Bulls Earn Road Shutout at Akron, 21-0

Saturday, October 19

Akron, OH

3:30 pm

3-4 , 1-2

Akron

0-7 , 0-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

BUFFALO

AKRON

Bulls Earn Road Shutout at Akron, 21-0

10/19/2019 8:33:00 PM | Football

Box Score

AKRON, OH – The University at Buffalo football team produced one of its finest defensive efforts in recent history, shutting out Akron, 21-0, at InfoCision Stadium on Saturday afternoon. It was just the Bulls' second ever road shutout against a Mid-American Conference opponent since joining the conference in 1999.

Buffalo scored two defensive touchdowns, forced four turnovers, had 11 tackles for loss, five sacks and held the Zips to just three yards rushing.

On their opening possession, the Bulls marched 75 yards on 14 plays and took a 7-0 lead on a two-yard touchdown run by Kevin Marks midway through the first quarter. It would be all the offense Buffalo would need as the defense took over from there.

UB's 7-0 lead would last until late in the third quarter when Taylor Riggins blitzed off the edge, sacked the Akron quarterback and jarred the ball free. Ledarius Mack scooped up the loose change and scampered 35 yards for the touchdown, giving the Bulls a 14-0 advantage.

Kadofi Wright scored the defense's second touchdown of the game midway through the fourth quarter. The junior linebacker sacked the Akron quarterback, forced a fumble and fell on the loose ball in the endzone for the score.

"I was really impressed with the way our defense flew around today," head coach Lance Leipold said. "We thought we had some good matchups up front and, with some pressure, we thought we could make some things happen and they did today."

The Bulls rushed for 189 yards in the game, led by Jaret Patterson's 88 yards on 17 carries. Marks finished with 71 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown.

Quarterback Kyle Vantrease, a native of Stow, OH, just eight miles from the Akron campus, had good command of the offense, finishing 14-of-23 for 65 yards. His favorite target was Daniel Lee who had a career-high six catches for 30 yards.

But this game was all about the UB defense. Wright finished with five tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Mack had three tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Joey Banks had five tackles, including two tackles for loss. Wankeith Akin, Jr. sealed the win with his first career interception.

With the win, the Bulls improved to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in MAC play. They will return home next Saturday to host Central Michigan at UB Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 pm.