The Penn offense opened scoring just over three minutes into the first quarter against Bucknell when Quakers tight end Chris Mizell snatched a 15-yard pass from quarterback Pat McDermott for a touchdown.
From then on, though, it was the defense's show.
The Bison stepped onto Franklin Field ranked No. 16 in the nation in rushing yards. The Bucknell offense tried time after time to run the ball. But up against a Penn defense that had allowed only 158 rushing yards in three games, the Bison offense, plagued by injuries and on its fourth quarterback of the season, collapsed.
Penn recorded a 53-7 victory during which the Quakers stifled the powerful Bison rushing attack, holding it to an average of just 1.6 yards per carry.
"We all knew, especially me, that we had our work cut out for us," said Bison quarterback Dante Ross, who recently switched to the position from defensive back. "The weather didn't help us too much either -- not to make excuses. Incredible defense. Incredible team, period. All credit goes to them."
The Quakers defense was not content just stifling the Bison running game. Time after time, it set up the offense for key offensive plays. The defense pounced on all of Bucknell's errors, intercepting two passes and recovering three fumbles -- all of which resulted in Quakers touchdowns. In the end, Penn would attribute 30 of its 53 points against the Bison to runs sparked by forced fumbles or interceptions.
"Credit goes to Penn. Great win," Bucknell head coach Tim Landis said. "They capitalized on our mistakes and put us away early ... They are very good defensively, and we are not very good offensively. ... And the turnovers -- they speak for themselves, I think."
The first defensive touchdown play came when defensive back Greg Ambrogi recovered a fumbled snap in the Bison end zone two minutes into the second quarter for his first career touchdown.
Sheets of rain pounding harder and harder on the Bison offense did not let up -- and neither did the Penn defense.
"It was basically all of the defensive guys doing their assignments," Penn linebacker Kory Gedin said. "This game was especially assignment football. Each player has a gap, each player has an assignment -- quarterback or dive. And if everybody has their assignment, you shut down their options because their options are just running the ball."
Later in the quarter, defensive back Scotty Williams intercepted a tipped pass and ran it into the Bucknell end zone to put six more points on the board for the Quakers. Two more key defensive plays would trigger touchdowns in the third: Gedin intercepted a pass at the Bison 19-yard line and linebacker Joe Anastasio picked up a fumble at the 8-yard line. The Penn defense successfully predicted and contained the Bison rushing game, shutting down its opponents on 12 of 15 attempted third down conversions.
"When we tried to throw it, it was predictable, you know, because we couldn't get anything going in the running game," Landis said. "So we kind of played right into their hands."
