UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO ATHLETICS
Buffalo (8-1, 5-0 MAC) vs. Kent State (2-7, 1-4 MAC)November 6, 2018UB Stadium – 7:30 pm
Bulls on the Air:
Radio:
Buffalo – ESPN 1520
Rochester – Fox Sports 1280
Rochester – Fox Sports 1280
Television: ESPNU
Storylines
• The Bulls are 8-1 for the first time since the 1959 season. Buffalo has never started a season 9-1.
• A win over Kent State would be Buffalo’s ninth win of the season – it would be the most in its FBS era (since 1999) and tie the overall school record for wins in a season. UB also won nine games in 1986 as a Division III program.
• Buffalo looks to improve to 6-0 in MAC play for the first time in school history.
• Buffalo leads the all-time series with Kent State, 12-11.
• The Bulls have won seven of the last 10 meetings with Kent State.
• Tyree Jackson‘s next touchdown pass will the 45th of his career, moving him into third place in school history in career touchdown passes. It would also be his 24th of the season which would tie Joe Licata (2013) for third in school history for touchdown passes in a season.
• Khalil Hodge is 13 tackles shy of 400 for his career, making him just the fourth player in school history with 400 career tackles. He would be the first to do it in three seasons.
• Adam Mitcheson is four points shy of breaking the school record for career scoring. He currently has 262 points. A.J. Principe (2007-10) holds the school record with 265 points.
• The Bulls have won 11 of their last 12 games dating back to last season.
• The Bulls are 14-9 all-time in weeknight #MACtion games
• The Bulls are bowl eligible for just the fourth time in school history. UB was also bowl eligible in 2008, 2013 and 2017.
Bulls Close Out Home Slate Against Kent State on Tuesday Night
The University at Buffalo football team will host Kent State on Tuesday night in its final home game of the season. The Bulls are 8-1 overall, 5-0 in the MAC and are coming off a 51-42 win over Miami (OH) last Tuesday night. Quarterback Tyree Jackson threw for 358 yards and three touchdowns and ran for three more scores.
Kent State is 2-7 overall, 1-4 in the MAC and is coming off a 35-28 win at Bowling Green last Tuesday night. The Golden Flashes are led by quarterback Woody Barrett who has thrown for 1,905 yards and 10 touchdowns and rushed for 455 yards and six scores on the season.
Buffalo leads the all-time series, 12-11. The Bulls won the last meeting, 27-13, at Dix Stadium last season.
Record-Breaking Night for AJ
Anthony Johnson had a record-breaking night in the Bulls’ 51-42 win over Miami (OH). The senior receiver had eight catches for a school-record 238 yards against the RedHawks. He broke a 37-year-old record of 218 receiving yards set by Joe D’Amico against Cortland in 1981 when the Bulls were a Division III program.
Johnson had three touchdown catches in the game to bring his career total to 22. He is just the third player in school history with 20+ touchdowns in a career, joining Alex Neutz (2010-13) who had 31 and Naaman Roosevelt (2006-09) who had 28. Johnson reached the 20-touchdown plateau faster than any player in school history, doing so in just 20 games.
Using His Legs
Tyree Jackson is using his legs more in recent games. Prior to UB’s game at Central Michigan on October 6, Jackson ran the ball three times for eight yards and no scores over the previous nine games. Over the last four games, the junior signal-caller has carried the ball 31 times for 84 yards and five touchdowns. In Buffalo’s win over Miami (OH), he became the first quarterback in the Bulls’ FBS era (since 1999) to score three rushing touchdowns in a single game. Cliff Scott was the last UB quarterback with three rushing touchdowns against Maine in 1993.
Against Miami (OH), he became just the second player this season to throw for three touchdowns and run for three touchdowns in the same game (UCF’s McKenzie Milton).
Hodge Ball
Khalil Hodge has 110 tackles on the season, making him just the second player in school history to have three seasons of 100 tackles or more (Davonte Shannon, 2007-10, was the other). He is the first player in school history to post three straight seasons of 100+ tackles.
Currently ranked sixth in the nation in tackles, Hodge has been in the national rankings since arriving on campus in 2016. He ranked eighth in the nation in tackles following the 2016 season and second in the nation in tackles after last season.
He recorded his 300th career tackle against Eastern Michigan on Sept. 15 to become the fastest player in school history to reach 300 tackles. He did it in 27 games. Davonte Shannon, the Bulls all-time leader in career tackles with 461, didn’t reach 300 tackles until his 34th career game. He currently ranks fourth in school history with 387 career tackles in only 33 games. He is 16 tackles shy of passing Mike Laipple for third in school history.
