BRONX, N.Y. – The Bison gave themselves a chance at a game-winning drive with under two minutes to play at Moglia Stadium against Fordham Saturday afternoon, but Bucknell’s efforts came up short as the Rams held on for a 27-21 win.
The Bison began the final drive with 1:50 on the clock with one timeout and at their own 15-yard line. They reached the Fordham 35, but a sack on the final play of the game ended things. It was Fordham’s fifth time sacking Ralph Rucker, who once again filled the stat sheet with a 300-yard game. Rucker completed 32 of 48 attempts for 358 and a pair of touchdowns.
Defensively, it was freshman Gavin Willis who put together a breakout performance with a game-high 15 tackles. The defense also stopped Fordham on three of five fourth-down attempts and recorded the only turnover of the game. They limited the FCS’ 13th-ranked scoring offense to under 30 points and to just 10 points through most of the first half.
Bucknell, which held the initial lead of the game at 3-0, got down by 14 in the third quarter. Early in the fourth and trailing 24-13, Charlie Kreinbucher blocked a Fordham punt to give the offense the ball at the Rams 16. One play later Rucker hit Damian Harris in the end zone, and the pair connected again on the two-point conversion to cut the deficit to three. The Bison held the Rams to three points on their final four drives to give themselves a chance.
The Bison finished the game with 454 yards of offense and led in possession time. They went 8 of 16 on third-down attempts and were successful on their only try on fourth down, which came on the final drive of the game.
