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University at Buffalo
5-5 , 3-3
Northern Illinois
7-3 , 5-1
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Illinois | 14 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 41 |
| Buffalo | 3 | 0 | 13 | 14 | 30 |
Licata Breaks All-Time Passing Mark in Loss to Northern Illinois
11/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
BUFFALO, NY– The University at Buffalo, the State University of New York football team nearly erased a 28-3 halftime deficit, but ultimately lost, 41-30, to Northern Illinois at UB Stadium on Wednesday night. The Bulls cut the lead to eight in the fourth quarter, but couldn't complete the comeback. Joe Licata threw for a season-best 354 yards to pass Drew Willy as UB's career leader in passing yards (8,936).
The Basics
Score: Northern Illinois 41, Buffalo 30
Records: Buffalo (5-5, 3-3 MAC), Northern Illinois (7-3, 5-1 MAC)
Location: UB Stadium, Buffalo, NY
Attendance: 17,180
Weather: Mostly clear, 45 degrees
How It Happened
Scoring Plays
- The Bulls took the opening kickoff and drove 60 yards to the Northern Illinois 9-yard line. Adam Mitcheson connected on a 26-yard field goal. (UB 3, NIU 0, 12:05 1Q)
- Ryan Graham hit Kenny Golladay on 15-yard slant for a touchdown. (UB 3, NIU 7, 6:03 1Q)
- The MAC's leading rusher Joel Bouagnon scored on a 58-yard touchdown run. (UB 3, NIU 14, 3:21 1Q)
- Northern Illinois capitalized on UB's second interception of the game and drove 77 yards on 11 plays. Bouagnon scored from one yard out for his second touchdown of the game. (UB 3, NIU 21, 8:25 2Q)
- After Randy Anyanwu forced a fumble, the Bulls took advantage by driving 67 yards on 10 plays and Marcus McGill made a spectacular one-handed catch from Joe Licata for a touchdown. (UB 10, NIU 28, 7:25 3Q)
- After a 58-yard kick return, Northern Illinois got a 22-yard field goal from Christian Hagan. (UB 10, NIU 31, 3:52 3Q)
- Jordan Johnson took a snap from the wildcat formation and dashed 47 yards for a touchdown. (UB 16, NIU 31, 1:44 3Q)
- Cameron Lewis stepped in front of a Graham pass for his first career interception and raced 68 yards for a touchdown. (UB 23, NIU 31, 13:27 4Q)
- On the second play of the Huskies' ensuing possession, Graham hit Golladay for a 68-yard touchdown. (UB 23, NIU 38, 12:46 4Q)
- After a defensive stand, the Bulls needed only five plays to drive 57 yards and Licata threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Collin Lisa. (UB 30, NIU 38, 6:46 4Q)
- Hagan made his second field goal of the game, a 47-yarder, to give the Huskies an 11-point lead (UB 30, NIU 41, 2:50 4Q)
Inside the Numbers
- Joe Licata finished 31-for-47 for a season-high 354 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions in the game.
- Matt Weiser had a team-high eight catches for 59 yards.
- Ron Willoughby had a team-high 101 yards on six catches.
- Marcus McGill had seven catches for 79 yards and his third touchdown of the season.
- Collin Lisa had career highs of five catches for 73 yards and caught his second TD of the season.
- Jordan Johnson was the Bulls leading rusher with 66 yards on six carries. 47 yards came on his touchdown run.
- Nick Gilbo had a career-high 19 tackles in the game.
- Ryan Williamson and Okezie Alozie also had career highs in tackles with 16 and 14, respectively.
- Northern Illinois outgained UB, 524-432, in total offense.
Key Stat
- The Bulls had a season-high 105 tackles in the game – their most since having 108 against Toledo in 2007.
Game Changer
- Just two plays after Cameron Lewis' pick six cut the NIU lead to eight points early in the fourth quarter, the Huskies scored on a 68-yard pass play to regain a 15-point advantage.
Nota-BULLS:
- It was UB's fourth game in 18 days.
- Joe Licata became UB's all-time leader in passing yards with 8,936 yards.
- Licata now ranks ninth in MAC history with 74 career touchdown passes.
- Matt Weiser now has 53 catches – the most by a UB tight in its FBS era. Chad Bartoszek set the previous mark of 45 in 2002.
- Licata's 31 completions were the ninth most in a single game in school history and his 358 passing yards were the sixth most in UB's FBS era.
- Nick Gilbo's 19 tackles were the most by a UB player since Davonte Shannon had 20 against Army in 2008.
- It was Ron Willoughby's fourth career 100-yard receiving game.
- Cameron Lewis' pick six was UB's seventh defensive touchdown to lead the nation.
- Jacob Byron, a corporal in the United States Marine Corp, led the team on the field carrying the American flag.
Quota-Bulls
Lance Leipold:
What do you think allowed you to get back into the game: "We just start making some plays. I'm sure there's probably a little bit with them being up in the game, but we got a chance to execute and we got a little rhythm and things start clicking for us a little bit, chance to play a little faster.
