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University at Buffalo
Kent State
Bulls Travel to Kent State on Thursday in Search of Fourth Straight Win
11/11/2019 4:26:00 PM | Football
Buffalo (5-4, 3-2 MAC) at Kent State (3-6, 2-3 MAC)
November 14, 2019
Dix Stadium - 7:00 pm
Radio
Buffalo - ESPN 1520
Rochester - Fox Sports 1280
Hornell - 1480 WLEA
Television
CBS Sports Network
Storylines
• Buffalo leads the all-time series, 13-11.
• The Bulls have won eight of the last 11 meetings with the Golden Flashes.
• Buffalo was won the last six games played at Kent State with its last loss coming in 2003.
• A win would make Buffalo bowl eligible for the third straight season and fifth time in program history.
• Buffalo is looking to win its fourth straight MAC game for the fourth time in program history (2008, 2013, 2017).
• The Bulls have had 18 sacks over the last four games while allowing only one.
• The UB defense has only allowed one 100-yard rusher on the season.
• The Bulls have allowed a total of 101 rushing yards over the last three games.
• UB quarterback Kyle Vantrease is from Stow, OH, just five miles from the Kent State campus.
• With 995 yards on the season, Jaret Patterson in five yards shy of becoming just the second player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons. He would join James Starks who rushed for 1,103 yards in 2007 and 1,333 yards in 2008.
• UB leads the MAC and ranks sixth in the nation in rush defense, allowing 85.0 yards per game.
• The Bulls have held halftime leads in eight of their nine games on the season.
Bulls Head to Kent State in Search of Fourth Straight Win
The University at Buffalo football team will travel to Kent State on Thursday night in search of their fourth straight win.
The Bulls are 5-4 overall and 3-2 in MAC play following a 43-14 win at Eastern Michigan on November 2. The Bulls were led by quarterback Kyle Vantrease who threw for 208 yards and a touchdown and rushed for two other scores in the game.
Kent State is 3-6 overall and 2-3 in the MAC on the season and is coming off a 35-33 loss at Toledo last Tuesday. The Rockets are led by quarterback Dustin Crum who has thrown for 1,605 yards and 13 touchdowns on the season.
Buffalo leads the all-time series, 13-11. The Bulls won the last meeting, 48-14, last season at UB Stadium.
Run Stoppers
Buffalo leads the MAC in total defense, but they have been especially stout against the run. The Bulls lead the MAC and rank sixth in the nation in rushing defense, allowing only 85.0 yards per game. UB is the only team in the MAC to allow less that 100 yards per game on the ground. Opponents gained a total of 101 yards over the last three games. With 107 yards, Miami's Jaylon Bester is the only player to rush for 100 yards on the Bulls this season.
In Buffalo's win at Eastern Michigan, the Bulls didn't allow a single rushing first down in the game.
Second Quarter Surge
Buffalo has used big second quarters to help pull away early in recent games. The Bulls scored 27 second-quarter points in each of their last two wins against both Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan. UB used a 27-point second quarter to take a 30-14 halftime lead against Central Michigan and a 27-point second quarter to take a 29-7 halftime lead against Eastern Michigan.
Taylor Made
Taylor Riggins has been making his presence known as of late. The Bulls' defensive end has had 5.5 sacks and six tackles for loss over the last four games. He now leads the team in sacks with six. Riggins' three fumble recoveries on the year are one shy of the single-season school record.
Serve and Protect
Buffalo's offensive line has done a good job protecting the quarterback. The Bulls have only allowed eight sacks on the season to rank sixth in the nation. UB has not allowed a sack in four of its nine games on the year and have only allowed one sack over the last four games. A season ago, the Bulls allowed 15 sacks, the fewest in their FBS era (since 1999).
Taking Matters into their own Hands
The UB defense has scored four touchdowns this season, including three in the last three games. The Bulls rank third in the nation in defensive touchdowns, trailing only Missouri and Illinois who each have five. Joey Banks had a pick six against Temple; Ledarius Mack returned a fumble for a touchdown at Akron; Kadofi Wright forced and recovered a fumble at Akron and had a pick six against Central Michigan.
