Football Comes Up Short at Bucknell

Lewisburg, Pa. – Bucknell University plays football in Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, named for the baseball Hall of Famer who once said, "You can learn little from victory. You can learn everything from defeat." Today the lessons were that turnovers can be costly and you have to take advantage of scoring opportunities as the Bison scored on a long fumble return and the Rams came up short from the Bucknell one later in the game as the Bison squeaked by the Rams, 28-27, in a Patriot League game.
 
With the loss, Fordham falls to 1-9 overall, 1-4 in the Patriot League, while Bucknell improves to 5-5 overall, 3-1 in the League.
 
The Fordham offense was led by senior running back Julius Loughridge who notched his second straight 100-yard game, picking up 155 yards on 26 carries, both season-highs, with one score, while junior quarterback Jack Capaldi completed 18 of 27 passes for 310 yards and two touchdowns. Grad student receiver Cole Thornton led all Fordham receivers with six catches for a career-high 130 yards and a touchdown.
 
Defensively grad student linebacker Mike Courtney led the Rams with 12 total tackles, seven solo, including 1.5 for loss, while grad student linebacker Jackson Barletta added eight tackles, six solo.
 
The Rams took a 27-21 lead with 4:18 remaining when Loughridge punched it in from the one but the Bison came right back, taking a 28-27 lead on a 15-yard touchdown pass with 2:35 on the clock.
 
Fordham took the ensuing kickoff and a 22-yard Loughridge run gave the Rams a first down at the Bucknell 43. But a sack moved the Rams back to the Bucknell 49 and rushes by Capaldi and Loughridge gained a combined 14 yards, giving the Rams a fourth-and-two from the Bison 35. Loughridge was then stuffed trying to pick up the first down and Bucknell kneeled out the clock.
 
The Bison got on the board first, taking advantage of a botched handoff between Capaldi and Jacob Rodriguez that resulted in a fumble which Gavin Willis returned 69 yards for a score with 57 seconds left in the first.
 
The Rams tied the game in the second quarter when on first down, Capaldi found a streaking Cole Thornton down the right side for a 59-yard scoring strike midway though the quarter but Bucknell took a 14-7 lead on a 44-yard scoring pass with 21 seconds left in the half.
 
Bucknell made it a 21-14 game with a touchdown midway through the third quarter but the Rams picked up two points when the Bison were called for holding in the endzone with 3:30 remaining in the third.
 
A Bennett Henderson 25-yard field goal with 1:06 left in the quarter cut the Fordham deficit to three, 21-19, before the Rams took the lead on Loughridge's one-yard score.
 
Takeaways
 
• Julius Loughridge recorded his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the year and the 15th of his career.
• Grad student defensive back Nahil Perkins, who entered the game leading the Patriot League and tied for second in the nation in passes defended with 1.8/game, recorded two today.
 
• Perkins has 36 career pass breakups, moving him into fourth place all-time at Fordham.
 
• Freshman kicker Bennett Henderson has converted his last six field goal attempts, three of those for more than 40 yards, and has now made good on eight of his ten three-point attempts this year.
 
• He is tied for third in the Patriot League in field goals/ game (0.9) and second in field goal percentage (77.8%).
 
• The Fordham freshman record for field goals in a season is eleven set by Micah Clukey in 2003.
 
• The Rams fell despite outgaining the Bison in total offense, 549-363.
 
• Fordham entered the game with the most fourth down conversion attempts in the NCAA FCS but was 0-for-3 today.
 
• The Rams entered the game third in the Patriot League in passing defense, allowing 185.0 yards/game but gave up 322 yards today.
 
• The loss snaps an eleven-game Fordham winning streak in the all-time series with Bucknell.
 
• The game was played almost ten years after the Rams defeated Bucknell in overtime in 2014 to win the Patriot League title (the 2014 game was played on November 7).
 
By the Numbers
5.8 – Average margin of defeat in Fordham's four Patriot League losses.
 
8 – Tackles for loss recorded by Fordham today.
 
9 – Quarterback hurries recorded today by Matt Jaworski.
 
10 -Pass breakups by the Rams today, led by three from Jaworski.
 
15 – Career 100-yard rushing games for Julius Loughridge, tied for third all-time at Fordham.
 
26 – Career rushing touchdowns for Julius Loughridge, moving him into a tie for sixth all-time at Fordham.
 
41 – Net rushing yards for Bucknell, a season-low for a Fordham opponent.
 
91 – Passing touchdowns for the Rams over the past three years, the second most of any FCS school.
 
549 – Yards of total offense today for the Rams, a season-high.
 
3,003 – Career rushing yards for Julius Loughridge, moving him into fifth place on the Fordham career rushing list.
 
 
What's Next?
• The Rams continue the 2024 season by hosting the Georgetown University Hoyas for a Patriot League game at Moglia Stadium on Saturday, November 16, at 1:00 p.m.
 
• It will be the 70th meeting between Fordham and Georgetown on the gridiron.
 
• The Rams lead the all-time series, which started in 1889, 42-24- 3.
 
• The Hoyas took last year's meeting, 28-24, in Washington, D.C., scoring on a four-yard pass with 56 seconds left.
 
• Fordham won the 2022 matchup, 59-38, on Jack Coffey Field as Tim DeMorat completed 21 of 35 passes for 348 yards and four touchdowns while Trey Sneed (120 yards and two touchdowns) and Julius Loughridge (104 yards and one score) each rushed for more than 100 yards.
 
• The Rams have taken nine of the last eleven meetings.