Nov 26, 2024
LEWISBURG — Senior quarterback Ralph Rucker IV and sophomore linebacker Gavin Willis, two of the catalysts in Bucknell’s season-ending 48-34 win over Colgate, earned Patriot League weekly awards on Monday. Rucker was named Offensive Player of the Week for the fourth straight week and fifth time this season, and Willis earned his third Defensive Player of the Week citation.
In addition, freshman running back Tariq Thomas was selected as one of 25 finalists for the Jerry Rice Award, which is presented to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) national freshman of the year.
Rucker capped off a record-setting season with one of the best performances of his career in the Colgate game. He finished 31-for-45 for 457 yards and five touchdown passes. Bucknell had never had a 400-yard passer in any game in team history. Rucker set the previous mark of 387 against Colgate last season, giving him 824 yards in two career games against the Raiders.
It was Rucker’s second straight five-touchdown game, tying the school record, and that helped him blow by the team records for TD passes in a season (25) and career (46). Scott Auchenbach had held the Bucknell career mark of 42 touchdown passes since 1989. Rucker also broke the Bucknell single-season record for passing yards with 2,826 and his career total of 5,363 in just two seasons ranks second all-time.
On the defensive side, Willis led the Bison with 12 tackles and had a hand in two game-clinching takeaways. Colgate had the ball down by only seven in the late stages of the fourth quarter, when Willis batted a pass at the line of scrimmage and teammate Caleb Rooney plucked it out of the air. One play later, Rucker hit Eric Weatherly on a 44-yard touchdown strike to make it a 48-34 game with only 2:44 remaining. Willis then intercepted a pass on Colgate’s next possession to end any thoughts of a Raiders comeback.
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