# 2024 Bucknell Bison football team

The 2024 Bucknell Bison football team represented Bucknell University as a member of the Patriot League during the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bison were led by sixth-year head coach Dave Cecchini and played their home games at Christy Mathewson–Memorial Stadium in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 12:00 p.m. | at Navy* | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis, MD | CBSSN | L 21-49 | 28,763 |
| September 7 | 1:30 p.m. | at VMI* | Alumni Memorial FieldLexington, VA | ESPN+ | W 35–28 | 6,295 |
| September 14 | 6:00 p.m. | Merrimack* | Christy Mathewson–Memorial StadiumLewisburg, PA | ESPN+ | L 21–31 | 1,943 |
| September 21 | 6:00 p.m. | Marist* | Christy Mathewson–Memorial StadiumLewisburg, PA | ESPN+ | W 34–18 | 2,474 |
| September 28 | 12:00 p.m. | at Lehigh | Goodman StadiumLower Saucon, PA | ESPN+ | W 38–35 $^{2OT}$ | 4,003 |
| October 12 | 1:00 p.m. | at Penn* | Franklin FieldPhiladelphia, PA | ESPN+ | L 21–31 | 2,054 |
| October 19 | 1:00 p.m. | Cornell* | Christy Mathewson–Memorial StadiumLewisburg, PA | ESPN+ | L 21–34 | 1,245 |
| October 26 | 2:00 p.m. | at Georgetown | Cooper FieldWashington, DC | ESPN+ | L 20–21 | 3,579 |
| November 2 | 1:00 p.m. | Lafayette | Christy Mathewson–Memorial StadiumLewisburg, PA | ESPN+ | W 21–14 | 808 |
| November 9 | 1:00 p.m. | Fordham | Christy Mathewson–Memorial StadiumLewisburg, PA | ESPN+ | W 28–27 | 881 |
| November 16 | 12:00 p.m. | at Holy Cross | Fitton FieldWorcester, MA | ESPN+ | L 38–40 | 11,357 |
| November 23 | 1:00 p.m. | Colgate | Christy Mathewson–Memorial StadiumLewisburg, PA | ESPN+ | W 48–34 | 762 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### at Navy (FBS)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bison | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Midshipmen (FBS) | 6 | 22 | 7 | 14 | 49 |
at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Maryland
* Date: Saturday August 31, 2024
* Game time: 12:00 PM
* Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 78 °F (26 °C) • Wind: SE at 9 miles per hour (14 km/h)
* Game attendance: 28,763
* Referee: Steven Anderson
* TV announcers (CBSSN): Carter Blackburn (play-by-play), Randy Cross (analyst), Sheehan Stanwick-Burch (sideline reporter)
| Statistics | BUCK | NAVY |
| First downs | 14 | 20 |
| Total yards | 337 | 437 |
| Rushing yards | 131 | 264 |
| Passing yards | 206 | 173 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 15–29–0 | 10–19–2 |
| Time of possession | 26:59 | 33:01 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Bucknell | Passing | Ralph Rucker IV | 11/24, 122 yards, 1 TD |
| Bucknell | Rushing | Paul Neel | 12 carries, 60 yards, 1 TD |
| Bucknell | Receiving | TJ Cadden | 5 receptions, 97 yards |
| Navy | Passing | Blake Horvath | 7/12, 108 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT |
| Navy | Rushing | Daba Fofana | 8 carries, 82 yards, 1 TD |
| Navy | Receiving | Eli Heidenreich | 4 receptions, 74 yards, 2 TD |

### at VMI

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bison | 7 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
| Keydets | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
at Alumni Memorial Field, Lexington, Virginia
* Date: Saturday September 7, 2024
* Game time: 1:30 PM
* Game weather: Sunny, 73 °F (23 °C)
* Game attendance: 6,295
* Referee: Brian Hilpisch
* TV: ESPN+
| Statistics | BUCK | VMI |
| First downs | 22 | 20 |
| Total yards | 451 | 378 |
| Rushing yards | 111 | 212 |
| Passing yards | 340 | 166 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 28–37–1 | 24–37–1 |
| Time of possession | 29:14 | 30:46 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Bucknell | Passing | Ralph Rucker IV | 28/37, 340 yards, 3 TD, INT |
| Bucknell | Rushing | Paul Neel | 8 carries, 37 yards, TD |
| Bucknell | Receiving | Eric Weatherly | 9 receptions, 105 yards |
| VMI | Passing | Collin Shannon | 21/32, 129 yards, INT |
| VMI | Rushing | Hunter Rice | 18 carries, 166 yards, 2 TD |
| VMI | Receiving | Ivan Thorpe | 6 receptions, 47 yards |