On second-half comeback: "I am proud the way it ended up, we talked about it at halftime they had a choice and really the next thirty minutes could really have an influence on how the next two and a half games could play out. I don't think we responded well to some of the things that happened in the first half and how they came after us and there wasn't any yelling or screaming it was just a matter of challenging a little bit. I said it's just a way we go about everything that we do, we're not going to change were going to keep demanding effort and everything that were going to do and that wasn't going to change and I thought they responded well to it."
On tempo of NIU: "They have an impressive tempo, a lot of things attribute to things like that, whether or not it's a young quarterback or not, but it's a system, its upper classmen its execution, it's consistent practices a lot of things that allow your system to develop and grow a lot of things go to that. I was very impressed with Rod Carey and his staff, they did a nice job."
Joe Licata:
What do you think about comeback overall feeling: "The comeback is not surprising. We got a lot of talent on this team and a lot of will power and a lot of pride, so to get beaten down the first half like we did, we were not going to take that all in the second half so we came back and fought."
Differences in second half offensively: "We had a lot of quick game throws, got our running game going a little bit, did a little bit of that wildcat stuff. Jordan Johnson made a great run down the sideline to score. I think our offensive line did a great job especially in second half with giving me time, finding some holes for Anthony and Jordan.
Touchdown pass to Collin Lisa: "It was a sprint out, he was running a little wheel rout and we knew they were getting pretty aggressive jumping the quick game throws so this was our answer to it and he slipped up the sideline and he had a little separation. I didn't even see it because I was on the ground, but I heard everyone."
On setting the school record for passing yards: "I mean looking back down the road I am sure this will mean a little more to me than it does right now. Right now I'm pretty upset about this loss, but anytime you are mentioned with Drew Willy it's an honor."
Jordan Johnson:
On wildcat TD run: "I was supposed to bounce on the inside initially but then the linebacker flew over the top so I tried to cut it on the inside then I just stayed with my key read and I bounced it back outside. The offensive line the tight ends and the receivers made key blocks to help me score.
On Licata: "I see somebody who cares about the game. For the past three weeks we have been roommates and today I walked in and he had his play book going over everything he needed to do for the game. You can tell he really cares about the game with a passion. I played him in high school too setting records is nothing new to him as he was setting New York State records back then. He's a good quarterback and he's a great quarterback for our team."
Nick Gilbo
The run defense in the first half: "I mean we knew they were going to ground and pound us. They got a couple big plays that we weren't gap sound on. In the second half, we came out and filled the gaps and we just didn't come out in the first half and play hard.
Run game defense vs. Bouagnon: "We knew he was going to be a downhill runner and that's what he did. We had to push piles back and they were getting extra yards in those piles. We had to push back and we just didn't do that in the first half. In the second half we tightened up a little bit and that's what it was."
On hurry up offense: "They were really quick, I mean they went really fast, but we had to get down and play ball and that's what we didn't do in the first half we just didn't do it effectively enough. I don't know if they watched film or what they did they just went really fast, they knew we looked at the sidelines and looked down to our wrists so props to them."
Up Next
The Bulls will next play at Akron on November 21. The Zips are 4-5 overall and 2-3 in the MAC. They will play at Miami (OH) on Saturday.
Team Stats
NIU 0, UB 3
UB - MITCHESON, Adam 26 yd field goal 8 plays, 60 yards, TOP 2:55
NIU 7, UB 3
NIU - GOLLADAY, Kenny 15 yd pass from GRAHAM, Ryan (HAGAN, Christia kick) 11 plays, 59 yards, TOP 3:24
NIU 14, UB 3
NIU - BOUAGNON, Joel 58 yd run (HAGAN, Christia kick), 4 plays, 76 yards, TOP 1:09
NIU 21, UB 3
NIU - BOUAGNON, Joel 1 yd run (HAGAN, Christia kick), 11 plays, 77 yards, TOP 3:33
NIU 28, UB 3
NIU - HUFF, Jordan 1 yd run (HAGAN, Christia kick), 10 plays, 80 yards, TOP 3:14
NIU 28, UB 10
UB - MCGILL, Marcus 16 yd pass from LICATA, Joe (MITCHESON, Adam kick) 10 plays, 67 yards, TOP 4:33
NIU 31, UB 10
NIU - HAGAN, Christia 22 yd field goal 10 plays, 34 yards, TOP 3:23
NIU 31, UB 16
UB - JOHNSON, Jordan 47 yd run (MITCHESON, Adam kickblocked), 5 plays, 78 yards, TOP 2:03
NIU 31, UB 23
UB - LEWIS, Cameron 68 yd interception (MITCHESON, Adam kick)
NIU 38, UB 23
NIU - GOLLADAY, Kenny 68 yd pass from GRAHAM, Ryan (HAGAN, Christia kick) 2 plays, 67 yards, TOP 0:35
NIU 38, UB 30
UB - LISA, Collin 35 yd pass from LICATA, Joe (MITCHESON, Adam kick) 5 plays, 57 yards, TOP 1:08
NIU 41, UB 30
NIU - HAGAN, Christia 47 yd field goal 4 plays, 5 yards, TOP 0:24