Hodge has been named the MAC East Defensive Player of the Week three times this. Former All-American Khalil Mack is the only other UB player to win MAC Defensive Player of the Week honors three times in the same season.
Taking Care of the Ball
With only one lost fumble on the season, Buffalo is one of only four teams in the nation with one or fewer lost fumbles on the year. Mississippi State has zero and Colorado and UCF also have one. Toledo is the next closest team in the MAC with three lost fumbles.
Mitch Perfect
In Buffalo’s win over Miami (OH), kicker Adam Mitcheson drilled a 37-yarder to break the school record for career made field goals. He supplanted A.J. Principe (2007-10) whose 44 field goals were the previous mark.
Mitcheson is only four points shy of breaking the school record for career scoring. The Pittsburgh native currently ranks second in career scoring with 262 points. Principe holds the school record with 265 career points.
Senior Night
Tuesday will be the home finale for the Bulls and the team will honor their 19 seniors playing their final game at UB Stadium. Prior to the game, the Bulls will honor 19 seniors. Khalil Hodge, Tatum Slack, Brandon Williams, George Rushing, Joshua Gaddy, Adam Mitcheson, Jordan Collier, Cameron Lewis, Kennedy Emesibe, Nicco Ruggiero, Jacquis Webb, James O’Hagan, Anthony Johnson, Andrew Gray, Justin Brandon, Chuck Harris, Myles Nicholas, Jake Khoury and Wesley Scott will all be honored.
T3
Quarterback Tyree Jackson is enjoying the best season of his career, having already thrown 23 touchdowns, 11 more than he did all of last season. He already ranks fourth in school history for single-season passing touchdowns, just six shy of the single-season mark.
He has thrown for 6,095 yards in his career, becoming just the fifth quarterback in school history to throw for 6,000 yards.
He was named the Mid-American Conference East Division Offensive Player of the Week in each of the first two weeks of the season. Former UB running back James Starks is the only other UB player to earn offensive player of the week honors in consecutive weeks back in 2007.
Jackson is on the watch lists for the Davey O’Brien Award and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
Sack Lunch
The Bulls have done a great job getting to the quarterback this season. UB already has 25 sacks on the year, six more than all of last season. It is the most sacks since 2015 when UB also had 25. The Bulls have been especially effective rushing the edge as defensive ends Chuck Harris (6), Taylor Riggins (4) and Myles Nicholas (3) lead the team in sacks.
The Bulls have registered at least one sack in every game this season.
Os-born to Run
K.J. Osborn is enjoying the best season of his career. He leads the Bulls with 44 catches for 730 yards and six touchdowns. He has already surpassed his receiving yardage total from his first two seasons combined (598).
He was recently added to the Biletnikoff Watch List – an award given to the nation’s top receiver.
Osborn had one of the best games of his career against Eastern Michigan. The junior receiver had seven receptions for 188 yards and three touchdowns in the Bulls’ 35-28 win. Two of Osborn’s three touchdowns were 70+ yards (70, 75). He was rewarded by being named the MAC East Division Offensive Player of the Week.
Take Your Pick
The Bulls lead the MAC and rank eighth in the nation with 11 interceptions, their most since having 13 in 2015. Buffalo had a season-best four picks at Central Michigan. It was the most in a game since picking off four passes against Ohio in 2015.
Six different UB players have recorded an interception on the year. Cameron Lewis leads the way with three to rank ninth in the country. Brandon Williams has two. Joey Banks, Devon Russell, Aapri Washington and Jordan Collier each have one.
The Bulls lead the conference and rank 11th in the nation in turnover margin at +10.
Young Guns
A pair of freshmen have emerged as the Bulls top running backs this season. Redshirt-freshman Kevin Marks leads Buffalo with 579 yards and seven touchdowns while true freshman Jaret Patterson is a close second with 576 yards and eight scores. Buffalo is the only team in the nation with two freshmen with seven rushing touchdowns this season.
Both players had the best game of their young careers at Central Michigan. Marks rushed for a career-best 167 yards and a touchdown while Patterson finished with 121 yards and a score. They became the first two UB freshmen to rush for over 100 yards in the same game since Aaron Leeper and Dave Dawson finished with 145 and 101 yards, respectively, at Marshall in 2002.
Many Happy Returns
K.J. Osborn has been a game changer for the Bulls when it comes to punt returns. He has posted 19 returns for 197 yards – a 10.4 average. It is the most punt return yards by a UB player since Terrell Jackson had 200 return yards in 2010.
Osborn ranks second in the MAC in punt return average. He currently ranks fifth in school history in single season punt return yardage. Drew Haddad (1998) holds the school record with 410 return yards in 1998.
