Bucknell Football traveled to Foster Stadium to take on VMI on Saturday, Sept. 14, winning and ending a two-game road trip 1-1. 

After the first three possessions of the contest ended in punts, VMI got on the board first with a pick-six off of Bison quarterback Ralph Rucker ’25. This was the only big mistake for the Bison throughout the game, as they were able to get in the scoring column quickly after the Keydets went up 7-0.

Following a defensive stand by the Bison on the next VMI possession, pushing the Keydets back to their own 7-yard line in a 4th-and-14 situation, TJ Cadden ’27 took the punt back for a 40-yard return to tie the game up 7-7. 

After forcing the Keydets to punt again on their next possession, Rucker and the rest of the offense drove down the field starting from the 41-yard line to set up Paul Neel ’25 for a two-yard touchdown run, putting the Bison up at the start of the second quarter.

VMI got in the end zone again, putting the score at 14-14 heading into the half.

Bucknell came out of the gates red hot at the start of the second half, scoring on their first three possessions and making the score 35-14.

Rucker got comfortable in the pocket, firing three straight touchdown passes. Two of those went to Josh Gary ’26, and he connected with Neel for a 35-yard score the third time.

“We had to stick to our game plan and keep taking shots down the field,” Rucker said. “The coaches did a great job of making the adjustments we needed with how VMI was playing us.”

The Bison did not score for the rest of the game, but the damage was already done. VMI put two more touchdowns on the board, making it a one-possession ball game. However, the Bison forced a turnover on downs, sealing the win with just under three minutes to go, and VMI didn’t have enough time to tie it up. 

Rucker finished the contest 28-for-37, passing for a stellar 340 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Tariq Thomas ’28 led the team in carries with nine for 23 yards. Eric Weatherly ’26 led the team in receiving with nine catches for 105 yards.

The Bison defense was also on full display, limiting VMI to just a 3-for-13 performance on third down and allowing just 4.5 yards per pass. Chris Sims ’25 was credited with an interception.

Bucknell hosts Merrimack this Saturday at 6 p.m. for their first home game of the season.