UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO ATHLETICS
Buffalo (9-1, 6-0 MAC) at Ohio (6-4, 4-2 MAC) November 14, 2018
Peden Stadium – 7:00 pm
Bulls on the Air
Radio
Buffalo – ESPN 1520
Rochester – Fox Sports 1280
Rochester – Fox Sports 1280
Television
ESPN2
Storylines
• The Bulls are 9-1 for the first time in school history. The nine wins are 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. The Bulls have never won 10 games in a season at any level.
• Buffalo is 6-0 in MAC play for the first time in school history.
• Ohio leads the all-time series with Buffalo, 14-10.
• The home team has won each of the last eight meetings in the series.
• Since joining the MAC in 1999, the Bulls are 1-9 in games played at Peden Stadium. Buffalo’s only win at Ohio came in 2008.
• Tyree Jackson‘s next touchdown pass will be his 25th of the season which would tie Drew Willy (2008) for second in school history for touchdown passes in a season. Joe Licata holds the school record with 29 in 2014.
• Khalil Hodge is 12 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.
• Anthony Johnson has six touchdown catches over the last three games.
• The Bulls have won 12 of their last 13 games dating back to last season.
• A win over Ohio would give the Bulls their second outright MAC East Championship and their second trip to the MAC title game. The Bulls also won the East Division in 2008 and tied for the East title in 2007.
• The Bulls have won five straight road games dating back to last season.
Bulls Head to Ohio on Wednesday in Search of MAC East TitleThe University at Buffalo football team will travel to Ohio on Tuesday night in hopes of clinching the Mid-American Conference East Division title. The Bulls are 9-1 overall, 6-0 in the MAC and are coming off a 48-14 win over Kent State last Tuesday night. Running back Jaret Patterson ran for 187 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bulls.
Ohio is 6-4 overall, 4-2 in the MAC and is coming off a 30-28 loss at Miami (OH) Wednesday night. The Bobcats are led by quarterback Nathan Rourke who has thrown for 1,932 yards and 19 touchdowns and rushed for 653 yards and eight scores on the season.
Ohio leads the all-time series, 14-10. The Bulls won the last meeting, 31-24, at UB Stadium last season.
What a Start!The Bulls are 9-1 and off to their best start in school history. They have won nine games for the first time in their FBS history (since 1999) and just the second time in school history. Buffalo went 9-2 in 1986 as a Division III program. The previous best seasons for Buffalo football were 2008 (8-6) and 2013 (8-5).
What a Start!The Bulls are 9-1 and off to their best start in school history. They have won nine games for the first time in their FBS history (since 1999) and just the second time in school history. Buffalo went 9-2 in 1986 as a Division III program. The previous best seasons for Buffalo football were 2008 (8-6) and 2013 (8-5).
The Bulls are building on their strong finish from a season ago when they won the final three games of the 2017 campaign. Overall, UB has won 12 of its last 13 games.
Not Standing Patt
Jaret Patterson rushed for a career-high 187 yards and two touchdowns against Kent State. He did so in only the first half and on only 18 carries (10.4 ypc). It was the most rushing yards in a game by a freshman running back in school history and was the second-best rushing total by any player in the MAC this season.
Patterson has rushed for 763 yards and 10 touchdowns on the year. He is 154 yards shy of the record for rushing yards in a season. Aaron Leeper holds the record with 917 yards set in 2002.
Running Down a Dream
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 five games, the junior signal-caller has carried the ball 35 times for 92 yards and six 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 111 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 11th 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.
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 became the school’s all-time leading scorer with his six extra points against Kent State. The Pittsburgh native cuurent has 268 points.
T3
Quarterback Tyree Jackson is enjoying the best season of his career, having already thrown 24 touchdowns, 12 more than he did all of last season. He already ranks third in school history for single-season passing touchdowns, just five shy of the single-season mark.
He has thrown for 6,206 yards in his career, becoming just the fifth quarterback in school history to throw for 6,000 yards.
He has been named the Mid-American Conference East Division Offensive Player of the Week three times this season. He is the first player in school history to win the award three times in a single season.
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 27 sacks on the year, eight more than all of last season. It is the most sacks since 2013 when UB had 38. 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 45 catches for 761 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 are tied for the MAC lead 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 12th in the nation in turnover margin at +9.
Many Happy Returns
K.J. Osborn has been a game changer for the Bulls when it comes to punt returns. He has posted 24 returns for 257 yards – a 10.7 average. It is the most punt return yards by a UB player in its FBS era (since 1999).
Osborn ranks second in the MAC in punt return average. He currently ranks second 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) on Oct. 30 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. Leipold currently holds a 22-24 record in his fourth season with the Bulls.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 17 touchdowns of at least 22 yards. The Bulls have scored touchdowns of 22, 25, 27, 29, 32, 32, 33, 34, 42, 42, 53, 53, 64, 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. 22 of Buffalo’s 46 touchdowns on the season have been scored by freshmen.
Buffalo’s top two leading rushers are freshmen. True freshman Jaret Patterson leads the Bulls with 763 yards and 10 touchdowns. Redshirt-freshmen Kevin Marks has rushed for 616 yards and eight touchdowns.
Redshirt-freshman receiver Charlie Jones has 14 catches for 324 yards (23.1 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 RelativeThe 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.
