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HAMILTON – Colgate didn't damage its Patriot League title hopes with Saturday's 28-7 loss to Bucknell, but the bruises may be felt for a while.

The Raiders were held to just 194 total yards in losing for the first time at home to Bucknell since 1999. Colgate had won six consecutive against the Bison at Andy Kerr Stadium and six straight overall in the series.

Colgate's nine-game Patriot League winning streak dating to 2011 also came to an end.

"Give Bucknell credit," Raiders head coach Dick Biddle said. "They came to play, they hit, they played with enthusiasm, they played with a purpose and they were well-coached. I did not do a very good job. Our team was not prepared to play and then we got a few guys banged up."

Senior wide receiver Dan Cason was injured in the first half and is lost for the remainder of the season. Among the other injuries – defensive back Wendell Lewis did not finish the game and quarterback Gavin McCarney was banged up and missed some playing time early in the second quarter.

McCarney never appeared to be 100 percent after his return, although the Bison defense gets plenty of credit on that account.

Trailing 10-7 at halftime, Colgate in its first three series to start the second half stayed on offense for one play, four plays and one play while Bucknell was tacking on the game's final 18 points. The Raiders in the third quarter had the ball for just 2 minutes and 57 seconds. Time of possession for the game was 38:37 to 21:23 in the Bison's favor.

"We're in a situation where we can't make any mistakes and get ourselves in a hole," Biddle said. "We had a fumble and an interception and then we get a penalty – bang, bang, bang – and we can't recover. We're down in numbers and we're not a good enough football team to overcome those mistakes."

Bucknell, meanwhile, solidified its status as perhaps the Patriot League's top team at the moment. The Bison won their third straight to level their record at 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the Patriot League. They still need help to claim the title, though, after a pair of earlier losses to Lafayette and Holy Cross.

Colgate is now 3-6 overall following its fourth home loss in as many tries. The Raiders are 2-1 in conference play and still control their fate in the title race heading into next week's game at Lafayette (3-5, 3-0). Lehigh (6-2, 1-1) visits Hamilton Nov. 16.

Helter-Skelter Offense
Bucknell built a 10-0 lead on Derek Maurer's 28-yard field goal in the first quarter and quarterback Brandon Wesley's 1-yard bootleg midway in the second. But the Raiders rallied for their best football of the day and nearly scored twice before the halftime horn.

McCarney capped a six-play, 65-yard drive by hitting Kevin O'Connell on a 35-yard post pattern TD that cut the lead to 10-7 with 3:13 left before intermission. Colgate got the ball back with 2:08 left and drove another 52 yards to the Bucknell 26 before the clock ran out.

"At halftime, we had a shot because it was a one-possession game," Biddle said. "But we never could generate anything on offense. We were too helter-skelter."

Colgate's game rushing total of 36 yards was its lowest of the season by far (previous 113 vs. Stony Brook). Only three Raiders carried the ball, led by Demetrius Russell with 10 attempts for 21 yards, Jake Melville added three for 9 yard in relief of McCarney, who toted it 10 times for 6 yards.

McCarney was 11-of-14 passing in the first half for 133 yards before finishing 16-of-24 for 158. Saturday, the senior became the just the third player in Colgate history to top 8,000 yards of total offense. His total of 8,101 stands 431 yards behind second-place Steve Calabria (1981-84) at 8,532. Ryan Vena (1996-99) is first with 9,435.