The Bulls were led by senior running back Jordan Johnson who rushed for 114 yards. Redshirt-freshman quarterback Tyree Jackson accounted for 185 yards of total offense. Nevada is 1-1 and is coming off a 39-10 loss at Notre Dame on Saturday. The Wolf Pack is led by running back James Butler who has rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns on the season. Nevada leads the all-time series, 2-0. The Wolf Pack won the last meeting, 24-21, at UB Stadium last season.
Saturday’s game at Nevada will marked the 10th time a UB football team has traveled west of the Mississippi to play a game. The Bulls have also played at Baylor (twice), Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, UTEP and at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise, ID. The Bulls are looking for their second win west of the Mississippi. UB won at UTEP in 2009.
As a team, the Bulls rushed for 226 yards in the opener against Albany. It was the their most rushing yards since rushing for 293 yards at Massachusetts on Nov. 28, 2014. In addition, Tyree Jackson rushed for 60 yards on 10 carries. It was the most rushing yards by a UB quarterback since Alex Zordich rushed for 67 yards against Toledo on Oct. 27, 2012.
Jordan Johnson earned the start at running back against Albany in the opener and rushed for 114 yards on 23 carries. It was his fourth career start. He has rushed for 100+ yards in three of his four career starts. The senior running back rushed for 811 yards on 172 carries for a 4.7 yards per carry average last year. He had a knack for finding the endzone in 2015, scoring 12 rushing touchdowns. He tied for sixth in school history for a single season, four shy of the school record. Johnson started the first two games of his career as a junior in 2015. He rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns in his first start against Ohio on Oct. 24 and followed that up by rushing for 123 yards and two more scores against Miami (OH) on Oct. 29. He became just the second running back in UB’s FBS era to rush for 100 yards in each of his first two career starts.
For the first time since November of 2012, the Bulls had someone other than Joe Licata line up behind center when Grant Rohach started the season opener against Albany. Licata had started the previous 40 games for the Bulls. After a strong fall camp, Grant Rohach and Tyree Jackson emerged as the leading contenders for the job. Rohach is a graduate transfer from Iowa State where he started five games over his career with the Cyclones. He saw the most extensive action in 2013 when he appeared in seven games and started the final four of the season. He threw for 1,208 yards and eight touchdowns at Iowa State. Jackson redshirted in his first season with the Bulls last season. At 6-7, he is an imposing figure who threw for nearly 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns over his last two years of high school. Rohach started the opener and went 3-of-9 for 52 yards and two interceptions. Jackson entered the game in the second quarter, played the rest of the way, and finished 14-of-25 for 125 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
The Bulls have a number of players on the offensive side of the ball that actually played quarterback in high school. Starting running back Jordan Johnson, starting receiver Marcus McGill and starting tight end Mason Schreck were all quarterbacks for their high school teams. In addition, reserve tight end Kevin Rogers and reserve wide receiver Jamarl Eiland were also quarterbacks in high school.
The Bulls return eight starters to an experienced defense, including a pair of All-MAC defenders. Brandon Berry was a second-team All-MAC selection after piling up a career-best 104 tackles in 2015. He ranked second on the team with 11.5 tackles for loss. Boise Ross was one of the Bulls breakout defenders in 2015. The UB cornerback broke the school record for single-season passes defended with 20. He also ranked fifth in the nation in the same category. The Bulls also return their entire starting defensive line from a year ago with Brandon Crawford and Demone Harris at defensive end and Chris Ford and Max Perisse at defensive tackles and nose guard, respectively.
With the graduation of Nick Gilbo and Travis Pitzonka, the Bulls will have fresh faces at the middle linebacker spot. Following a strong camp, sophomore JUCO transfer Khalil Hodge is slated to started while true freshman Matt Otwinowski is listed as the top reserve. Hodge transferred to UB after playing one season at the City College of San Francisco. He had an astounding 262 tackles his senior season at St. Mary’s High School in Stockton, CA. At 6-3, 225, Otwinowski has good size for a true freshman. He had 87 tackles in seven games his senior year of high school and is the school record holder for career tackles.
Marcus McGill had a breakout season for the Bulls in 2015 and will look for even bigger things in 2016. After missing the 2013 with an injury, McGill had 22 catches for 343 yards in 2014. Last season, he started all 12 games and had 50 receptions for 581 yards and four touchdowns – all career-highs. McGill leads a young receiving corps. Only three other receivers on the roster have registered a catch. Jacob Martinez has 43 catches for 433 yards over his career. Malcolm Robinson has 10 catches for 108 yards over his career. Jamarl Eiland has four receptions for 89 yards over his career.
Buffalo will have plenty of new faces on the roster in 2016. In fact, 42 new players will suit up for the Bulls this season, making UB not only the most inexperienced team in the Mid-American Conference, but one of the most inexperienced teams in the nation. Phil Steele lists Buffalo as the fourth most inexperienced team in the nation.
The Bulls added a trio of graduate transfers to the roster in the offseason. Quarterback Grant Rohach, defensive tackle Remaine Douglas and defensive end will Joe Keels all be eligible to play immediately. Rohach transferred from Iowa State where he started five games over his career. He saw the most extensive action of his career in 2013 when he appeared in seven games and started the final four of the season. He threw for 1,208 yards and eight touchdowns, completing 110-of-191 pass attempts. Douglas came to Buffalo from Lousiana-Lafayette where he played for current defensive line coach Tim Edwards. He appeared in 32 games and started twice for the Ragin’ Cajuns. He had career totals of 25 tackles, three sacks and five tackles for loss. Keels transferred from Nebraska where he played two seasons for the Huskers. He appeared in five games in 2014, before an injury sidelined him in 2015.
Again this season, University at Buffalo football can be heard locally on ESPN 1520. Calling all the play-by-play action of Bulls football for his 17th year, and ninth consecutive, will be Paul Peck. Back in the analyst role is former Navy standout quarterback Jim Kubiak. Scott Wilson will return to his sideline duties in 2016 and Brad Riter also returns as in-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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