Penn (2-1) vs. Bucknell (1-3)
Saturday, Oct. 8, 2005
3:30 p.m. ? Franklin Field
Broadcast Live on CN8 and www.cn8.tv
Can by heard on ESPN 920 AM and www.pennathletics.com
Penn Games Notes vs. Bucknell
? The University of Pennsylvania returns to Franklin Field for a non-conference matchup with Bucknell. Penn is coming off a 26-9 victory over Dartmouth in the Ivy League opener for both teams last weekend.
? This season Penn football games can be heard live on ESPN 920 AM and on the Penn Athletics web site www.pennathletics.com. Matt Leon (play-by-play) and Hench Murray (color analyst) return for their third season in the broadcast booth. Brian Seltzer will provide sideline content. The pre-game show begins approximately 30 minutes before kickoff.
? At halftime of this week's broadcast, Matt will have an interview with former Quakers kicker Tim Mazzetti in 1975 and 1976, who played for the Atlanta Falcons and also scored the first point in the history of the USFL as a member of Boston Breakers.
? The Quakers' victory over the Big Green was its eight-straight win against Dartmouth. Senior Pat McDermott went 20-for-34 and threw touchdown passes to Chris Mizell (seven-yard pass in the third quarter) and Billy May (four-yard pass in the third quarter). Penn held a 9-0 lead at halftime after Derek Zoch put three field goals through the uprights.
? With the Quakers' win on Saturday, Head Coach Al Bagnoli moves closer to reaching the 100-win plateau at Penn. Bagnoli has 96 wins in his 14 seasons with the Red and Blue. In 24 seasons as a head coach, Bagnoli has posted 182 wins which ranks sixth among active Division I-AA coaches.
? Penn's win over Dartmouth also gave Bagnoli his 70th Ancient Eight victory, which is fourth among all Ivy League coaches.
? McDermott's 209 passing yards against Dartmouth moved him into 10th all-time at Penn in passing yards. He has 2,887 yards to his credit. Penn has eight quarterbacks who broke the 3,000-yard plateau and McDermott is only 13 yards away from becoming the ninth.
? DEFENSE! DEFENSE! ? The Penn defense held the Big Green to just 16 rushing yards on Saturday. The Red and Blue made seven sacks in the game, 14 tackles for a loss of 70 yards, eight pass breakups, blocked a punt, caught an interception and forced a fumble. The Quakers are third in NCAA Division I-AA in rushing defense, allowing only 52.67 yards per game.
? The Penn defense has not allowed a rushing touchdown all season. The Quakers have only allowed 158 total rushing yards, which is 112 less than Princeton who ranks second in the Ancient Eight in rushing defense.
? Leading the Penn defense against the Big Green was Kory Gedin who came up with nine tackles (four solo), two sacks and four tackles for a loss of 18 yards. For his efforts he was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week. It is Gedin's first Ivy League weekly honor.
? Sophomore Derek Zoch was a perfect 4-for-4 on field goals, kicking distances of 35, 37, 24 and 23 yards. The last time a Quaker kicked four field goals in a game was Jason Feinberg on Nov. 11, 2000 against Princeton. Four is also the most any Quaker kicker has made in a single game. Zoch is one of four kickers who have accomplished that feat.
? Zoch is tied for fourth in Division I-AA in field goals made and is third in the Ancient Eight. He is also 14th in scoring, averaging 10.33 points per game which is fourth in the Ivy League.
? McDermott found nine different receivers in the game against Dartmouth. He connected with Nick Okoro and Matt Carre four times, Mizell and Dan McDonald each caught three passes, while Braden Lepisto had two catches and May, Ryan Pisarri and Sagar Patel each pulled down one.
? Going the Distance ? Dan McDonald seems to be able to catch almost anything McDermott throws out there, especially long range. The junior wide receiver had a 41-yard catch against the Big Green, a 42-yard catch against Villanova and 43-yarder versus Duquesne.
? Anthony Melillo has punted for 200 yards in two of the Quakers' three games this season. He punted for a career best 225 yards against Dartmouth, averaging 37.5 yards per punt and hitting a career-long 63-yarder. He is averaging 36.59 yards per punt for the season which ranks second in the Ivy League and 69th in Division I-AA.
? Ric San Doval and Brian Fairbanks both made six stops against Dartmouth. San Doval also had two tackles for loss, including taking down quarterback Charles Rittgers. Fairbanks had two tackles for a loss of eight yards.
? Casey Edgar added his name to the list of Quakers who have come up with an interception in 2005. Edgar picked off Josh Cohen's pass with less than two minutes to go in the fourth quarter. On the Big Green's next drive, Edgar blocked Brian Scullin's punt and held on to the ball which allowed the Quakers to take over on the Dartmouth 11-yard line.
