LEWISBURG — The 2024 regular season comes to a close on Saturday when Bucknell hosts Colgate on Senior Day at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The Bison are looking to bounce back from a gut-wrenching 40-38 loss at Holy Cross in a first-place battle last week in Worcester, and beyond finishing with a win over longtime rival Colgate, Bucknell has plenty to play for on Saturday.

First and foremost, the Bison still have a chance to be Patriot League co-champions. At 3-2 in the Patriot League, they sit one game behind Holy Cross and Lehigh. So a win over Colgate combined with losses by Lehigh (vs. Lafayette) and Holy Cross (at Georgetown) would create a three-way tie for the title. In that case, every tiebreaker would be a wash, and the Patriot League’s representative in the FCS Playoffs would be decided by a vote of the four non-affected athletic directors.

Bucknell is also seeking six overall wins and a winning Patriot League record for the first time since 2014. To do so, they will have to defeat Colgate at home for the first time since 2006. The Raiders have won the last seven meetings at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, although the Bison have won three times in Hamilton since then, including a 49-34 win last season.

Close games have been the norm for the Bison in Patriot League play this season. Their three wins have come by a field goal in double overtime at Lehigh, by seven points against Lafayette, and by one point against Fordham. The losses were a one-point decision at Georgetown and a two-point verdict at Holy Cross.

Colgate comes in at 2-9 overall and 1-4 in the Patriot League, and the Raiders are looking to break a four-game losing streak and finish the season on a positive note. Prior to the game, Bucknell will honor 22 seniors who will be playing their final games in Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The Senior Day festivities will begin at 12:35 p.m., in advance of the 1 p.m. kickoff.

A win this afternoon would move Bucknell to 4-2 in the Patriot League, its best league record since 2014, and would give BUcknell its first six-win season since 2014.

Bucknell can earn a share of the Patriot League title if Lafayette beats Lehigh and Georgetown beats Holy Cross. A win also would snap a seven-game home losing streak to Colgate and beat the Raiders at home for the first time since 2006.

Ralph Rucker IV, a Oklahoma transfer in his second season wtih the Bison, has four Patriot League Player of the Week awards this season. He needs one more touchdown pass to hit Bucknell’s single-season and career records.

Scott Auchenbach has the career mark of 42 (1989) and Todd Hatajik has the single-season mark of 21 (1990).