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LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Oh, what might have been.
 
Colgate welcomed Jake Melville back to the quarterback position and the Raider defense kept its second opponent of the season without a touchdown.
 
The combined result here Saturday was a 21-6 thumping of Bucknell that not only put a dent in the Bison's NCAA playoff at-large hopes, but also lifted the Raiders to a third-place Patriot League finish.
 

The Raiders (5-7, 3-3 Patriot) won for the first time since Oct. 11, when Colgate rallied for a 31-30 comeback victory over Princeton that was the team's fourth straight win. Colgate's sophomore quarterback then missed the next five games with an illness.
 
But after a rusty beginning, Melville hit John Maddaluna III with a 64-yard pass on the first play of the third quarter to spark the Raider surge. Colgate struck for all 21 points in that third period, outgaining Bucknell 147-26 in the process.
 
The Bison (8-3, 4-2) finished with just 25 rushing yards for the game as Colgate sacked Bucknell quarterback Trey Lauletta six times. Earlier this year, Colgate held Georgetown to 35 rushing yards in a 19-0 shutout.
 
Mike Armiento blocked a punt and picked off his 16th career interception, one of three in the game for the Raiders. John Wilkins scored two rushing touchdowns and Ed Pavalko added a third on a 4-yard pass from Melville.
 
Bottom Line
• Colgate 21, Bucknell 6

Won-Lost Records
• Colgate wraps up the season 5-7 overall and 3-3 in the Patriot League, tying for third place.
• Bucknell drops to 8-3 overall and 4-2 in the Patriot League.
 

Facts & Figures
• Bucknell dominated the first half statistically, and Colgate the second.
• The Bison held a 154-56 yardage edge at halftime, and a 9-3 margin in first downs.
• But Colgate turned that around in the second half, outgaining the hosts 189-100. Total yardage for the game favored Bucknell, 254-245.
• It was Colgate's fewest yards gained in a victory this season.
• John Wilkins carried 12 times for 51 yards and two touchdowns. Wilkins ended the season with a team-leading nine TDs – five coming in his last two games.
• Ed Pavalko scored Colgate's second TD on a 4-yard pass from Melville. It was Pavalko's first reception and first TD of the season, and his first receiving score since Stony Brook in 2012.
• Joe Figueroa made his first career start and tied for team tackle honors with seven. Kyle Diener and Victor Steffen also posted seven tackles.
• Pat Afriyie sacked Bucknell quarterback Trey Lauletta three times for minus-19 yards. Afriyie ties for second on the team with 4½ sacks.
• Kris Kent added two sacks for minus-6 (team sack leader with 5½), and Diener pitched in a 7-yard sack.
• Diener filled up the stat sheet: tied for tackle honors (7) and added a sack, fumble recovery and interception.
• In the process, Diener finished as Colgate's season tackle leader with 89. Armiento was next with 88, followed by Russo at 86 and Kent at 84.
• Bucknell's Evan Byers led all game tacklers with 13.
• Bison quarterback Lauletta was 18-of-35 passing for 229 yards, but threw three interceptions.
• Colgate's Alex Greenawalt caught four balls for 59 yards. Included was a sideline special that picked up a first down on 3rd-and-28, setting up the third TD. The freshman's only better game numbers were five for 103 against Princeton.
 
Melville Makes Return
• Jake Melville finished the season 5-2 as Colgate's starting quarterback, posting five straight wins.
• But missing five weeks because of illness caused the sophomore quarterback plenty of rust, especially in the early going.
• Melvile began the game 0-of-6 passing. When he finally hit John Quazza for a second-quarter completion, the gain was for zero yards.
• But Melville found the range when it counted most, hitting John Maddaluna for a 64-yard completion to open the third quarter and get the Colgate offense on track.
• Melville finished 9-of-21 passing for 140 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed officially nine times for minus-16 yards. He was sacked three times for minus-31, so on his six true rushing attempts he gained 15 yards.
 

Turning Point
• Colgate trailed 6-0 at halftime after Bucknell kicked a 44-yard field goal on the last play of the first half.
• But on the first play of the second half, Jake Melville found John Maddaluna III for a 64-yard pass completion to the Bucknell 1.
• Two plays later, John Wilkins scored and the Raiders were on top, 7-6.
• The 64-yard completion was more than Colgate's entire first-half output of 56 total yards.
• Colgate dominated the game from that point forward.
 