? Coming up with the big play ? Jim Malizia had his best career performance on Saturday. He made a career-high five tackles and sacked Dartmouth's quarterback three times. The Big Green lost 19 yards on Malizia's three sacks.
? On fourth and eight, Dartmouth botched a punt and Scott Williams recovered the ball on the Dartmouth 23-yard line. Penn took over and added three more points with a 37-yard field goal by Zoch to take a 6-0 lead in the second quarter.
? Dartmouth had its share of turnovers and mishaps - two missed field goals, a botched punt, a blocked punt and a missed extra-point attempt. On one of Dartmouth's longest drives on the game, it was Sam McGarity who stopped the Big Green on Penn's 10-yard line. On fourth and goal, the Big Green decided to go for it, but McGarity had other plans, sacking Josh Cohen on the 18-yard line and forcing the Big Green to turn the ball over on downs. It was McGarity's first career sack.
? McDermott has thrown for more than 200 yards seven times in his career. He reached 200 or more yards in five games last season and has done so twice already in 2005. He is averaging 229.3 yards per game which ranks third in the Ancient Eight.
? McDermott's passing efficiency (139.11) continues to rank first in the Ivy League and 30th among Division I-AA.
? Sam Mathews added 53 more rushing yards to his credit this past weekend. The senior running back is making his way up the Penn all-time rushing charts. He has 2,099 career rushing yards and stands ninth in the Penn accolades. The two-time All-Ivy League running back has 18 rushing touchdowns after recording seven last season.
? Mathews returned to the lineup after sitting out against Villanova with a shoulder injury to lead the Red and Blue in rushing yards against Dartmouth, making 15 rushes for 53 yards. In his only other appearance this season he rushed for 64 yards on 13 carries versus Duquesne. Mathews also made three catches in the game.
? The Series ? The Red and Blue have won the last two games against the Bison, but it hasn't been easy. Last year the Bison took the Quakers into two overtimes before Penn walked away with a 32-25 win. Pat McDermott ran in a 1-yard score in the second overtime period to give Penn the win. Evan Nolan kept the Quakers in the game when his 42-yard field goal tied the score at 25 in the first overtime. In 2003, Mathews scored two touchdowns to give Penn a 14-10 lead at the half. The Bison kicked a field goal midway through the fourth quarter to pull within one (14-13). Quaker fans remained on the edge of their seats when a 39-yard field goal attempt by Bucknell's Kory Ryan, which would have put the Bison ahead, 16-14, fell short with 14 seconds left in regulation.
? In last year's contest, McDermott had one of his best career efforts, passing for 384 yards and completing 32-of-55 attempts. His 384 yards in that game ranks fifth on Penn's single game list. Oddly enough, only one of the Quakers' scores was a touchdown pass.
? McDermott is not the only one who has seen success against Bucknell. In 2003, Sam Mathews made quite an impression on the Bison. Mathews ran for 105 yards, his second career 100-yard rushing performance, and picked up 32 yards on three receptions.
? The Bison enter today's contest with a 1-3 record after defeating Marist, 27-7, last weekend. Senior Dante Ross, best known as a starting cornerback and return specialist, made his second appearance at quarterback and broke the Bison record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a single game. Ross rushed for 268 yards and three touchdowns. The injury-laden Bison rushed for 308 yards and only threw for 38.
? Bucknell lost its first three contests of the season, falling to Georgetown, 19-16 (in overtime), Stony Brook, 21-18, and Cornell, 24-7.
? Bucknell Offensively ? With several injuries at the quarterback position, the Bison have had to rely on their running game. Statistically, the Bison rank 16th in the nation in rushing offense. Led by Dante Ross's 327 rushing yards (81.75 pg), Bucknell has scored six of its eight touchdowns on the ground. Twelve different Bison have run with the ball, while only seven receivers have made catches. Of those receivers only two, Richard Simpson and Josh DeStefano, have more than two catches.
? Bucknell Defensively ? Bucknell has held its opponents to 17.8 points per game, which ranks 34th in Division I-AA. Three Bison have at least 30 tackles to their credit this season. Dorian Peterson leads that group with 39 tackles (14 solo). He also has one interception, a fumble recovery and three pass breakups. As a team, the Bison have recorded 27 tackles for a loss of 103 yards, sacked the opposing quarterback five times, intercepted eight passes and forced three fumbles.
? Bucknell Specialists ? Dante Ross seems to do it all for the Bison. He leads the squad in kickoff and punt returns, having accumulated 137 yards on three kickoff returns and 121 yards on 11 punt returns. Combined with 327 yard rushing, Ross has 585 all purpose yards. Ryan Korn has done most of the punting this season, punting for 446 yards on 12 punts (37.2 yards per punt). He also has gone 4-for-8 on field goals this season. His longest of the season was a 47-yarder against Georgetown. Two of his attempts have been blocked, but he has not missed from inside the 30-yard line.
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