LEWISBURG, Pa. – No. 20 Colgate's defense kept a fourth straight opponent out of the end zone and the Raiders chalked up a 27-3 Patriot League victory over Bucknell here Saturday.
Colgate extended its overall scoreless streak to 12 quarters before the Bison broke through for a third-period field goal. But not since the fourth quarter of the season opener has an opponent reached pay dirt, a stretch covering four games or 16 quarters.
James Holland Jr., scored two touchdowns to highlight a 64-yard rushing afternoon.
Grant Breneman passed for a season-high 254 yards, including an 86-yard TD toss to
Owen Rockett that tied for the second-longest pass completion in Raiders history.
Colgate limited Bucknell to just 199 total yards, a season low for the Raiders defense.
After a scoreless first quarter, Colgate got on the board early in the second on
Chris Puzzi's 37-yard field goal. Holland's first TD and Rockett's catch-and-sprint to the end zone made it 17-0 Raiders at intermission.
Bucknell took advantage of a Breneman interception to get on the board midway in the third quarter, but Colgate answered with a 6:25 drive and Puzzi's 42-yarder to make it 20-3. Holland's second touchdown capped a 14-play, 93-yard march that consumed 6:02 off the fourth-quarter clock to ice it.
Bottom Line
• No. 20 Colgate 27, Bucknell 3
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improved to 5-0 with its 10th straight victory. The Raiders are 3-0 in the Patriot League.
• Bucknell is now 1-5 overall and 1-1 in the Patriot League.
Stats of the Game
• Colgate extended its winning streak to 10 games, second nationally to North Dakota State (11).
• The Raiders made it to 12 consecutive quarters without allowing a point before Bucknell kicked a third-quarter field goal.
• The Bison began that drive at the Colgate 33 after a tipped-ball interception.
• Colgate's streak without allowing a touchdown is at 12 quarters and counting.
• Rockett's 86-yard catch and run for a touchdown tied for the second-longest pass completion in Raiders history. Only
John Maddaluna III's 93-yard TD catch from
Jake Melville two years ago against Cornell was longer.
• Holland's second scoring run gave Colgate its first points scored in the fourth quarter this season.
• The 14-play drive was kept alive on
Josh Cerra's 9-yard run out of punt formation.
• Puzzi is now 8-of-9 on field goals and leads the team with 37 points. Holland is next with 36.
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Nick Wheeler posted one sack among his 2½ tackles for loss. Wheeler now has 19½ sacks, jumping to fifth on the Colgate chart and maintaining his active Patriot League lead.
• The Raiders entered the game leading the nation in scoring defense. Their averaged dropped to 4.6 after allowing Bucknell just the three points.
• In addition to scoring, Colgate entered as the Patriot League leader and ranked among the top 13 nationally in rushing defense, pass defense efficiency, total defense, third-down conversion defense, red zone defense and turnover margin.
• Only turnover margin takes a hit as the Raiders were minus-1 here Saturday. Colgate came into the game at plus-9.
• Breneman's first-quarter interception was Colgate's first failed fourth-down conversion of the season. The Raiders were 1-of-3 on fourth down Saturday and are 7-of-9 for the season.
• Breneman's 254 passing yards marked the second-highest game total of his career. He threw for 316 last year against Lehigh.
• Holland's 64 rushing yards bumped his career total to 2,345. Saturday, he passed
Greg Sullivan (2007-10) to take over 14th on the all-time Colgate chart.
•
Dillon DeIuliis and
Alec Wisniewski were the Colgate tackle leaders with six apiece. The Raiders had 11 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, accounting for minus-34 yards.
• One week after returning a punt 77 yards for a touchdown,
Abu Daramy-Swaray carried one back 60 yards to set up Colgate's first score. His first three returns went for 11, 11 and 60 yards.
From the Sources
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Colgate head coach Dan Hunt: (On the game) "That's the sign of a good team – when you can struggle in some areas and maybe not play your absolute best football but still get a comfortable win. I just told the team that they overcame our self-inflicted mistakes with effort and toughness. That's something, even if we're not executing, that never goes away."
Listen to the rest of Hunt's comments HERE.
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Colgate placekicker Chris Puzzi: (On the kicking unit) "The unit is great. We had all spring to get the kinks out from last year. Josh (Cerra) and Jake (Shaffner) do a great job. If they don't do their jobs, I don't get a chance to do mine. We always say there are three parts to a field goal phase, and we are in a good spot right now."
Listen to the rest of Puzzi's comments HERE.
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Colgate punt returner Abu Daramy-Swaray: (On his performance) "First, I've got to give credit to Bucknell's punter. That guy is elite. The way he was punting it – it was unbelievable how far I had to run back.
"He was out-punting his coverage, which benefitted us. As soon as I got the ball, I saw my guys were right where they needed to be and I made one cut. When I made that one cut, it was just open. It's sad that I got caught by the punter but like I said, that guy is an amazing athlete."
Listen to the rest of Daramy-Swaray's comments HERE.
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Colgate defensive back Tyler Castillo: (On the defense) "I've got to credit the defensive line, always getting a push on the quarterback, putting them in bad positions and making them force some throws. We always preach runners and hitters as a defense, and we have 11 of those on the field at all times. It's nice to play with this squad, led by
T.J. Holl and
Nick Wheeler."
Listen to the rest of Castillo's comments HERE.
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Colgate offensive lineman Max Hartzman: (On the offense) "We overcame some struggles early on. We didn't exactly execute like we wanted to but Coach said it after the game perfectly: We overcame a slow start and the game really wasn't close for the final three quarters. There's definitely stuff to improve. We'll break down the film and get ready for a good Cornell team coming up."
Listen to the rest of Hartzman's comments HERE.
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium was 2,007.
Up Next
• Colgate is home for the next two games, starting Saturday against Cornell.
• The Big Red are 2-2 after Saturday's 28-24 comeback victory over Harvard.
• Kickoff is noon, with Stadium and WKXZ-FM 93.9 carrying all of the action.