Sweet 16
• Mike Armiento's second-quarter interception was the 16th of his all-star career. The pick moved him alone into second place in Patriot League history, and into a tie for second in Colgate history.
• The only Patriot League footballer with more interceptions is Dave Murphy (1986-89) of Holy Cross with 28.
• The only Raider with more is Tom Wilson (1964-66) with 20. Paul Lawler (1974, 76-78) also had 16 picks.
 
Turnover Margin
• Colgate forced four Bucknell turnovers.
• Armiento, , Diener and Adam Bridgeforth had interceptions. It was the third of the season for Diener and the second for Bridgeforth.
• Zack Smith forced a fumble on a Bucknell kickoff return that Diener recovered. The Raiders cashed that in for seven points and the final 21-6 margin. It was Smith's team-leading 13th special teams tackle for the season.
• The Raiders finished the year with 20 turnovers gained and 15 lost.
 
Block Patrol

• Armiento blocked his first punt of the season on Bucknell's second punt attempt.
• He also got his fingernails on Bucknell's first punt attempt, but the second one left no doubt.
• It was Colgate's fifth blocked punt of the season and seventh overall blocked kick. The Raiders entered Saturday second in the FCS in blocked punts.
 
From the Sources
• Colgate head coach Dan Hunt: (On the win) "That's the definition of a total team victory. The defense played great all game, and they've had a lot of performances like that.
"At halftime, flat-out, I challenged the offense and told them we were going to score on the first drive of the second half. That was it; that was the conversation. And they came out and hit the big play.
"It just took Jake a little bit to get the rust off. That's a tough defense, but you could see him getting comfortable in the football game. It was good that the defense was able to carry us until he got there.
"Once he got there, you could see it in his body language and you could see he was starting to really feel comfortable out there."
 (On the halftime adjustments) "It's the old adage, 'We've done the worst we can do on offense, and it's still a one-score game.' But these kids, every game, they fight and they never stop. It's great to see that effort get rewarded with a win going into the offseason."
(On the senior contributions) "Unbelievable. They stepped up, and it's just what you would expect. It's great to see when the seniors can go out and really contribute to a game like that. It was emotional.
"I told the seniors, 'Your legacy is going to be that this program needed a win, and you did it.' They gave this program a much-needed win. That's something they can take with them, that they found a way to win this game. They should be proud of that."
(On the third-place finish) "They picked us for fifth and we were right there in just about every game. A lot of important kids are coming back, so we have a good nucleus for next year. It's a great way to end the season."
• Colgate linebacker Pat Afriyie: (On his day) "I was just doing my job; that's what we're coached to do. We just have to do our jobs and finish. I've been working the edge all season, so I guess I just perfected it this game."
• Colgate fullback Ed Pavalko: (On the win) "It was great to go out this way. We started the season strong and then had a big slump. It's nice to come out of it at the end and get that W.
"It's been tough since the injury – it's one year and one day since that happened. So it was great to finally get the ball back in my hands."

• Colgate tailback John Wilkins: (On the third-quarter burst) "We got some leadership from Jake and the O-line came out with a good push. We just ran behind them. We've just got to keep it rolling for next season."
• Colgate quarterback Jake Melville: (On his day) "It's been a while but it was nice to get back, especially playing the last game with all of these seniors. It's a great group of seniors; they are awesome to play with, great leaders and we're going to miss them next year.
(On the third-quarter comeback) "The defense played great all game. We knew if we came out and got a little momentum, we were going to be able to run with them. The first play was a little play-action. We had been running the ball the whole time, and John ran a great route and was wide open."
• Colgate safety Mike Armiento: (On his final game) "Couldn't have finished any better. Had a great time here. We were just trying to keep the tradition going and get the program going in the right direction. We did a good job of that today."
(On the senior contributions) "Yeah, we knew it was our last game and we left everything out there that we had. It produced the result we needed and it was a blast. I had a fun time doing it."
(On his interception) "My first game I had a pick, and I really wanted to end it with a pick. I couldn't have done it with any better teammates and coaches. They took me a long way and it's been a great four years."
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Saturday's crowd on a cold afternoon was 2,077.
 
Up Next
• Colgate opens the 2015 season Sept. 5 at Navy.