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Paul Peck's Bull Session: Eastern Michigan
10/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Each week, Voice of Bulls Football Paul Peck will preview the upcoming game.
Buffalo (3-3, 1-1) vs. Eastern Michigan (1-4, 0-1)
Six games down, and six to go. Midseason finds the Bulls unhappy about their record, but knowing that they've shown signs of a team that can make a late season run to a MAC Championship and a bowl game. UB needs to win four of their last six games to be bowl eligible (due to 2 games against FCS schools), and there is no reason to think that can't happen. The second half schedule is all MAC, and the combined records of the opponents is 10-23. The Bulls arguably have the best running back and quarterback in the conference, and the defense continues to improve each week. Last year, the Bulls won four of their last six. That experience should be motivation for this year, and it starts against Eastern Michigan.
Bullseye on: Buffalo Offense
Branden Oliver didn't do it. Neither did James Starks. Anthone Taylor is the first UB back to run for 200 yards in back-to-back games. He's the first NCAA player to do that this season. With 798 yards, Taylor is 5th in the country in rushing yards. In his last 2 games, he has 441 yards and 6 TD. Asked to explain his success, Taylor of course thanked the offensive line, tight ends and receivers for their blocking. But he also gave credit to....fishing. Yes, a rod and reel has helped Taylor learn patience. That's a key trait for a back, as it allows holes to open and blocks to finish. Anthone's high school coach in Ohio used to take him fishing, even if Taylor refused to touch anything he caught....Thanks to the running game, the Bulls are fourth in the country in time of possession, averaging 34:49 per game...The offense has scored at least 21 points in every game. That's a first in UB history...Ron Willoughby has five touchdown catches, good for second in the MAC and 15th in the NCAA...Joe Licata's 15 TD passes are tied for the MAC lead, and 8th in the NCAA. Throwing a TD pass against Bowling Green means Joe has now thrown a touchdown pass against every opponent he's faced. In 21 career starts, Licata has 45 TD passes and just 16 interceptions...Eastern Michigan's defense has struggled. Giving up 65 points to Florida and 73 to Michigan State skews the stats, but the Eagles are 124th (of 125) in scoring defense and 118th in total defense. They rank last or next to last in the MAC in total defense, scoring defense and rushing defense....It's a 3-4 defense, and the key players is defensive tackle Pat O'Connor. He's the MAC leader in sacks with 4.5, and second to Adam Redden in tackles for loss....The Eagles have two outstanding linebackers in Great Ibe and Anthony Zappone...Cornerback Willie Creear is their best coverage player...Big plays have hurt the Eagles. They have allowed four touchdowns of 70 or more yards.
Bullseye on: Buffalo Defense
There were signs of improvement on defense against Bowling Green. The stretch of six straight second half possession with only 3 points allowed was impressive. But there have still been too many letdowns and big plays. Leave it Jeff Quinn to sum it up by saying "we just got to keep people out of the end zone."....One way to help do that is see the starting cornerbacks continue to improve. Boise Ross, in his fourth game on defense, had UB's first interception and tackled well for a second straight week....Courtney Lester did it again. Asked to basically take out one of the MAC's best receivers, Lester held BG's Roger Lewis to one catch. He was on the conference's leading wideout the whole game...The pass rush is showing signs of life. Branden Crawford had a strip-sack, and Kyril Threats continues to add pressure off the edge. Both are playing heavily for the first time, and you can see that they're getting more comfortable....Lee Skinner is the Bulls leading tackler, and is just 10 tackles away from 300 in his career....Eastern Michigan starting quarterback Rob Bolden will make his third start. He's the Eagles third different starting signalcaller this year. Bolden began his career at Penn State, where he was the first true freshman opening day starting quarterback in 100 years. After 2 years with the Nittany Lions, Bolden left for LSU. He never played there, and is using his final year of eligibility to play in his home state. Bolden has struggled throwing the ball, completing just 45% of his passes. He is a very dangerous runner...The Eagles offense has had trouble scoring points, averaging just under 11 per game. The MAC offensive stats show EMU in the bottom four in points, yards, rushing, passing and third downs...But their big problem has been turnovers. With 13 fumbles and 4 interceptions, Eastern Michigan is -13, the worst in the country....Running back Bronson Hill ran for over 1000 yards last year, and was 3rd team All-MAC....Their biggest weapon is tight end Tyreese Russell, who is their leading receiver....The Eagles are a balanced run/pass team. That's unusual. The Bulls haven't really faced one of those yet. This is the first game for the Buffalo defense against a team that doesn't run an unusual or unbalanced offense.
Bullseye on: Anthone Taylor and Branden Oliver
Who could have ever imagined that some of Oliver's records could be broken just one year after he leaves? Taylor's success may remove Bo from the record books, but he's doing it because of Oliver's influence. This week, Taylor talked out how much Oliver has shaped him as a football player and a person. They were teammates for three seasons, and in that time developed a kinship only fellow running backs could understand. Although slightly bigger than Bo, Taylor runs the same way: fleet and forceful. Taylor's ability to hit the holes, and sometimes emerge from them is classic Oliver. Anthone and Branden talk and tweet nearly every day, with Oliver usually providing inspiration and advice. In turn, Bo's NFL performance has given Taylor motivation. Anthone said what he learned most from his friend is work ethic. Taylor says he admires how Oliver plays every day "like it was his last game." That includes practice. In turn, Oliver told Anthone "don't try to be like me, be better." So far, so good. Taylor is ahead of the pace Bo set last year when he earned a new single season school record.
Please join me, color analyst Ed O'Neil, sideline reporter Scott Wilson, game host Brad Riter and postgame host Kevin Sylvester for the broadcast on the Bulls Football Network. Our pregame show starts at 12:00 pm. You can hear it in Buffalo on ESPN 1520 (www.espn1520.com), in Rochester on Sports 1280 WHTK (www.whtk.com), in Albany on 104.5 The Team (www.1045theteam.com) & in New York City on 570 WMCA (www.wmca.com).