### Merrimack

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Warriors | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bison | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Christy Mathewson–Memorial Stadium • Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
* Date: Saturday September 14, 2024
* Game time: 6:00 PM
* Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C)
* TV: ESPN+
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Merrimack | Passing |
| Merrimack | Rushing |
| Merrimack | Receiving |
| Bucknell | Passing |
| Bucknell | Rushing |
| Bucknell | Receiving |

### Marist

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Red Foxes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bison | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Christy Mathewson–Memorial Stadium • Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
* Date: Saturday September 21, 2024
* Game time: 6:00 PM
* Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C)
* TV: ESPN+
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Marist | Passing |
| Marist | Rushing |
| Marist | Receiving |
| Bucknell | Passing |
| Bucknell | Rushing |
| Bucknell | Receiving |

### at Lehigh

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | Total |
| Bison | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 38 |
| Mountain Hawks | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 35 |
at Goodman Stadium • Lower Saucon Township, Pennsylvania
* Date: Saturday September 28, 2024
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
* Game attendance: 4,003
* TV announcers (ESPN+): TBD
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Bucknell | Passing |
| Bucknell | Rushing |
| Bucknell | Receiving |
| Lehigh | Passing |
| Lehigh | Rushing |
| Lehigh | Receiving |

### at Penn

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bison | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Quakers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Franklin Field • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* Date: Saturday October 12, 2024
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
* TV announcers (ESPN+): TBD
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Bucknell | Passing |
| Bucknell | Rushing |
| Bucknell | Receiving |
| Penn | Passing |
| Penn | Rushing |
| Penn | Receiving |

### Cornell

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Big Red | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bison | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Christy Mathewson–Memorial Stadium • Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
* Date: Saturday October 19, 2024
* Game time: 1:00 PM
* Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C)
* TV: ESPN+
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Cornell | Passing |
| Cornell | Rushing |
| Cornell | Receiving |
| Bucknell | Passing |
| Bucknell | Rushing |
| Bucknell | Receiving |

### at Georgetown

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bison | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hoyas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Cooper Field • Washington, D.C.
* Date: Saturday October 26, 2024
* Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
* TV announcers (ESPN+): TBD
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Bucknell | Passing |
| Bucknell | Rushing |
| Bucknell | Receiving |
| Georgetown | Passing |
| Georgetown | Rushing |
| Georgetown | Receiving |

### Lafayette

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Leopards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bison | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, Lewisburg, PA
* Date: Saturday November 2, 2024
* Game time: 1:00 PM
* TV announcers (ESPN+): TBD
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Lafayette | Passing |
| Lafayette | Rushing |
| Lafayette | Receiving |
| Bucknell | Passing |
| Bucknell | Rushing |
| Bucknell | Receiving |

### Fordham

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bison | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium • Lewisburg, PA
* Date: Saturday November 9, 2024
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C)
* TV: ESPN+
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Fordham | Passing |
| Fordham | Rushing |
| Fordham | Receiving |
| Bucknell | Passing |
| Bucknell | Rushing |
| Bucknell | Receiving |

### at Holy Cross

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bison | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Crusaders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Fitton Field • Worcester, MA
* Date: Saturday November 16, 2024
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
* TV announcers (ESPN+): TBD
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Bucknell | Passing |
| Bucknell | Rushing |
| Bucknell | Receiving |
| Holy Cross | Passing |
| Holy Cross | Rushing |
| Holy Cross | Receiving |

### Colgate

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Raiders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bison | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium • Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
* Date: Saturday November 23, 2024
* Game time: 1:00 PM
* Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C)
* TV: ESPN+
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Colgate | Passing |
| Colgate | Rushing |
| Colgate | Receiving |
| Bucknell | Passing |
| Bucknell | Rushing |
| Bucknell | Receiving |