3-3 , 1-1
Bowling Green
4-2 , 2-0
Bulls Drop Heartbreaker at Bowling Green, 36-35
10/4/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
BOWLING GREEN, OH – Bowling Green scored the go-ahead touchdown with 2:19 left in the game to hand the University at Buffalo football team a heartbreaking, 36-35, loss at Doyt Perry Stadium on Saturday.
Junior running back Anthone Taylor had another huge game, finishing with 219 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He became the first player in school history with consecutive 200-yard rushing performances. Taylor ran for 222 yards and three touchdowns against Miami (OH) last week.
The Bulls (3-3, 1-1 MAC) got off to a great start as they took the opening kickoff 75 yards on 15 plays, capped by a quarterback sneak by Joe Licata. The drive took over nine minutes off the clock. Bowling Green (4-2, 2-0 MAC) answered with a 75-yard drive of its own to tie the game at 7. A Bowling Green field goal gave the Falcons a 10-7 lead with 13:56 left in the second quarter.
The Bulls took the lead when Licata found Willoughby for a 16-yard touchdown, capping a five-play, 70-yard drive and giving the Bulls a 14-10 lead. The Falcons answered on their next possession with a 1-yard touchdown to retake the lead, 17-14, with 8:52 left in the half.
Taylor scored on an eight-yard touchdown run to put the Bulls back ahead on their next drive. UB capitalized on a Brandon Crawford sack and forced fumble when Taylor hit paydirt again, this time from one-yard out, to give the Bulls a 28-17 lead late in the half. Bowling Green capped the first-half scoring with a field goal to cut the UB lead to 28-20 at the half.
The Falcons scored on their first possession of the season half to cut the lead to 28-27 and then added a field goal on their next possession to take a 30- 28 lead with 8:07 left in the third quarter.
Dalton Barksdale blocked a Bowling Green field goal attempt and the Bulls capitalized by driving 69 yards and taking a 35-30 lead on a Taylor 12-yard touchdown run.
After the UB defense stepped up and forced a Bowling Green punt, the Bulls marched down the field in hopes of the sealing the victory. UB was able to drive the ball down to the Bowling Green 16-yard line with a little over three minutes left. However Patrick Clarke's 33-yard field goal was pulled wide right, giving life to the Falcons.
It took Bowling Green just four plays to go 80 yards and score the go-ahead touchdown on a four-yard touchdown run.
Devin Campbell was able to return the ensuing kickoff to the Bowling Green 48-yard line with 2:11 on the clock. However, the Bulls went four-and-out and lost by one point.
"There are no words to describe how we are feeling in that locker room right now," head coach Jeff Quinn said after the loss. "The positives were that we ran the ball well. In that first drive of the game, we set the tone. In the second half, we weren't able to get the ball moving as effectively from an offensive standpoint. There are always going to be a few things - blocks, a few miscues here and there, maybe a few missed tackles, No excuses. We had a chance and we weren't able to complete the mission."
Licata finished the game 16-of-24 for 134 yards and a touchdown in blustery, cool conditions. Willoughby had four catches for 34 yards and Marcus McGill had three grabs for 41 yards to lead the receivers.
Lee Skinner had a season-high 11 tackles to lead the UB defense. Adam Redden and Witney Sherry each added eight stops. Boise Ross posted the Bulls' first interception of the season to go along with five tackles. The UB defense forced three turnovers on the afternoon.
The Bulls will next play at Eastern Michigan next Saturday.
Team Stats
UB 7, BGSU 0
UB - LICATA, Joe 1 yd run (CLARKE, Patrick kick), 15 plays, 75 yards, TOP 9:24
UB 7, BGSU 7
BGSU - GREENE, Travis 4 yd run (TATE, Tyler kick), 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:52
UB 7, BGSU 10
BGSU - TATE, Tyler 32 yd field goal 5 plays, 40 yards, TOP 1:28
UB 14, BGSU 10
UB - WILLOUGHBY, Ron 16 yd pass from LICATA, Joe (CLARKE, Patrick kick) 5 plays, 70 yards, TOP 2:24
UB 14, BGSU 17
BGSU - KNAPKE, James 1 yd run (TATE, Tyler kick), 10 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:37
UB 21, BGSU 17
UB - TAYLOR, Anthone 8 yd run (CLARKE, Patrick kick), 4 plays, 57 yards, TOP 2:04
UB 28, BGSU 17
UB - TAYLOR, Anthone 1 yd run (CLARKE, Patrick kick), 6 plays, 39 yards, TOP 3:43
UB 28, BGSU 20
BGSU - TATE, Tyler 35 yd field goal 7 plays, 47 yards, TOP 1:35
UB 28, BGSU 27
BGSU - MOORE, Ronnie 9 yd pass from KNAPKE, James (TATE, Tyler kick) 4 plays, 57 yards, TOP 1:29
UB 28, BGSU 30
BGSU - TATE, Tyler 31 yd field goal 10 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:57
UB 35, BGSU 30
UB - TAYLOR, Anthone 12 yd run (CLARKE, Patrick kick), 9 plays, 69 yards, TOP 3:58
UB 35, BGSU 36
BGSU - COPPET, Fred 4 yd run (KNAPKE, James passfailed), 4 plays, 80 yards, TOP 0:45