Lance Wins A Lot
UB’s win over Miami (OH) was the 21st of head coach Lance Leipold’s career at Buffalo. It is the most wins by a head coach in the Bulls’ FBS era (since 1999), surpassing Turner Gill and Jeff Quinn who both won 20 games. Over 45 games, Leipold became the second fastest coach to reach 21 wins in school history. Only Dick Offenhamer got there quicker, doing it in 34 games.
Let’s Go Bowling
With a 7-1 record, the Bulls are bowl eligible for the fourth time in school history. Buffalo was also bowl eligible in 2008, 2013 and 2017. The Bulls have won six or more games in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 1983 and 1984 campaigns, when they won eight and six games, respectively.
Road Warriors
The Bulls have won all four road games this season (Temple Rutgers, CMU & Toledo) and have won five straight road games dating back to last year. The Bulls have won seven of their last nine road games. UB’s win at Toledo was its fourth straight road win of the season, marking the first time since the 1986 season the Bulls have accomplished the feat.
Long Way Home
The Bulls have been using big plays to find the endzone this season. Buffalo has recorded 16 touchdowns of at least 22 yards. The Bulls have scored touchdowns of 22, 25, 27, 29, 32, 32, 33, 34, 42, 42, 53, 53, 70, 70, 75 and 75 yards on the year.
Chuck Waggin
Chuck Harris continues to develop into a monster edge rusher for the Bulls. Over the last nine games, Harris has eight sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Not bad for a young man who only started playing football his junior year of high school.
The Kids Are Alright
While many will credit the Bulls’ record to their seasoned veterans, you can’t discredit the play of the youngsters. 19 of Buffalo’s 43 touchdowns on the season have been scored by freshmen.
Buffalo’s top two leading rushers are freshmen. Redshirt-freshmen Kevin Marks leads the Bulls with 579 yards and seven touchdowns. True freshman Jaret Patterson has rushed for 576 yards and eight scores.
Redshirt-freshman Charlie Jones has 12 catches for 281 yards (23.4 ypc) and has three touchdown receptions.
Cam Tough
Senior cornerback Cameron Lewis had a career-best two interceptions in the Bulls’ win over Temple. He became the first UB player to intercept two passes in a game since Okezie Alozie had two picks against Ohio in 2015. Lewis has three interceptions on the season and five for his career.
Bulls Make History in Piscataway
Buffalo defeated Rutgers, 42-13, on Sept. 22 at HighPoint.com Stadium for its first-ever win over a team from the Big Ten Conference. The Bulls were 0-7 against Big Ten opponents prior to Saturday’s win. It was also UB’s first win over an opponent from a Power 5 conference. Buffalo’s win over Rutgers was one of the largest by a MAC school over a Big Ten opponent in conference history.
Largest point differential in MAC win over Big 10 Opponent:
31 points – Toledo 38-7 win over Minnesota (8/30/01)
31 points – NIU 55-24 win at Purdue on (9/28/13)
30 points – Miami 44-14 win at Northwestern (9/13/03)
29 points – Buffalo 42-13 win at Rutgers on (9/22/18)
It’s All Relative
The UB football team features a pair of players related to two of the top five picks in the 2014 NFL Draft. Senior wide receiver Anthony Johnson is the cousin of top pick Jadeveon Clowney. Junior defensive end Ledarius Mack is the younger brother of former UB All-American and fifth pick Khalil Mack.
10-Year Anniversary of MAC Championship
The 2018 season marks the 10-year anniversary of the Bulls’ 2008 MAC Championship – UB’s first and only football conference title. After a 7-5 regular season, the Bulls stunned 12th-ranked Ball State, 42-24, in the title game. Buffalo went on to play Connecticut in the International Bowl – its first-ever bowl game.
The 2018 season marks the 10-year anniversary of the Bulls’ 2008 MAC Championship – UB’s first and only football conference title. After a 7-5 regular season, the Bulls stunned 12th-ranked Ball State, 42-24, in the title game. Buffalo went on to play Connecticut in the International Bowl – its first-ever bowl game.
On The AirwavesAgain this season, University at Buffalo football can be heard locally on ESPN 1520, a 50,000-watt station with one of the strongest signals in the nation. The Bulls can also be heard on 1280 AM in Rochester.
Calling all the play-by-play action of Bulls football for his 19th year, and 11th consecutive, will be Paul Peck. Scott Wilson is back for his second season as analyst. Brad Riter also returns as game host.
Again this season, the UB Football postgame show will take place at Santora’s on Millersport with host Bob Gaughan.
Peck will host the UB Football Insider with Lance Leipold on Monday nights at 5:00 pm. The show air on ESPN 1520 and will be taped at the Santora’s Millersport location on Mondays at noon.
