Paul Peck's Bull Session: Kent State
11/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Each week, Voice of Bulls Football Paul Peck will preview the upcoming game.
Buffalo (4-6, 2-4) vs. Kent State (1-9, 0-6)
How quickly things can change in the sport of football. Riding a four game losing streak, and coming off a miserable loss to Ohio, I wondered what we would see from the Bulls for the final three games. I wondered it even more after turnovers on the first two offensive possessions against Akron. But then, the entire game and the rest of the season turned around last Tuesday against the Zips. The Bulls scored on seven of their next eight drives, and did it with some coaching innovations and inspired play. Now, with this game against Kent State and next week's against UMass, the Bulls have some momentum and a chance to finish 6-6. Joe Licata and Anthone Taylor have found their groove again, and the defense is coming off their best effort of the season. If the weather doesn't have too much of an impact, the Bulls will have a chance to keep the momentum rolling.
The Golden Flashes are just looking for something to feel good about. Their record doesn't tell the story of their season. Even though they have not won a MAC game, they have battled in every one. Five of their six losses are by 10 points or less, and they have been within seven points in the 4th quarter of every conference game. They are young, with 22 players making their first career start this season.
Bullseye on: Buffalo Offense
Let's give a lot of credit to the Bulls coaches for making the decision to use Tony Daniel's read option skills at quarterback. It surprised the Akron defense, and was a big key to the victory. Just like the Bulls had trouble at Eastern Michigan, the Zips just weren't ready to stop Daniel's running and ball handling skills. Daniel has always shown the ability to run, but this was the first time the read option was a regular part of the UB offense. Add in Jordan Johnson's TD pass, and the Bulls used three players at QB, and all three either scored a touchdown or threw for one....Give credit to Licata for bouncing back from that early pick six. He shook that off, and wound up throwing four touchdown passes. That gave him the UB career mark, and tied him with Drew Willy for the single season record....Joe found a new target for two of his scores, and that's another credit to the offensive coaches for a new wrinkle. Devon Campbell caught his first score after lining up in the slot. That had not been show much this season. Campbell's second was a wheel route where he came out of the backfield, another play that has not been shown much in 2014...Taylor ran just like he did earlier this year. He crossed 1000 yards for the season, joining James Starks and Branden Oliver as FBS Bulls who have hit the century mark. He's 369 yards from Oliver's school record....Matt Weiser's TD catch on the throw from Johnson was the same play that Weiser dropped in the Army game. The coaches sensed that Akron might not have gone back to look at game tape from the second game, so they tried it again. But only after Weiser convinced Alex Wood that he would make the play....Weiser's 286 yards receiving and four touchdowns are the most by a UB tight end since Jesse Rack in 2009....Kent State's defense is very young, with eight freshman or sophomores scheduled to start. Overall, they're 9th in total defense. But they are second against the pass, 12th against the run. Some of that is team's focusing on the ground game, but some of it the outstanding play of the Golden Flashes' safeties. Nate Holley leads the MAC in tackles with 127, which ranks 3rd in the country. Jordan Italiano's 92 tackles are 6th in the conference. While both are outstanding players, no defense wants their safeties to be making all the stops....Up front, defensive tackle Nate Terhune is the key player for Kent State. He is coming off a 2.5 sack effort against Bowling Green...The Golden Flashes are last in the MAC in sacks, with just seven all season.... They have also struggled to stop teams in the red zone, allowing 38 scores and 28 TD's on 43 trips.
Bullseye on: Buffalo Defense
For the first time this season, I don't have to talk about the Bulls defense giving up big plays...except to tell you that they allowed only one against Akron, a 22 yard completion. Holding Akron to 68 yards rushing and just 229 total yards made it the Bulls top defensive game of the season....Much like the Zips, Kent State doesn't run much or very well. They are last in the MAC at 79 yards per game. Part of that is due to missing last year's starter, Trayion Durham. He's been out all season with a foot injury. Also without second stringer Tristin Boykin, the Flashes have been using Nick Holley and Anthony Meray. But they have combined for just 561 yards...Colin Reardon will start at QB for Kent State. He started the first nine games, but was replaced last week by Nathan Strock. Strock struggled against BG, so Reardon is back. He has been inconsistent this year, and sometimes presses and tries to do too much. Reardon leads the MAC with 15 interceptions, and he's thrown three or more in 3 different games. Last game against the Falcons, Reardon threw four picks....The top receiver for Kent State is tight end Casey Pierce. He has 54 catches, to lead all MAC tight ends. Pierce has three or more catches in 11 straight games, and he's coming off a 12 catch, 127 yard effort...Chris Humphrey is the top wide receiver, with 42 catches. He had a 132 yard performance against BG, giving Kent State two 100+ receivers in a game for the first time since 2005...The offensive line has been an issue, with 7 different starting combinations. Center Alex Nielsen is the only lineman to start all 10 games...Nielson will have his hands full blocking Kristjan Sokoli, who has been a sparkplug the last few weeks. Moving away from nose tackle fulltime, Sokoli has been much more active in making tackles and knocking down passes...Linebacker Jarrett Franklin had a career-high 3 tackles for loss against Akron...Adam Redden continues to lead the MAC with 14 tackles for loss. His six sacks are third in the conference...The Bulls have 8 sacks in the last 3 games.
Bullseye on: Jason Bitsko
The late Kent State offensive lineman's number 54 will be on the Golden Flashes helmets for this game. He'll also be on the mind of Anthone Taylor. Bitsko was going to be Kent State's starting center this year, before tragically passing away in August. Bitsko and Taylor were teammates at Wayne High School in Huber Heights, OH. Bitsko's death hit Taylor hard, but he's used the memory of his friend for inspiration. At practice, Taylor wears a number 54 jersey, not his usual number 1. At every postgame news conference, Taylor always wears the 54 jersey. Anthone's greatest tribute to Bitsko has been seen on the field, where Taylor has set career highs in every category and is on his way to one of best seasons a Bulls running back has ever had.
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 7:00pm. 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).
