Poole punted five times for 262 yards, dropped two inside the 20 yardline, had two touchbacks and had three 50+ yard punts. He also handled kickoff duties with six kickoffs for 348 yards and three touchbacks.
Bucknell / Lehigh Series
- The Mountain Hawks lead the series 50-35-3
- Bucknell is 16-26-2 at home against the Mountain Hawks. On the road, the Bison are 19-24-1 against Lehigh.
- The Bison are currently on a one-game winning streak over the Mountain Hawks with their latest win being a thrilling 38-35 overtime win in Bethlehem.
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 (46) and completion percentage (.647).
- 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).Â
- 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).Â
On Record Watch
- Ralph Rucker is 212 passing attempts away from the career record for passing attempts.
- Ralph Rucker is 768 yards away from the career total offense record.
- Ralph Rucker is 67 pass completions away from the career record.
- Ralph Rucker is 147 passing yards away from the career passing yards record.
Milestone Watch
- Charlie Kreinbucher is 75 yards away from a career 500 receiving yards.
- Tariq Thomas is 46 yards away from 1,000 rushing yards.Â
Bison Award Winners
- 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.Â
- 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.Â
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.Â
- Bucknell opened the 2025 season with back-to-back away games at Air Force and Marist before going on a four-game home stand.Â
- Senior Night will take place on Sept. 27 against Saint Francis at 6 p.m. and Homecoming will be 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 will then start Patriot League play against Lehigh on Sept. 20 at home, which will also be Bucknell's Family Weekend game.
- After its home stand, Bucknell will head on the road for two games against Lafayette and Cornell.Â
- The final four games of the season will all be against conference opponents. Bucknell will host Georgetown on Oct. 25, travel to Fordham on Nov. 8, take on Holy Cross at home on Nov. 15 and then end the 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 100.9 The Valley (WVLY). 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 stay at home for its Senior Night game against Saint Francis on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m.