Nunn Better
Antonio Nunn has been the favorite target of UB quarterbacks this season. The junior receiver leads the Bulls with 33 catches for 457 yards and five touchdowns. He has had at least two catches in the seven games he has played in. In addition, the Tampa native has five touchdown catches in the last five games.
Back in the Saddle
Redshirt-sophomore Kyle Vantrease made his first start of the season at quarterback against Ohio and looked quite comfortable. Vantrease accounted for all three of UB's touchdowns, throwing for two and rushing for one. He finished 16-of-23 for 197 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 19 yards and another score. Before redshirting last season, the Stow, OH native made one start as a true freshman in 2017.
In his four games as a starter this season, Vantrease has completed 58-of-94 passes for 649 yards four touchdowns and only one interception. He was named the MAC East Offensive Player of the Week following this performance against Eastern Michigan.
Capitalizing on Turnovers
The Bulls have forced 18 turnovers on the season - 10 fumble recoveries and eight interceptions. Buffalo ranks ninth in the nation in fumble recoveries. UB has been able to capitalize on takeaways, scoring points 12 times following a turnover, including 10 touchdowns.
Dynamic Duo
Jaret Patterson and Kevin Marks have been a dynamic duo in the Bulls' backfield. Patterson has rushed for 995 yards and seven touchdowns whileMarks has accounted for 730 yards and five scores on the year. While splitting carries, one of the two have posted 100-yard games in six of the last seven outings. Patterson has four 100-yard games and Marks has two.
Both sophomores, Patterson and Marks are already in the top ten in school history in career rushing. Patterson ranks eighth with 2,008 yards and Marks is ninth with 1,575 yards.
Shout Out for a Shut Out
The Bulls blanked Akron on Oct. 19 for just their third shutout of a Mid-American Conference opponent since joining the league in 1999. It was just the second ever road shutout of a MAC opponent. The previous shutouts were a 33-0 win at Western Michigan in 2013 and a 44-0 victory over Ohio at UB Stadium in 2001.
No Passing Zone
The Bulls have not needed to throw the ball a lot to be successful this season. In fact, UB has thrown for less than 100 yards in two of its wins this season. Buffalo threw for 69 yards in its season-opening win against Robert Morris and 67 yards in a 21-0 victory over Akron. Only two other times in their FBS era (since 1999) did the Bulls throw for less than 100 yards and win a game. Buffalo threw for 97 yards in a 10-6 win over Kent State in 2005 and 83 yards in a 26-17 win over Ohio in 2003.
Sack Lunch
The Bulls have had 18 sacks over the last four games, including a season-best five in their last two road games at Akron and Eastern Michigan. On the year, Buffalo has 29 sacks to rank second in the Mid-American Conference. The Bulls' sack attack has been led by three players, Taylor Riggins (6.0), Malcolm Koonce (4.5) and Ledarius Mack (4.0).
King of the Hill
Junior safety Tyrone Hill had the best game of his career against Ohio on Oct. 5. Hill finished with a career-high 15 tackles, the most by a UB player since Khalil Hodge had 20 tackles against Army in 2018. Hill leads the Bulls with 58 tackles and is also has a team-best nine pass break ups.
Ground and Pound
The UB running game is off to a great start to the season. The Bulls are averaging 224.4 yards through nine games. They rank fifth in the nation in rushing attempts with 456. UB logged 58 carries against both Penn State and Temple and 55 against Central Michigan. The 2,020 rushing yards through nine games are the most to start a season in the Bulls' FBS era (since 1999).
Leading the way are running backs Jaret Patterson and Kevin Marks. Patterson is averaging 104.4 yards per game on the ground to rank third in the MAC. Marks is averaging 80 yards per game to rank seventh in the conference.
Time after Time
The Bulls lead the MAC and ranks eighth in the nation in time of possession, averaging 34:07 per game.
