Paul Peck's Bull Session: Central Michigan
10/24/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Each week, Voice of Bulls Football Paul Peck will preview the upcoming game.
Buffalo (3-4, 1-2) vs. Central Michigan (4-4, 2-2)
Last week's coaching change creates a high level of uncertainty for this game against a very good Chippewas team. Will the Bulls players rally around the change? Will Alex Wood's quiet demeanor and confidence inspire the team? Did the bye week allow the Bulls to fix their red zone and defensive problems? It all leads to uncertainty. But there is one thing I am certain of: there are winnable games left, the MAC is wide open, and the season is far from over for the Bulls. The teams at the top of the MAC East (Bowling Green, Akron) both lost last weekend. Right now, UB is only 1.5 games out of first place. The combined record of their remaining opponents is 15-23. But because the Bulls must win four of their last five to be bowl eligible, the turnaround almost has to start against Central Michigan.
Bullseye on: Buffalo Offense
It's a matchup of two of the best runners in the MAC, and going against CMU's Thomas Rawls should fire-up Anthone Taylor. The Bulls junior RB is third in the conference, while Rawls is first. Taylor's 926 yards leave him just 74 shy of 1000. He'd be just the third FBS Bull to top that mark, joining Branden Oliver and James Starks. In his last 4 games, Taylor is averaging 186 yards per game...While it shouldn't cut into Taylor's carries, the Bulls will likely have Jordan Johnson back from his knee injury. He's missed the last three games...The Bulls lead the MAC, and rank third in the NCAA, in time of possession. That will be a key stat this week, because working the clock keeps the dangerous Chippewas offense on the sidelines...Joe Licata is 10-1 at UB Stadium, with his only loss this season's defeat to Baylor....Licata is just three touchdowns passes from Drew Willy's career mark of 522. Licata is only 152 yards away from passing Joe Freedy for 4th in alltime passing yards...Thanks to his 50 yard TD catch vs. Eastern Michigan, tight end Matt Weiser now has 232 yards receiving. He's the first UB tight end since Jesse Rack in 2009 to top 200 yards in a season...The Bulls have scored at least 21 points in every game this season...The red zone offense has been a problem all year. It really hurt UB vs. EMU, when the Bulls were just 3/6 from inside the opponents 20. On the season, UB has converted 38 red zone trips into 22 TD's and six FG. They have 3 red zone turnovers. Those numbers rank 10th in the MAC...UB's offense will get a big test from the MAC's top defense. The Chippewas D ranks first in yards allowed, first in pass defense, first in interceptions, second in scoring defense and third in third down defense. They have allowed only one 100 yard rusher this season... The key to the CMU defense are their two defensive tackles, Leterrius Walton and Jabari Dean. They tie up blockers, and allow LB and leading tackler Justin Cherocci to run to the ball. Cherocci has 78 tackles, good for fifth in the MAC...#2 tackler Tony Annese leads the team with three interceptions...The Chippewas play a lot of man to man coverage in the secondary. The Bulls wideouts will need to win those battles to get the passing game moving.
Bullseye on: Buffalo Defense
Much like Central Michigan will have to focus on stopping Anthone Taylor, the Bulls defense will have a tough job stopping Thomas Rawls. The Michigan transfer has 1,007 yards, good for fifth in the country. Remember, he missed two games due to an offseason arrest which has been resolved. Rawls is especially good in the second half. He is averaging 113 yards after halftime. In CMU's big win at Northern Illinois, Rawls ran 40 times for 270 yards, the most by a MAC player this year. That came after 229 yards against Ohio. So just like Taylor, Rawls has back-to-back 200 yards games. Last week, against Ball State, Rawls totaled 167....Rawls isn't the only elite player on the Chippewas offense. Receiver Titus Davis is a returning first team All-MAC player. This season, with 31 catches for 502 yards, Davis ranks in the MAC's top five in both categories. He will be yet another weekly challenge for Bulls cornerback Courtney Lester, who likely will follow Davis all over the field...Quarterback Cooper Rush is efficient, and makes good decisions. His best decisions are when he either hands off to Rawls or throws to Davis...The Chippewas will use a fullback often, something we rarely see in college football. Both Anthony Garland and Joe Bacci are tough blockers and good receivers...Big plays continue to be a huge problem for the Buffalo defense. They have given up 51 plays of 20 yards or more, an average of seven per game. This stat, courtesy of Bulls sideline reporter Scott Wilson, is amazing: 58 percent of all the total yards allowed this season have come on those 51 long plays. That means the other 419 players are responsible for the remaining 42 percent of the yards allowed....UB is 12th in passing efficiency defense, mostly due to those big plays...The Bulls defense has been very good in one defensive category. They rank second in third down defense....Lee Skinner's 10 tackles against EMU gave him 300 in his career. He is the 10th UB player to reach that mark.
Bullseye on: Interim Head Coach Alex Wood
Wood will have to tap into his 30 years of coaching experience to lead the Bulls through the next five games. Wood will come down from the press box to assume the head coaching duties, while still calling the offensive plays. It's not his first time in the head coaching position. Wood ran James Madison from 1995-1998, winning 23 and losing 22. His vast coaching career has included stops in the NFL (Minnesota, Arizona, Cincinnati), an NCAA national championship at Miami, and a MAC title at Miami (OH). This week, Wood used his connections to inspire the Bulls. He had colleague and former USC interim head coach Ed Orgeron speak to the team about how he led the Trojans to a 6-2 record last year after he took over for Lane Kiffin. Wood is a smart coach with a thoughtful persona and a calming demeanor. That's just what the Bulls need to save this season.
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 2:30pm. 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).
