HAMILTON – Bucknell scored first and last, but Colgate put up 33 unanswered points in between to take a 33-10 Patriot league victory at Crown Field.

Prior to the game, the Colgate community honored Coach Biddle with the dedication of Biddle Plaza, Biddle Way, and the Coach Dick Biddle Videoboard. 

Biddle, the winningest coach in Colgate's 131-year football history, won 137 games and led the team to seven Patriot League championships and NCAA playoff appearances, including the 2003 I-AA national championship game. He was Patriot League Coach of the Year five times and earned the American Football Coaches Association Division I-AA national coach of the year in 2003. 

Freshman quarterback Michael Brescia, making his first start for the Raiders, completed 13 of 15 pass attempts for 162 yards and rushed 13 times for 75 yards and a pair of scores. The win raised the Raiders Patriot League record to 3-1 while Bucknell fell to 0-4 in conference play.

After a scoreless first quarter, Bucknell capped an 11 play 47-yard drive on the first play of the second period with a 24-yard field goal by Ryan Schatzel.

Following an exchange of punts Brescia ran a quarterback draw up the middle and cut to the left for a 28-yard score with 4:27 left in the second quarter. Colgate went 58 yards in five plays to take a 7-3 halftime lead.

The Raiders dominated the second half, scoring on three consecutive drives after forcing a Bison punt in Bucknell's opening possession.

On the first drive John Cox ran for a 19-yard score with just 2:43 gone in the third stanza. The play followed a 27-yard Brescia to Garrett Oakey completion. The drive took just 1:04, covering 59 yards in four plays.

On the next Colgate possession Brescia nabbed his second touchdown of the day on a 1-yard run. Oakey made a diving catch on a 22-yard dart from Brescia to the 1 and two plays later the quarterback dove to paydirt with 7:19 remaining. A two-point conversion attempt failed for a 20-3 Raider lead.

Cox scored the third touchdown of the half on a 4-yard rush up the middle. The drive was 13 plays and covered 92 yards. The Raiders were helped by Bucknell penalties that accounted for 26 of the 92 yards, hiking the lead to 26-3 with 6:40 left in the contest.

Colgate forced a three and out on Bucknell's next possession and took over at its own 46 following a short punt. Ethan Malachi West did most of the work on the 11-play 54-yard drive rushing six times for 35 yards including the Raiders' final score on a 2-yard run with 5:06 left to make the score 33-3.

Bucknell back-up quarterback Nick Semptimphelter rallied the Bison on the next possession driving Bucknell 75 yards in 10 plays. Semptimphelter completed five passes on the drive including a 4-yard pass to Mason Muir with less than a minute remaining for the game's final score.

Colgate outgained Bucknell in the second half 260-113, holding the Bison to -4 yards rushing in the third quarter. Milton Braasch II led the Raiders with 11 tackles including three tackles for loss. Six different Raiders carried the ball in the game with none averaging less than 4.8 yards per rush. Oakley had five catches for 84 yards.

FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Stan Dakosty

"Coach Biddle would be proud of the way the team fought today and showed how much they loved the game of football. I told the team we have a three-game season and the first goal was to go 1-0 so we hit that mark. Today was a great example of how good we can be when we put things together. It was great to see.
 
"With Brescia coming out and having his first start at quarterback, he did a great job. He's a very confident and capable player and he was fun to watch today. The offensive line was terrific and all three running backs ran tough. Ethan picked up a lot of physical yards late, which was great, but Max and John did a lot of good things today. Our defense played downhill, physical, and aggressive football. It was a great performance today.
 
"We're playing meaningful games in November and that's why you come to Colgate. A lot of things happen in November. Our guys are motivated and ready for the last two weeks."

UP NEXT
Following a bye week Colgate will travel to Lafayette on Saturday, November 13, at 12:30 p.m.