The Bulls controlled the ball for 42:32 against Penn State. It was the team's highest time of possession in their modern FBS era (since 1999). The previous high was 42:30 against Bowling Green last season. The Bulls ran 90 plays, compared to just 46 plays for Penn State and outgained the Nittany Lions, 429-357 in total offense.
Not Standing Patt
UB running back Jaret Patterson is coming off the finest freshman season in school history and is already building on it in his second year with the program. Patterson rushed for 1,013 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2018, becoming the first freshman running back in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. He broke the previous record of 917 set by Aaron Leeper in 2002. In addition, Patterson's 14 rushing touchdowns were the most ever by a UB freshman and was two shy of the single season record held by James Starks (2008).
Patterson, the 2018 MAC Freshman of the Year, is on the watchlist for the Maxwell Award and the Doak Walker Award.
Through nine games, Patterson has rushed for 995 yards on 192 carries (5.2 ypc) and has scored seven touchdowns. At Miami (OH), he ripped off an 82-yard touchdown run - the longest by a UB player since James Starks had a 91-yard against Miami (OH) in 2007.
Onwuka Named Burlsworth Nominee
Chibueze Onwuka has been announced as a nominee for the Burlsworth Trophy, given annually to top player who originally joined the team as a walk-on. The junior defensive tackle walked on to the team prior to the 2017 season after starting his collegiate career as a wrestler at Niagara County Community College. This season, Onwuka ranks fourth on the team in tackles with 33, including six tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
Otwinowski Named Campbell Trophy Semifinalist
Senior linebacker Matt Otwinowski is a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy. Given annually to college football's top student-athlete, the Campbell Trophy is also known as the Academic Heisman.
Otwinowski is an accounting major with a 3.89 cumulative grade point average. He is a two-time Academic All-MAC selection and has been honored as a MAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete.
A pillar of the community, Otwinowski helped save the life of a stranger by donating his stem cells through the Be The Match Program. For his work in the community, he has been placed on the watch list for the AFCA Allstate Good Works Team and the Weurffel Trophy.
Experience on the Offensive Line
One of the strengths of the 2019 UB football team is the offensive line. The Bulls return four of their five starters from a season ago. Right guard Tomas Jack-Kurdyla has the most starts under his belt with 37. Left tackle Evin Ksiezarczyk is second with 35 starts. Right tackle Kayode Awosika has started 23 games for the Bulls and left guard Paul Nosworthy has 22 starts. In addition, Jacob Gall started the final five games at right guard last year.
Last season, UB's line blocked for an offense that ran for a school-record 2,648 yards and also allowed only 15 sacks, a program low since moving to the FBS level in 1999.
New Season, New Position
After serving as a reserve quarterback for the past three seasons, Dominic Johnson made the move to wide receiver shortly before the start of the 2019 campaign The move looks to be paying off. After not playing the position in his career, Johnson has six catches for 46 yards and a touchdown on the season. His first career touchdown came against Ohio on Oct. 5. At 6-5, 225, Johnson is a big target for the Bulls.
International Flavor
The Bulls have nine international players on this year's roster - by far the most in school history.
Buffalo has six players who hail from Canada, including Dominic Johnson (Ontario), Dev Lamour (Quebec), Cole Burniston (Ontario), Tomas Jack-Kurdyla (Quebec), Gabe Wallace (BC) and Julien Bourassa (Quebec). In addition, the Bulls have three players from Europe, Fabian Weitz (Germany), Alain Schaerer (Switzerland) and Jordan Avissey (France).
Pallotti Boys
The Bulls have five players from Maryland's Saint Vincent Pallotti High School on this year's team. Running back Jaret Patterson, linebackers James Patterson and Justin Mulbah, wide receiver Jelani Foster and cornerback Dylan Powell all played together for the Panthers.
Justin Winters, a former All-MAC linebacker for the Bulls, was a coach at Pallotti when the players were there.
