LEWISBURG — Quarterback Ralph Rucker IV became Bucknell’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns and the first quarterback to ever throw for 400 yards in a game as the Bucknell football team finished its season in fashion with a 48-34 victory over Colgate at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Bucknell finishes the season with a 6-6 overall record and a 4-2 Patriot League record. It is Bucknell’s best finish in the Patriot League and the most overall wins since 2014 when the Bison went 8-3. The Bison entered the final Saturday of the regular season with a chance to share the Patriot League title but needed losses from Lehigh and Holy Cross. They didn’t get the help they needed as the Mountain Hawks and Crusaders both won handily to finish 5-1, and the Bison settled for a solo third-place finish. Bucknell’s two league losses came by a combined three points, and it can claim a road win over Lehigh, which will be the Patriot League’s representative in the FCS Playoffs.

With Saturday’s win, the Bison snapped a seven-game home losing streak to Colgate and beat the Raiders at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium for the first time since 2006. The Bison have defeated Colgate for the second straight season, marking just the third time in series history the Bison have picked up consecutive wins against Colgate.

Bucknell was seemingly in control for most of the day but needed two big takeaways from the defense to ice the win. The Bison held the momentum and a two-score lead midway through the fourth quarter when Colgate produced a seven-play, 88-yard drive for a touchdown. The Raiders forced a three-and-out on the following drive to get possession back with 5:33 remaining.

The Raiders moved the ball well until linebacker Gavin Willis sprawled up to deflect a pass that lineman Cade Rooney came down with for an incredible interception grab with 2:44 remaining. The Bison immediately went deep with Rucker hitting Eric Weatherly for a 44-yard touchdown for his second scoring grab of the day, putting the Bison back up by two scores. A pick by Willis on the next drive then sealed the deal for the Bison.

Rucker was 31 for 45 for 437 yards and five touchdowns, marking his second consecutive game with five passing touchdowns. Rucker passed Scott Auchenbach’s 42 career passing touchdowns, finishing the day with 46. He also broke his own single-game passing record of 387 yards, a record he set last season against the Raiders.

Rucker also now holds the school records for single-season passing touchdowns (25) and single-season passing yards (2,826), breaking records he set last season. Rucker is now second all-time on Bucknell’s passing yards list with 5,363 career passing yards.

Rucker’s favorite target on Saturday was wideout Eric Weatherly who caught a career-high 11 balls for 174 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-clincher late in the fourth quarter.

The 11 catches gave him 75 on the season, which broke Dave Kucera’s school record of 73, set in 1984. Weatherly’s 865 receiving yards this season are sixth-most in team history, and his eight touchdowns in 2024 and 15 over the last two years are both tied for fifth on Bucknell’s all-time lists.