Behind a dominant performance from junior running back Jordan Fuller, Holy Cross bounced back from a loss to Harvard a week earlier with a 55-27 win over Bucknell at Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon in Lewisburg, Pa.
Fuller rumbled for 147 yards and four touchdowns (his second four-touchdown game of the season), quarterback Matthew Sluka added 122 rushing yards, and the Crusaders (4-2, 2-0 Patriot) amassed 574 yards of offense.
“I think we’ve got four or five Sunday players on our offensive line,” Fuller said. “They wear guys down throughout the game, and then holes start opening up because it’s hard to hang with them for that long.”
4⃣ TDs for @jordanfuller27 🏈🏈🏈🏈
— Holy Cross Football (@HCrossFB) October 7, 2023
His second 4 rushing TD game of the season!#GoCrossGo | @NCAA_FCS pic.twitter.com/e48ZKcY2Cl
The Bison (1-4, 0-2) stayed within striking distance through most of the afternoon — a touchdown pass to Eric Weatherly with four minutes left in the third quarter cut the deficit to 14 — but the Crusaders, ranked No. 12 in the FCS coaches poll, got a goal-line interception from senior cornerback Terrence Spence late in the third.
Fuller followed that with a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter — including a 70-yard score that served as the dagger. After fifth-year linebacker Jacob Dobbs forced a fumble from Bucknell quarterback Ralph Rucker that the Crusaders recovered, Fuller rushed straight up the gut on the second play of the drive and went untouched into the end zone.
Sluka finished with 258 yards and a pair of scores through the air — including one to senior Jalen Coker (96 yards on three catches), who added to his program record with his 25th career touchdown grab, a 55-yard connection late in the first quarter.
“Offensively, the O-line did great,” Holy Cross coach Bob Chesney said. “Matt had a good day, Jalen had a good day, our run game was really good … a road conference win is something we’ll take every day of the week.”
It was a bounce-back performance from Sluka, who committed four turnovers against Harvard. But he shrunk that number to zero on Saturday, completing 19 of 28 passes, taking care of the ball, and managing the game effectively late.
“The team, we definitely fought way harder this week,” Sluka said. “Last week hurt, emotionally, but we just wanted to get back out here and prove everybody wrong again.”
The Crusaders host Lafayette (5-1, 1-0) Oct. 21 at Fitton Field.
Mike Puzzanghera can be reached at michael.puzzanghera@globe.com. Follow him on X @mpuzzanghera.