One week after ending the playoff hopes of Colgate University, the Fordham University Rams tried to play spoiler again, traveling to Pennsylvania in a matchup with the Bucknell University Bison, one of three teams still standing in the chase for the 2024 Patriot League title. But despite a career-best game from junior quarterback Jack Capaldi and another strong outing from senior running back Julius Loughridge, the Bison emerged victorious, improving to 3-1 in conference with a 28-27 victory.
Fordham falls to 1-9 overall and 1-4 in conference with just two games remaining in the season.
Bucknell quarterback Ralph Rucker IV led the charge offensively and orchestrated what proved to be the game-winning drive, connecting with Western Michigan University transfer Nate Anderson on a 15-yard touchdown that gave the Bison a 1-point lead with 2:35 remaining.
It was one of three touchdowns thrown by Rucker and one of two caught by Anderson, who found the endzone earlier with a 44-yard score in the final seconds of the first half.
To their credit, the Rams hung an explosive Bucknell offense that ranks second in the conference in scoring. Fordham’s 27 points is a season-high and a major step in the right direction for an offense that has struggled to find its rhythm in the wake of an early-season injury to their starting quarterback, junior CJ Montes.
Making his sixth start of the 2024 campaign, Capaldi definitively had the best outing of the season and his 10-game career. The junior shattered career highs, throwing for 310 yards and two touchdown passes. Entering play, Capaldi had never thrown for over 200 yards in a single game — that changed over the weekend as he found success in the air attack, completing passes at a 66.7% rate.
Loughridge, meanwhile, became the fifth all-time leading rusher on Saturday, surpassing Xavier Martin (2007-10) in the program’s record book. Just one week after leading the Rams to their first win of the season with 153 yards on the ground against Colgate, “Juice” posted another stellar performance, rushing for a season-high 155 yards and a touchdown.
Since making his debut as a sophomore in the 2022 season, Loughridge has rushed for 2,993 yards over the course of three seasons. He’s 253 yards short of fourth-place all-time, and could very well get there by season’s end. The senior is averaging 105.7 rush yards per game, which tops the Patriot League and ranks 13th-best in the FCS.
With 951 rushing yards on the season, he’s six yards shy of the Patriot League lead, despite missing Week 4 due to injury. Barring anything unforeseen, he’s on track to break 1,000 rushing yards for the second year in a row, a feat only accomplished by three other players in Fordham’s lengthy history.
But while the game featured its fair share of season-bests, it was also marked by costly mistakes that ultimately proved to be the difference.
The only points in the first quarter came from the defensive end as Bucknell’s sophomore linebacker Gavin Willis capitalized on a botched read option between Capaldi and sophomore running back Jacob Rodriguez, scooping up the fumble and taking it the distance for the score.
The Rams seemed poised to enter halftime tied after Capaldi connected on a 59-yard deep shot to graduate student wide receiver Cole Thornton, who hauled in his team-leading third touchdown grab of the season.
Instead, Anderson slipped by the Fordham secondary and gave Bucknell a lead with 21 seconds left in the second quarter.
Sophomore Ricky Gonzalez II tied it up in the third with his first collegiate touchdown, making an impressive grab on a 30-yard deep shot from Capaldi. Following a fourth-quarter safety due to a Bucknell holding penalty in their own endzone, the Rams would even snag a late lead as Loughridge’s goal-line score gave Fordham a 6-point lead with 4:18 left.
Rucker and the Bucknell offense were just too difficult to subdue. And while there will be some regrets about not holding a lead in the final four minutes, the biggest regrets come from points left on the table.
Fordham had three trips to the red zone end unfavorably. Willis’ scoop and score in the first occurred on a second-and-2 from the Bucknell 17. The Rams would drive all the way to the 8-yard line in the fourth before settling for a chip shot from freshman kicker Bennett Henderson. But none were more frustrating than halfway through the third quarter when Bucknell forced a turnover on downs after Fordham had the ball on the Bison 1-yard line with a fresh set of downs.
Bucknell improves to 3-1 in conference and keeps their Patriot League title hopes alive. With the College of Holy Cross falling to Lehigh University over the weekend, there’s currently a three-way tie for first place in the Patriot League between Bucknell, Holy Cross and Lehigh with just two games remaining in the regular season.
Next week could ultimately determine the title as Bucknell and Holy Cross square off in Massachusetts. The Bison hold a tiebreaker over Lehigh after defeating them in overtime earlier this season, so a victory over Holy Cross would give them the advantage over both teams still standing.
Fordham can do little to affect the outcome of the Patriot League title after falling to Bucknell, but that doesn’t make this weekend’s game irrelevant.
The Rams will play their final conference game of the season, taking on Georgetown University at home. The final score may hold little weight, but there will be one major story to watch for on Saturday — senior linebacker James Conway’s pursuit of the Patriot League tackle record.
Conway did not dress on the road against Bucknell, but he is eligible for one more game while still retaining a medical redshirt. If he does make that final appearance, it’ll be at home as Fordham closes out the season with two straight games at Jack Coffey Field.
The last time the Rams played at home, Conway tied the Fordham tackling record set by current outside linebackers coach Ryan Greenhagen. Now boasting 425 career tackles, he’s just eight shy of setting the new Patriot League record. The All-American is averaging 12.7 tackles per game this season in his three appearances so far, putting him in a prime position to break the record set by Holy Cross’ Jacob Dobbs last season.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. in the Bronx.
