Box Score Nov. 17, 2007
Final Stats
BRONX, N.Y.(P) - First the good news. The Fordham University football Rams are the outright 2007 Patriot League champions.
And now the bad news. The Rams dropped their final regular season Patriot League game to Bucknell, 38-24, on Jack Coffey Field. Despite the loss, the Rams still won the league title outright due to Holy Cross' 27-20 win over Colgate in Worcester, leaving the Raiders with a 4-2 conference mark.
The loss breaks a six-game winning streak for the Rams, who close out the regular season with an 8-3 overall record, 5-1 in the Patriot League. The six-game winning streak was the longest for a Fordham team on the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level and the longest overall since the 1988 squad opened the season with a 6-0 record.
The Patriot League title is the second for the Rams, who also won the championship in 2002. Fordham will find out its opponent in the NCAA Football Championship bracket on Sunday afternoon at approximately 3:30 PM. Ironically, it was Bucknell that the Rams defeated in the 2002 finale to clinch their first Patriot League championship.
The Rams were hoping to go undefeated in league play but ran into a determined Bison team. Bucknell used a big-play offense, scoring on three plays of more than 50 yards, and shut down the Fordham running game, limiting the Rams, who entered the game averaging 192.0 yards/game on the ground, to just 81 net rushing yards.
The Rams were able to move the ball through the air as quarterback John Skelton completed 34 of 50 passes for 366 yards, all career-highs, and one touchdown while Asa Lucas grabbed ten passes for 178 yards. The 366 passing yards for Skelton is the seventh best single-game total in Fordham history, while the 178 receiving yards for Lucas is the seventh-best single game in school history.
The game did little to diminish the accomplishments of the 2007 Rams, who took back the Liberty Cup from Columbia, won the Patriot League title and will be one of only 16 teams (out of 116 NCAA FCS teams) still playing next week.
"Looking back I would say we had a great year but at this moment it doesn't feel very good," said Fordham head coach Tom Masella. "But as disappointing as it is, we have a chance to play again next week. We have to put it behind us and get ready to play a very good team."
The Bison displayed their big play offense early, scoring on an 82-yard scoring strike from quarterback Marcello Trigg to A.J. Kizekai on the second play of the game.
The Rams would take the ensuing kickoff and move from their own 30 to the Bucknell 17, where the drive stalled and Adam Danko came on to boot a 34-yard field goal to cut the Fordham deficit to four, 7-3, 5:53 into the game. John Skelton completed five of seven passes on the drive for 41 yards, including a third and ten throw from the Bucknell 28 to Michael Shorter to give the Rams a first down on the 18.
The game would remain 7-3 until Fordham's first possession of the second quarter when the Rams took over on their own 32 following a punt. Skelton went to work, completing all five of his passes on the drive, including an 11-yard scoring strike to Jason Caldwell with 9:35 left in the second. On the scoring play, the snap eluded Skelton but he was able to pick up the ball and scramble to the right, finding Caldwell in the back corner of the end zone for the score.
The Fordham lead was short-lived however, as the Bison marched 69 yards on 11 plays with Trigg taking it in from the one to put Bucknell up, 14-10, with 4:12 remaining in the half. The Bison did most of their damage on the ground on the drive, covering all 69 yards rushing, but one of the big plays was a pass interference call on the Rams on third and seven from the Fordham nine which gave Bucknell a first and goal on the two.
The Rams came right back to take a 17-14 lead at the half, scoring on a Quasand Lewis one-yard leap with 14 seconds left in the period. Skelton led the drive, completing four of five passes for 71 yards, three of those passes to Asa Lucas for 64 yards.
The Bison scored quickly again in the second half, after holding the Rams to a three and out on their first possession. Taking over on their own 20 following a punt, Trigg found Cale Cadman open down the right side with a 56-yard scoring strike on the third play of the drive to put Bucknell up, 21-17, 2:58 into the half.
The Rams responded by driving to the Bucknell 22 but on third down, Skelton threw an incomplete pass to Darryl Robinson. Danko then came on to attempt a field goal but a bad snap forced holder Clayton Busch to run and the Bison sacked him for a loss of ten yards.
The Bison took advantage of the miscue, moving from their own 32 to the Fordham 21 where Will Carney connected on a 38-yard field goal to give Bucknell a 24-17 lead with 5:50 remaining in the third. The big play of the drive was a 58-yard completion from Trigg to Shaun Pasternak on third and long that brought the ball down to the Fordham 11.
Two plays later, Skelton was intercepted by Ryan Slater on the Fordham 36 and Slater returned the pick to the Fordham 27. Ten plays later, Kizekai took it in from the three for a 31-17 Bucknell lead with 24 seconds left in the period.
The Rams threatened early in the fourth quarter, driving from their own 42 to the Bucknell 16 where a Skelton pass was tipped at the line and intercepted by Casey Williams on the Bucknell 11.
On its next possession, Fordham moved from its own five to the 49 where a Skelton pass to Sylvester Clarke fell incomplete on fourth down and the Bison took over on downs.
The Bison needed just two plays to find the end zone with Trigg connecting with Corin Erby on a 52-yard touchdown pass with 3:43 left in the game to put the Bison up 38-17.
The Rams would score on their last possession when Skelton scrambled in from the four on fourth and goal with 1:13 remaining.
Fordham will learn of its first round FCS Championship opponent on Sunday as ESPNU will televise the NCAA Football Championship selection show beginning at 3:30 PM.
Notes
The Bison have now won the past two meetings and four of the last five, and now lead the all-time series, 15-8...With the touchdown pass in the game, Skelton brought his season total to 19, tying him for the forth best single season total in Fordham history...The 366 passing yards, the most since Kevin Eakin threw for 376 yards at Georgetown in 2002, gives Skelton 2,369 on the season, fifth best in Fordham history...The 34 completions by Skelton are the most since Matt Georgia completed 31 passes against Brown in 1999...The 178 receiving yards for Lucas is the most for a Fordham receiver since Javarus Dudley recorded 224 receiving yards in the 2002 Georgetown game.
