UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO ATHLETICS
Buffalo (1-0, 0-0 MAC) at Temple (0-1, 0-0 AAC)September 8, 2018
Lincoln Financial Field – 3:30 pm
Bulls on the Air
RadioBuffalo – ESPN 1520
Rochester – Fox Sports 1280
TelevisionESPN3
Storylines
• The Bulls are looking to start the season 2-0 for the first time as an FBS program (since 1999). In fact, you have to go back to 1983 the last time Buffalo started the season 2-0.
• Buffalo and Temple are meeting for the first time since 2011 when the Owls were members of the Mid-American Conference. The Bulls lead the all-time series, 12-4, but the teams have split the last six meetings.
• The Bulls are 1-2 against Temple in games played at Lincoln Financial Field.
• Buffalo is playing on grass for the first time since playing at Florida Atlantic on Sept. 19, 2015 – a span of 34 games. Only nine players on the Bulls’ current roster have played a game on grass during their UB careers.
• Quarterback Tyree Jackson was named the MAC East Division Offensive Player of the Week after tossing a career-high six touchdown passes in the opener against Delaware State.
• The Bulls are 1-0 against schools from the American Athletic Conference since it was founded in 2013. The Bulls beat Connecticut, 41-12, in 2013.
• Linebacker James Patterson became the first true freshman to start the season opener for the Bulls since Brandon Stanback started at safety against Albany in the opener of the 2015 campaign.
• Kicker Adam Mitcheson is 10 points shy of reaching James Starks for third in school history in career scoring. Mitcheson has 212 career points, while Starks had 222.
Bulls Face First Road Test at Temple on Saturday
The University at Buffalo football team will travel to Temple on Saturday afternoon to face the Owls. The Bulls are coming off a 48-10 win over Delaware State last Saturday. UB was led by quarterback Tyree Jacksonwho threw for a career-high six touchdowns in the victory.
Temple is 0-1 on the season and is coming off a 19-17 loss to Villanova last Saturday. The Owls are led by quarterback Frank Nutile who threw for 185 yards and a touchdown in the opener.
Buffalo leads the all-time series, 12-4. Temple won the last meeting, 34-0, on Oct. 15, 2011 at Lincoln Financial Field.
T3
Quarterback Tyree Jackson was named the Mid-American Conference East Division Offensive Player of the Week after throwing a career-high six touchdown passes in just over two quarters of work to lead the Bulls to a 48-10 win over Delaware State in the opener. The junior signal-caller was responsible for each of Buffalo’s first six touchdowns. He became the first quarterback in school history to throw five first-half touchdowns. He was pulled after his sixth touchdown pass, on UB’s first drive of the third quarter, put the Bulls ahead 41-3.
2018 is Jackson’s third season as the Bulls’ starting quarterback. The junior signal-caller threw for 2,096 yards and 12 touchdowns to only three interceptions over eight games in 2017. He also added 197 yards rushing and four scores. The Academic All-MAC selection averaged 341 yards passing and threw nine touchdowns over the final four games of the 2017 season.
Jackson is on the preseason watch lists for the Davey O’Brien Award and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
Forcing the Issue
The Bulls have struggled in recent years to force turnovers. That was not the case against Delaware State in the opener. Buffalo forced four turnovers (three fumbles and an interception). To put that in perspective, the Bulls only forced 14 turnovers last year and 13 in 2016. Last season, it took until their seventh game of the season (Northern Illinois) before the Bulls recovered an opponent’s fumble. The last time UB forced four turnovers in a game was when it forced five at Florida Atlantic (3 FR/2 INT) on Sept. 19, 2015.
Greener Pastures
Buffalo’s game at Temple will mark the first time the Bulls will play on a grass field since playing at Florida Atlantic on Sept. 19, 2015 – a span of 34 games. Only nine players on the current roster have played on grass during their UB careers. Those players include Brandon Williams, Adam Mitcheson, Johnathan Hawkins, Jordan Collier, Cameron Lewis, James O’Hagan, Justin Brandon, Chuck Harris and Jake Khoury.
Bulls in the NFL (Stadiums)
Buffalo’s game at Temple will be played at Lincoln Financial Field. The Bulls have played in six different NFL stadiums in their history. Other NFL stadiums in which the Bulls have competed include Ford Field (MAC Championship), Gillette Stadium (UMass), Heinz Field (Pitt), Metrodome (Minnesota) and New Era Field when they hosted Bowling Green in 2013.
In the 1940s, the Bulls played their games at Civic Stadium which would later be the home to the Buffalo Bills before moving to New Era Field.
AJ is OK
Not many players in school history made a bigger impact in their first season with the UB football program than wide receiver Anthony Johnson did in 2017.
