PHILADELPHIA – Finishing up the first road swing of the season, the University of Pennsylvania football team heads to Central Pennsylvania on Saturday, visiting Bucknell at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
 
The Quakers are looking to start the year 2-0 for a second consecutive season, attempting to extend their win streak over the Bison to nine in a row.
 
GAME 2 – PENN at BUCKNELL
Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023 | 3:30 p.m.
Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium | Lewisburg, Pa.
Watch Live on ESPN+ ($)  |  Listen Live (QAN)  |  Live Stats
Penn Game Notes (PDF)  | Bucknell Game Notes (PDF)
 


The Bucknell Series
In a series that dates back to the 1895 season, Penn has completely owned the matchup over the years, leading 31-5, including each of the last eight games. On the road in Lewisburg, the Quakers have been especially dominant, going 6-2. This is the first encounter between the two teams since the 2021 season opener when Penn took down the Bison, 30-6, at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
 
Scouting The Bison
Bucknell took last week off after taking a 21-13 victory over VMI at home on Sept. 9 following a 38-3 defeat at FBS opponent James Madison. In the win over the Keydets two weekends ago, the score was 7-0 going into the fourth quarter when the two teams scored a combined four touchdowns including one for both squads in the final four minutes of the contest. Bucknell QB Ralph Rucker was 19-for-30 with 224 yards and two TDs, while Rushawn Baker rushed for 105 yards on 22 carries and a score. Damian Harris caught eight passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. On the defensive side of the ball, Brad Jamison led the Bison with 12 total tackles (six solos) with a sack and a hurry.
 
The Boys Are Back
Penn certainly looked the part in a 20-6 victory at Colgate Saturday afternoon in the season opener. With the win, the Quakers are victorious in three consecutive openers dating back to 2021 and are now 5-3 in such games during the Ray Priore era. Senior kicker Graham Gotlieb was used fairly heavily in the first half, kicking two field goals including a career-long 42 yarder to put Penn on the scoreboard early. After the Raiders scored a field goal of their own halfway through the second quarter to knot the game at 6-6, Penn began to extend its lead further with two more touchdowns—a six-yard pass from Aidan Sayin to Jared Richardson and a 22-yard completion from Sayin to Maurcus McDaniel in the third quarter—as the Red and Blue finished off the 14-point win.
 
Featured Rusher
It was quite the season debut in the backfield for junior running back Jacob Cisneros, who led the Quakers with eight carries for 65 yards. One of his carries, an 18-yard rush into Colgate territory was highlighted by a hurdle over the Raider defender. Cisneros, a key returner on special teams, should factor back into the running game against Bucknell on Saturday as well.
 
King of Catch
It didn't take long for Sayin to find his new favorite target, at least after the first game, as Richardson was targeted 13 times on Saturday at Colgate, catching seven passes for 62 yards and a touchdown. Jonathan Mulatu also had seven receptions, for 18 yards, while Delhi, N.Y. product Alex Haight finished with three catches for 20 yards in his upstate New York homecoming.
 
Stingy Defense
Not much was getting past the Penn defense on Saturday, allowing just six points to the Raiders, zero in the second half and no touchdowns. Senior defensive back Kendren Smith led the way with eight total tackles, a team-best mark, along with a sack and two pass breakups. Six Quakers recorded a sack with an interception each for Jaden Key and Shiloh Means.
 
Penn Again All Patriot in 2023
For the second consecutive season, the Quakers will face Patriot League teams in all three non-conference games, opening with Colgate and Bucknell on the road before hosting Georgetown in Week 4. This is the second straight season the Quakers have faced three PL teams after not doing that since 2000. That season, the Red and Blue opened with a 17-10 loss at Lehigh; came home the next weekend to beat Lafayette, 45-28; then lost at Holy Cross in Week 4, 34-17.
 
Preseason All-Ivy
Twelve Penn players earned Preseason All-Ivy selection by Phil Steele in early August including first-team honorees Key, Kendren Smith and Julien Stokes. A 2022 first-team All-Ivy pick, Smith, along with Key will play a large role in anchoring the Penn defense this season. The second team was made up of eight Quakers—Joshua Casilli, Jake Ligos, Jack Purcell, Micah Morris, Joey Slackman, Jack Fairman, Jonathan Melvin and Gotlieb—while Sayin earned a spot on the third team.
 
Hey, Coach!
Head Coach Ray Priore has one new face on the coaching staff as Sean Reeder takes over as tight ends coach for the 2023 season. Reeder joins the Quakers following six seasons on staff at Ithaca, the first five working with the offensive line before he was promoted to the role of offensive coordinator in 2022. Prior to his stint with the Bombers, Reeder spent two years at Division II Wayne State before working as a tight ends and offensive line coach at California Lutheran. As a student-athlete, Reeder was a key member of the offensive line at Johns Hopkins, where he graduated with a degree in biomedical engineering in 2013.
 
Oh Captain, Our Captains
Following a team vote, Priore named five captains for the 2023 Quakers including a familiar face to the leadership group. For the second straight year, Melvin was voted a co-captain, while Casilli, Sayin, Slackman and Kendren Smith will join him for the coin toss at the beginning of each game this season.
 
The Last Time Against Bucknell...
In the 2021 season opener, the Quakers trailed the Bison, 6-3, going into the second quarter of play. Ryan Cragun hauled in a 44-yard pass from John Quinnelly with 8:37 left in the second to take a 13-6 lead and Daniel Karrash hit a 32-yard field goal to push Penn ahead by 10 heading into the locker room at halftime. Two third-quarter touchdowns—including a 70-yard TD reception for Rory Starkey, Jr.—resulted in 27 unanswered points and a 30-6 win for Penn in Lewisburg.
Quinnelly was 15-for-22 through the air with 273 yards and a pair of TD passes, while Isaiah Malcome rushed 13 times for 72 yards and both Starkey, Jr. and Cragun had upwards of 100 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
 
Playing For BT
Penn, along with the other seven Ivy League schools, are wearing green and white "BT" stickers on its helmets in honor of legendary Dartmouth head coach Buddy Teevens, who passed away Tuesday at the age of 66 following injuries from a bicycle accident in March. Teevens, an Ivy League Player of the Year for the Big Green in 1978, was a head football coach for more than 30 years, including 22 at in Hanover, winning Ivy League titles in 1990, 1991, 2015, 2019 and 2021.