Holy Cross at Bucknell PL Championship

[Sader87]

Figured I'd throw this out there if Bucknell fans or other PL schools wanted to chime in on this game.

Holy Cross hasn't played in 3 weeks, which is a bit troublesome.

Miserable weather in Woo today so it probably worked out having this game in Lewisburg.

[Lehigh'98]

Still think there's a decent gap between HC and the rest of the league this spring. Kudos to Bucknell though for looking much improved.

[DFW HOYA]

A Bucknell win would be the 6th different PL team to advance to the playoffs since 2013, and is one of just seven schools from the original I-AA split that have never qualified for the playoff. (Another never-qualifier, VMI, is also in the running for a bid this weekend.)

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Holy Cross is the more complete team so I'll go with them to capture the spring title. A Bucknell win would be quite a feather in Cecchini's cap. While the Bison have shown considerable progress under Cecch, Fordham is the second best team in the league. They had the Cross on the ropes but the move to Sluka in the second half proved to be the difference in that game. The Bison, Crusaders and Rams will lead the charge in the fall. Maybe, just maybe the league can produce 3 or more teams with a winning record and a viable at large candidate. Fordham has the talent to be a Top 25 team. I see a lot of ugly ahead for Colgate, Georgetown, Lafayette and Lehigh.

As for today...

Crusaders 20 Bison 13

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

A Bucknell win would be the 6th different PL team to advance to the playoffs since 2013, and is one of just seven schools from the original I-AA split that have never qualified for the playoff. (Another never-qualifier, VMI, is also in the running for a bid this weekend.)

Bucknell entered the 1997 season finale against Colgate with a perfect 10-0 and ranked in the Top 25. The Bison were THAT close to capturing the Patriot League's first ever 1-AA playoff bid. Sadly for Tom Gadd's team, Ryan Vena and Biddle had other ideas; the Raiders won easily. That would be the first of three straight playoff appearances for the Raiders. The Bison are still looking for their first. The 1997 game had a profound effect on the league's history.....

[crusader11]

Sluka does it just about by himself on that opening drive.

HC 7 - Bucknell 0

I didn’t catch the name or number for Bucknell, but that was targeting clear as day on Sluka’s touchdown run. I’d be shocked if the officials don’t review that and disqualify the Bucknell LB

[crusader11]

HC 17 - Bucknell 0

Bucknell with 0 total yards through the first quarter.

This is lopsided.

[Fordham]

HC dominant on both sides of the ball. Just physically beating up on the Bison. Nice 4th down stop by Bucknell D. Maybe that can be a spark but I don't see them having a chance.

HC freshman class so impressive. So many impact players already

[NY Crusader 2010]

Sluka with the dagger, scoring a TD on 3rd and 15 one play after taking a huge sack in the red zone. Drive was set up by electric INT return by Jon Smith.

31-10 Holy Cross

Bucknell has nothing to be ashamed of after falling behind 17-0 1st Q and making a game of this. Barring a miracle, Holy Cross goes back to back for the first time in 30 years.

[Sader87]

Holy Cross with scholarships again, the Luth Centahh and Chesney is going to be very formidable again....be interesting how the PL responds.

[crusader11]

I think HC is a pretty good football team. Top 25 in my mind. However, they beat up on three not very good clubs — actually, Fordham seems to be decent and has some good skilled guys.

I’m interested to see how HC does against a more formidable opponent.

The term “culture” is one that is largely overused when describing how a coach transforms a program, but it’s very evident the HC players have really bought in to Chesney and are playing with a big chip on their shoulders. Big difference from the final couple years of the Gilmore era.

[Ivytalk]

Congrats to HC!

[Sader87]

I think HC is a pretty good football team. Top 25 in my mind. However, they beat up on three not very good clubs — actually, Fordham seems to be decent and has some good skilled guys.

I’m interested to see how HC does against a more formidable opponent.

The term “culture” is one that is largely overused when describing how a coach transforms a program, but it’s very evident the HC players have really bought in to Chesney and are playing with a big chip on their shoulders. Big difference from the final couple years of the Gilmore era.

Gilmore did a nice job getting HC out of its non-scholarship malaise in the '00s but he simply wasn't the right head coach for a HC with scholarships again moving forward.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Holy Cross with scholarships again, the Luth Centahh and Chesney is going to be very formidable again....be interesting how the PL responds.

Congrats Holy Cross! You hire a proven winner as a head coach and the end result will be what the Crusader program is experiencing.

BTW, Gilmore sucks; a poor man's Frank Tavani.

[Fordham]

Good luck in Rd 1, HC. Awful draw in order to determine how well you can compete with the better FCS teams but hopefully you give them a game. That's more so a function of the lack of respect the entire league has earned these past few years.

Chesney is so good. His recruiting is absolutely nuts right now. That freshmen class has so many key contributors on it. If I'm not mistaken, they had Clemson's current backup QB committed for a while before he decided to accept a walk on spot there. Crazy. I wonder how long he'll be there before moving on? I didn't realize his dad is on the staff. Very cool.

On a separate but very much related note, I do think that the HC Athletic Dept is doing a fantastic job overall. They just released a 5 year strategic plan for athletics and on field success is one of the priorities. I think there's a chance they've made the necessary cultural shift and that they won't fade away once Chesney leaves. Fwiw, Fordham's new AD is awesome as well. Young, great fundraiser and incredibly social media savvy. He's bringing about a total culture shift in that dept as well and is the first AD to report directly to the President since the 80's. I'm bullish on both programs.