Game 7: Bucknell University
October 16, 1:00 pm
Multi-Sport Field (2,500)
Tickets: Available at gate
Sellout Expected? No
Video: GUHoyas.com
TV: Verizon FiOS
GU Audio: GUHoyas.com
BU Radio: WEGH-107.3
 
About The Bison:
Location: Lewisburg, PA
Enrollment: 3,583
First year of Football: 1881
Conference: Patriot
2009 Record: 4-7-0
Record vs. Georgetown: 12-9-1
Last Meeting: 2009 (BU, 14-6)

Saturday marks Kevin Kelly's 50th game as head coach on the Hilltop. The 50th game also marks a watershed game that may well define 2010 as a season of rebirth, or of opportunities lost.

Few predicted Georgetown to be three and anything this season, but its game with Bucknell also features an foe unaccustomed to a winless start and staring at a possible 0-6 start for the first time since 1988. A win would return momentum to the west side of Multi-Sport Field entering the stretch run, keep Georgetown in contention for that still unlikely of scenarios, a Patriot league title, and earn GU its first winning record in PL play in its nine years in the league. But which Georgetown team takes to the field Saturday, the confident group that upset Lafayette and Holy Cross and took Yale to the brink, or the offensively challenged bunch that seemed a step slow against Colgate defenders and giving up a ten point lead in the fourth quarter to Wagner last week?

Either way, the Hoyas can't overlook Bucknell. As Georgetown players know first-hand, a winless team is always capable of their first win.

A transition at Bucknell was expected under first year coach Joe Susan, but the start has been slower than anyone anticipated. Despite an all-league rookie effort by quarterback Brandon Wesley (78-134-3, 2 TD), the Bison have yet to develop any consistent rushing game. Rushing numbers from Wesley (67-153) and RB Tyler Smith (39-141) account for nearly two thirds of a ground game that averages under 100 yards a game. Wesley has been able to get better numbers from a pair of wide receivers in Victor Walker (8-216) and Frank DeNick (17-159), but Wesley and Smith account for the majority of the overall Bucknell arsenal. Defenses that shut these two down (as Penn did last week, holding Smith to 37 yards and Wesley to -10) put their offenses in great shape to convert.

The Bucknell defense has performed well under somewhat adverse conditions, but much as Georgetown did in 2009, they have struggled in the second half of games. Penn outscored Bucknell 21-3 after halftime last week, while Dartmouth put up five touchdowns after intermission, shredding BU's 20-9 halftime lead on Sept. 18. Second team all-PL tackle Robert De La Rosa leads a balanced BU defense that needs the offense to stay on the field longer, and the Bison defensive numbers are not far removed from that at Georgetown.

Rushing may well tell the story of this game. Georgetown left the field at Homecoming averaging 132 yards per game, but have averaged just 88 in the last two, relying on QB keepers in lieu of substantive yards from the backfield. Georgetown's offensive line has not done its part to allow rushers to get yardage or to give Scott Darby time to develop routes downfield. Neither team is a sack threat but Georgetown must use its time more efficiently, particularly in finding receivers Patrick Ryan and Kenneth Furlough, who will need time to get downfield.

Defensively, Georgetown needs a balanced effort on rush and pass defense, similar to what was on display against Holy Cross. The run defense held its ground while the pass defense forced the Crusaders to play it safe. Bucknell is not afraid to throw the ball and while GU's passing defense has improved, it must avoid the backbreaking drives which opponents have used to wear out the Hoyas in the second half of games.

Some keys to the game:

• Average Yards Per Rush. Georgetown's number have slipped in this stat, but its 3.6 yard average still tops an anemic 3.0 yards per carry for the Bison. Georgetown's ability to control the line could be key in this one.
• Red Zone Conversion. Both teams average points in over 85% of red zone penetrations, but just 31% of Bucknell red zone drives end in touchdowns. A better number is essential Saturday.
• The Second Quarter. Despite a +14 in scoring in the 1st and 3rd quarters this season, Georgetown is a -30 in the second quarter, with a number of late first half drives causing indigestion in the second. The Hoyas must see this as a full four quarter effort.

If Georgetown is favored in this game, bear in mind that the road team has won four straight in the series. Georgetown needs to look upon this game as its defining game, and to make a statement that the first half of the season wasn't just a fluke for Kevin Kelly's record, but a sign of things to come.