The JUCO transfer had 76 catches for 1,356 yards and a school-record 14 touchdowns last season. He ranked second in the nation in receiving yards per game (113.0) and third in receiving touchdowns (14). The All-MAC First Team selection had six games of 140 or more receiving yards which was tops in the country.
Johnson’s 1,356 receiving yards were the second most in school history for a single season. He was second only to Naaman Roosevelt who had 1,402 yards in 2008. However, Johnson had 28 fewer catches than Roosevelt. Johnson averaged 17.8 yards per catch compared to 13.5 yards per catch for Roosevelt.
Johnson had 21 catches for 468 yards and eight touchdowns over the final three games of the 2017 season.
Johnson was named a second-team AP Preseason All-American, becoming the first player in school history to earn the distinction.
Watch Out
The Bulls placed a program-record six players on nine different NCFAA award preseason watch lists. Bulls appeared on more preseason watch lists than any other school in the Mid-American Conference. The previous high was four players on eight different watch lists prior to the 2013 campaign.
Buffalo Players on NCFAA Watch Lists
Khalil Hodge Bednarik Award
Butkus Award
Nagurski Award
Anthony Johnson Maxwell Award
Biletnikoff Award
Tyree Jackson Davey O’Brien Award
Emmanuel Reed Doak Walker Award
Tyler Mabry John Mackey Award
James O’Hagan Rimington Trophy
Hodge Ball
No player in college football had more tackles than UB linebacker Khalil Hodge over the last two seasons. Hodge totaled 277 tackles over the last two years, including a career-best 154 stops in 2017. It was the most tackles by a UB player in the program’s FBS era (since 1999). Hodge ranked second in the nation in tackles in 2017.
Air Attack
Buffalo led the MAC in passing yards a season ago, averaging 290.8 yards per game. With its starting quarterback and top receivers returning, the Bulls should be able to air it out again in 2018.
The Bulls return nine of the 13 players who recorded a catch last season, including four of their top six receivers. Anthony Johnson (76/1,356), K.J. Osborn (35/493), Tyler Mabry (32/548) and Antonio Nunn (15/301) all return this season.
Nine Bulls Named to Athlon Preseason All-MAC Team
Athlon Sports released its preseason All-Mid-American Conference football team and nine University at Buffalo players were named to the squad. The list was headlined by three first-team selections, wide receiver Anthony Johnson, tight end Tyler Mabry and linebacker Khalil Hodge.
Center James O’Hagan and defensive end Chuck Harris were named to the second team.
The third team included quarterback Tyree Jackson and cornerback Cameron Lewis.
Offensive lineman Evin Ksiezarczyk and running back Johnathan Hawkins (as an all-purpose player) were named to the fourth team.
Mitch Perfect
Kicker Adam Mitcheson enters his final season just five made field goals shy of the school record for career field goals made at UB. The senior kicker has made 39 field goals over his career. He is currently second all time, trailing A.J. Principe (07-10) who made 44 field goals over his career.
Mitcheson is also on pace to break the school record for career scoring. The Pittsburgh native currently fourth in career scoring with 212 points. Principe holds the school record with 265 career points.
Team Captains
This season, the Bulls will feature two season captains as well as two rotating game captains. Serving as season captains are senior center James O’Hagan and senior linebacker Khalil Hodge. Both O’Hagan, UB’s fourth-year starting center, and Hodge, UB’s third-year starting middle linebacker, also served as team captains last season.
Reed All About it
Emmanuel Reed had a breakout season for the Bulls in 2017 and looks to build on it this year. The junior running back rushed for 840 yards and nine touchdowns last season. Reed had five 100-yard games in 2017, including a 144-yard, three-touchdown performance against Kent State which earned him MAC East Player of the Week honors. The Florida native was named to the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award, given to the top running back.
Bulls Add Three Grad Transfers
Three graduate transfers from Power 5 programs joined the Bulls prior to the 2018 season. Wide receiver George Rushing, safety Ashton White and offensive lineman Trey Derouen all joined the squad.
Rushing came from Wisconsin where he played in 39 games and made one start. He recorded 18 receptions for 208 yards in his career.
White came from Notre Dame. He played in six games in 2016 and had a pair of tackles.
Derouen transferred to Buffalo from South Carolina. He appeared in one game as a redshirt freshman in 2016.
Rushing will have one year of eligibility, while White and Derouen will have two.
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.
Murchie Family Fieldhouse Nears Completion
Thanks to a record gift by the Murchie family, the Murchie Family Fieldhouse is on schedule to open this spring. The 92,000-square-foot indoor practice facility will be situated just beyond the north end zone of UB Stadium on the university’s North Campus.
The multi-use facility will not only house a full-size football field, but will also feature 6,000 feet of rubber track for sprint practice as well as long/triple jump and pole vault pits. It will also have motorized suspended softball hitting tunnels.
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.
On The Airwaves
Again 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.
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