Squeaking one out by a foot

(More pictures of the game)

As Bucknell freshman Ryan Korn lined up for a 39-yard field goal with just 20 seconds remaining in the contest, the Penn sideline could hardly look on.

With the Quakers leading, 14-13, Korn -- who had already made a 40-yarder in the first quarter -- seemed poised to hand Penn its first loss of the season and give the Bison their second victory against a top-15 team in two weeks.

The kick appeared to be right on target, but it fell just feet short of the uprights.

Penn narrowly escaped with its fourth victory of the season.

"I really wasn't watching, to be honest," Sam Mathews -- who rushed 25 times for 105 yards and had the Quakers only two touchdowns -- said of the game's final play.

A controversial officiating call at the two-minute mark gave Bucknell's swift quarterback, Daris Wilson, a last chance to advance the Bison to field goal range. With the ball inside of the Bucknell one-yard line, Mathews took a handoff and dived for the end zone.

And he was denied on fourth down. Or was he?

"I thought it was obvious that I was in," he said. "I think what happened, I'm not really sure. I can't really state exactly what they were thinking. But I think the backline judge might have gotten knocked down. He didn't really see it."

Although the injured official's view may have been obscured, Penn coach Al Bagnoli was frustrated that Mathews could not score the clinching touchdown decisively.

"I'm disappointed we even made it that close," he said.

With two minutes remaining, Wilson directed the Bucknell triple-option offense from inside its own one-yard line to the Penn 22 in 1:40 by doing something wishbone offense teams do not typically do -- pass.

Seven of Wilson's 15 pass attempts came on the final Bucknell drive. He finished the day with 12 completions for 130 yards.

Despite Wilson's passing prowess on the final drive, the undermanned Penn defense primarily struggled with solving the perplexing triple-option.

"The first couple of series, you see people flying all over the place," said linebacker Ric San Doval, who had a team-high 14 tackles. "As a defensive player, you try to focus on what you need to do. Everybody has their individual blocks to focus on. A couple of times, a couple of us tried to make the big play, and that's when you saw the big gain. It was like learning a foreign language this week."

The 5'8", 175-pound quarterback consistently eluded Penn defenders, rushing for 113 yards on 20 attempts.

Wilson is "definitely one of the best players we're going to face all year," San Doval said. "He could run the ball and pass the ball equally well."

And on the offensive end, the Quakers, without starting quarterback Mike Mitchell, ran the ball 45 times for 220 yards.

Backup quarterback Pat McDermott attempted only 22 passes, completing 11 for 136 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

"I think our game plan was to run the ball a lot to take a little bit of the pressure off my shoulders," McDermott said. "As far as throwing the ball, I've got a lot to learn. I have to get more confidence doing that and have the coaches have more confidence in me doing that."

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