Eastern Michigan
Bulls Fall at Eastern Michigan, 37-27
10/11/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
YPSILANTI, MI – The State University of New York, Buffalo football team dropped a road contest at Eastern Michigan, 37-27, on the grey turf of Rynearson Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulls (3-4, 1-2 MAC) rolled up 537 yards of total offense on the afternoon, but struggled in the redzone and that was the difference in the game. UB couldn't capitalize on six trips inside EMU's 20-yard line, scoring only one late touchdown and making two field goals.
"It wasn't good enough. It's unacceptable," head coach Jeff Quinn said after the game. "We didn't play exactly in the way we needed to play in those critical moments. We had our chances today. It's unacceptable."
Joe Licata threw for 383 yards and three touchdowns, but did have a pair of interceptions. Anthone Taylor rushed for 128 yards on 24 carries. Ron Willoughby had his second career 100-yard receiving game with 103 yards on only four catches.
The Bulls jumped out to a 10-0 lead early on. Licata connected with Marcus McGill on a quick screen that the junior was able to turn into a 24-yard touchdown, giving UB a 7-0 lead with 2:53 left in the first quarter. Patrick Clarke made a 24-yard field goal with 9:24 left in the second quarter to give the Bulls a 10-point edge.
Eastern Michigan (2-4, 1-1 MAC) made a quarterback change late in the half that seemed to spark the Eagles. The Eagles made a field goal in the final minute to cut the UB lead to 10-3 at the break.
On the second play from scrimmage in the second half, EMU quarterback Reginald Bell scampered 71 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 10-9. The Bulls went up 12-9 when Clarke connected on a 40-yard field goal on UB's first possession of the second half,
Eastern Michigan took the lead for good with three minutes left in the third quarter on a one-yard touchdown run.
The Bulls had their chances, EMU blocked a 39-yard field goal attempt that would have tied the game early in the fourth quarter. The Eagles were able to score four plays later to go ahead, 23-13. UB fumbled away the ensuing kickoff and, two plays later, EMU was in the endzone again for a 30-13 lead.
Licata hit Matt Weiser for a 50-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 30-20 with 4:52 left. The Bulls were able to get the onside kick, but couldn't capitalize. Bell struck again for a 72-yard touchdown run to ice the game for the Eagles.
Licata threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Devon Hughes with 44 seconds left for his third touchdown pass of the game. Hughes had a game-high seven catches for 58 yards.
Lee Skinner led the UB defense with 10 tackles and a fumble recovery. The senior linebacker became just the 10th player in school history to total 300 career tackles. Okezie Alozie had a career-high nine tackles for the Bulls.
After a week off, the Bulls will return to action on Oct. 25 when they host Central Michigan at UB Stadium.
