Fast Facts:
• Location: Michie Stadium – West Point, NY
• Kickoff time: 12 PM Eastern
• Surface: FieldTurf
• Weather: High 54, Low 37, 30% chance of rain
• TV: CBS Sports Network
• Team Name: Bison
• Conference Affiliation: Patriot League (FCS)
• Head Coach: Dave Cecchini (6-18 at Bucknell in 3 seasons)
• 2021 Record: 1-8 (0-5 Patriot League)
Program History:
The Bucknell football team was established in 1883 after a group of students from Lafayette College journeyed west to play a group of students from the University at Lewisburg, as Bucknell University was then called. The Lewisburg students lost the game, 59–0, and did not play another game until 1887.
They joined D1-AA/FCS in 1978 and have been members of the Patriot League since 1986. Bucknell’s crowning achievement in football was probably winning the inaugural Orange Bowl over the Miami Hurricanes 26-0 in 1935.
Clarke Hinkle is their lone college and NFL Hall of Famer. He played Fullback for the Bison from 1929-1931. They have one conference championship and an all-time record of 560-526-5.
Series History:
Bucknell has made the trip to Michie Stadium 6 times and Army came away victorious in all 6 meetings. Army won the first match-up 18-10 in November 1900.
Last Meeting:
Army faced off against Bucknell in Jeff Monken’s 2nd season on the Banks of the Hudson. While Monken was still rebuilding the Black Knights’ program, Bucknell actually held a 14-7 halftime lead over the Black Knights before AJ Schurr hit Edgar Poe for a 68-yard touchdown pass with 4:44 left in the game to seal Army’s second win of the 2015 season, 21-14. Poe made a great catch to go high point a 1:1 ball for the winning score.
Bucknell Offense:
Bucknell averages an abysmal 9.7 points per game. That’s not a typo. In fact, if you add Army’s totals against Wake Forest and Western Kentucky, Army has outscored Bucknell through 9 games…against Patriot League defenses. Their 3rd down efficiency is 23.08% and their 4th down efficiency is 41.38%.
Quarterback Nick Semptimphelter leads the team in passing (67-131, 555 yards). He has 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions and has been sacked 16 times.
Ethan Grady has gotten most of the starts lately and is 39-73 for 402 yards with 3 touchdowns, 5 interceptions and 2 sacks. His rating is 14 points higher than Nick’s (99.5).
The Bison’s leading rusher is RB Jared Cooper with 261 yards on 79 carries for a 3.3 YPC average. He has 1 touchdown. The Bison’s running game looks officially awful on paper.
The Bison’s 3 leading receivers who average over 10 yards per catch. Their leading receiver is Dominic Lyles with 17 receptions for 214 yards for a 12.6 average. He has 3 touchdowns on the season. Marques Owens also has 17 catches for 196 yards and an 11.5 average. Damian Harris has 15 catches for 168 yards and an 11.2 YPC average. This is probably the bright spot of the Bison’s offense, and if there is one area that Army’s defense has been sub-par in this year, it’s in pass coverage.
Bucknell Defense:
The Bison give up an average of 34.33 points per game. They allow 309 yards/game including 214.9 yards/game rushing for a 5.4 yards/carry average. This may be one of those games where Coach Monken and Coach Davis don’t throw the ball. Their pass defense actually isn’t that bad. They only give up 225 yards/game through the air.
They also surrender a whopping 61.11% of 4th down conversions. The Bison’s leading tackler is Junior Safety Brent Jackson. Jackson has 60 total tackles, ½ sack, 1.5 tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. Also keep an eye on Junior LB Ben Allen. Allen has 59 total tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 interception, 2 QB hurries, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.
Prediction:
While I can’t seem to find a spread for this one (probably because it’s against a FCS team), ESPN FPI gives the Black Knights a 99.7% chance of winning.
While nothing in sports is ever a sure thing, this is about as close as you come. I don’t know much about Bucknell, but looking at them on paper, they actually look worse than U Conn and U Mass. That’s hard to do.
Army gets a much needed “breather” after a murderer’s row the last 6 weeks and 4 games. If all goes according to plan, they should be able to pull the starters by halftime like they did against U Conn, and get the back-ups some much needed experience, especially on the defensive side of the ball, where Army will be graduating 6 starters.
This game should also give Army the opportunity to get QB Christian Anderson some well deserved rest, along with Tyhier Tyler. Maybe it would be a good time to get Jabari Laws some more reps; or even Jemel Jones or Cade Ballard if they are healthy.
This type of game could also give your pass rushers and defensive backs a confidence boost before they head to Liberty in a few weeks.
Victory will be defined internally in this game as leaving Michie healthy; winning by a sizable margin; and getting the back-ups significant playing time, as well as fixing any lingering issues and mistakes the coaches want to work on.
Army – 52
Bucknell – 14
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