Sam Milligan Records Career-High 202 Receiving Yards in 41-24 Loss to William & Mary

Saturday, November 14

Williamsburg, Va.

1 p.m.

Bucknell University

1-10 , 0-8

William & Mary

4-7 , 2-6

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Bucknell	3	0	14	7	24
William & Mary	14	0	14	13	41

Game Notes

11/14/2026 4:37:00 PM | Football

Box Score

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Sam Milligan had a career-high 202 receiving yards with two touchdowns and 120 yards after the catch in Bucknell's 41-24 loss to William & Mary on the road. The Tribe ran for 294 yards and saw four of their touchdowns on rushes in the contest.

The first quarter saw a lot of offensive prowess, but the Tribe were able to limit the Bison to a field goal while finding one rushing touchdown and one touchdown off of a 99-yard kickoff return. The second quarter saw a flip as the defense's of both teams stepped up and allowed no points, earning William & Mary a 14-3 lead at the half. In the first half, the Tribe had two interceptions, but Bucknell's defense did not allow them to make anything of it, forcing William & Mary to punt after each turnover. The third quarter saw a lot of scoring as each team put up two touchdowns in the 15 minutes with William & Mary maintaining its lead 28-17. The fourth quarter saw two more Tribe touchdowns before Bucknell scored the final touchdown of the game to close the final score gap to 16.

Along with his 202 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 12 catches, Milligan rushed four times for 18 yards. While the Tribe out-paced the Bison in rushing, Bucknell out-paced William & Mary through the air with 247 yards to the Tribe's 150. Leading Bucknell in rushing was Michael Cadden who had 16 carries for 79 yards. Jack Sullivan followed with eight carries for 57 yards and a touchdown.

On the defensive side for the Bison, Brandon Biagiarelli notched a career-high 21 total tackles with nine solo and 12 assisted which is just two off of the Bucknell single-game record.

Emmett Dowling was at the quarterback position for the Bison and went 19-for-32 for 247 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

After Bucknell won the toss and chose to defer, William & Mary opened the game with a nine-play, 64 yard drive that culminated in a one-yard rushing touchdown for Winston Watkins and a 7-0 lead for the Tribe. Bucknell answered by driving down the field with a 15 play, 73 yard drive that featured a successful fourth down conversion, but ended up settling for a 22-yard field goal from Juan Garanton after the Tribe's defense came out strong in the red-zone blocking a pass on third down.

The Tribe wasted no time as Brayden Smalls then returned the kickoff from Cooper Bolton for a 99-yard touchdown that extended William & Mary's lead to 14-3 with 3:48 left in the quarter. Bucknell then put together a solid drive that saw 54 offensive yards from Milligan as a combined rusher and receiver, but after an offensive pass interference call pushed the Bison back to the 18-yardline on third down, Dowling threw a deep ball to the endzone that was picked off by Cade Ellis. The Tribe could not make anything of it as a sack by Deuce Geter on the first play set the tone for a three-and-out.

William & Mary was then forced to punt after Geter was able to catch the Tribe for negative yards. Emmett Dowling came out with the Bison offense and on the first play of the drive, a pass intended for Milligan was intercepted by Jaden Ratcliff. Bucknell's defense for the second time in the game was able to force William & Mary to punt after its defense forced a turnover.

Despite a 36-yard reception from Milligan on a 3rd and 9 play, the Bison were halted by the Tribe defense once again and forced to punt with three minutes left in the half. The Tribe then drove down the field with the help of two penalties on Bucknell leading them to the Bison 19-yardline. Langston Blair had a nice pass breakup in the endzone to prevent a touchdown and then with a couple of seconds on the clock, William & Mary missed a 40-yard field goal, maintaining a 14-3 scoreline at the half.

Bucknell opened the second half with a four play, 75-yard drive that culminated in Dowling finding Milligan who broke free for a 39-yard touchdown bringing the game within four. William & Mary then had a five play, 75-yard scoring drive where Jackson Blee found the endzone on an eight-yard reception. With 11:24 left in the third the Tribe led 21-10, but after forcing Bucknell to go three and out, William & Mary's Jah'Kei Chavis broke a seemingly sound tackle for a 64-yard rushing touchdown to give the Tribe a 28-10 lead. The Bison went three and out once again, but their defense was able to limit William & Mary to a 45-yard field goal attempt thanks to a tackle for a loss of six yards by Kato Meisner. The field goal attempt went wide.

A 37-yard reception by Milligan followed by a 21-yard rush by Jack Sullivan set Bucknell up for a Sullivan five-yard rushing touchdown on a six play, 73 yard drive. Garanton made the extra point to cut the gap to 11 with a couple minutes left in the quarter.

The fourth quarter opened with William & Mary going for it on fourth down successfully and then finding the endzone on a quarterback sneak by Carter Carroll. The 11-yard rushing touchdown extended the Tribes lead to 35-17 with 12:37 left to play. After six minutes of scoreless play and three three-and-outs between both teams, the Tribe added on another touchdown with 6:16 left on a six play, 43 yard drive. Andrew King had the score on a 10-yard rush.

Bucknell was able to cut into the lead in the final two minutes with a seven-yard receiving touchdown, but the Tribe would ultimately take the win 41-24 in Williamsburg.

Bucknell will host its final game of the season on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 1 p.m. against Colgate in the Patriot League's rivalry week.