Story by
The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa.
Bucknell football hits road for season, league opener
- Story byThe Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa.
- Bucknell football hits road for season, league opener
Bucknell football coach Jeff Behrman won't be able to ease his way into his first season, which begins Saturday evening at Richmond.
The Spiders, perennial FCS playoff contenders, have a bone to pick with the Bison, who upset Richmond in the teams' first meeting as Patriot League foes a year ago.
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And following Saturday's season opener, Bucknell's first home game — Sept. 5 — is against Patriot League newcomer Villanova, ranked seventh in the FCS preseason poll.
Saturday's game — kickoff is set for 6 p.m. — marks the first time since 2020 Bucknell will open with a league game. The expanded conference — Villanova and William & Mary join this year as associate members — means all Patriot League teams will play nine conference games.
A year ago, Bucknell stunned the Spiders at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on homecoming, turning three second-half interceptions into a 33-28 come-from-behind win.
The hero that day, record-setting quarterback Ralph Rucker, has moved on. In his place will be another transfer with experience for the Bison.
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Junior Chris Dietrich played in six games in 2025 after transferring from Temple. He hit nearly 65% of his passes in five starts, throwing for nine scores, including three against Fordham.
"Chris has done a really, really good job, and there's been a lot of improvement from him from the spring and even from the beginning of training camp," Behrman said. "He's worked really hard to put himself in this position, and we know he'll continue to improve as well. He's got great mental toughness to be able to turn the page and get to the next play, which is good."
Quarterbacks have had plenty of success with Behrman, including one with ties to Bucknell.
In leading John Carroll to the Division III semifinals this past December, Behrman watched former Bucknell QB Nick Semptimphelter throw for 3,600 yards and 36 touchdowns. In two seasons playing for Behrman, Semptimphelter threw for more than 6,500 yards and 74 touchdowns.
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"The quarterbacks are getting better every day, and that's what you want to see from every position but certainly at the quarterback position," Behrman said. "We are starting to see things click a little bit more from them in this offense. They're starting to anticipate some of their throws a little bit more as they're getting used to the rhythm and the timing of not only their receivers, but the concepts that we're running right now."
