Bulls Travel to Miami (OH) for MAC Opener on Saturday

Saturday, September 28

Oxford, OH

12 pm

Miami (OH)

Bulls Travel to Miami (OH) for MAC Opener on Saturday

9/24/2019 12:47:00 PM | Football

Game Notes - Week 5 Watch Live Listen Live Live Stats Weekly Press Conference

Buffalo (2-2, 0-0 MAC) at Miami (OH) (1-3, 0-0 MAC)
September 28, 2019
Yager Stadium - 12:00 pm

Bulls on the Air
Radio
Buffalo - ESPN 1520
Rochester - Fox Sports 1280
Hornell - 1480 WLEA

Television
ESPN+

Storylines
• The Bulls have won five of the last seven meetings with the RedHawks.

• The Bulls are 7-13 all time in Mid-American Conference openers.

• Buffalo has rushed for 200+ yards in three of its four games on the season.

• The Bulls have rushed for 892 yards through the first four games. It is the highest rushing total over the first four games of the season in UB's modern era (since 1999).

• Buffalo ranks second in the nation in rushing attempts with 207 through four games.

• Jaret Patterson and Kevin Marks are both in the top five in the MAC in rushing. Patterson is third, averaging 90.8 yards per game and Marks is fifth, averaging 79.8 yards per game.

• Jaret Patterson's next rushing touchdown will be the 18th of his career and will move him into the top 10 in school history in career rushing touchdowns. He will tie Steven King (2003-06) and Anthone Taylor (2011-15) who are tied for ninth.

• The Bulls have held each of their last three opponents to under 100 yards rushing - Penn State (78), Liberty (76) and Temple (31).

• Four of Matt Myers' five touchdown passes on the season have been thrown to tight ends.

• The Bulls lead the MAC in total defense, allowing 321.8 yards per game.

Bulls Travel to Miami (OH) for MAC Opener on Saturday
The University at Buffalo football team will travel to Miami (OH) on Saturday afternoon for the Mid-American Conference opener for both schools.

The Bulls are 2-2 on the season and are coming off a 38-22 win over Temple last Saturday. The Bulls were led by running back Jaret Patterson who rushed for a season-best 133 yards and two touchdowns in the game.

Miami is 1-3 on the season and is coming off a 76-5 loss to #5 Ohio State last Saturday. The RedHawks are led by quarterback Brett Gabbert who has thrown for 529 yards and two touchdowns on the season.

Miami leads the all-time series, 14-7. The Bulls won the last meeting, 51-42, last season at UB Stadium.

Run Stoppers
The UB defense has been stout against the run so far this season. The Bulls lead the MAC and rank 16th in the nation in rushing defense, allowing only 83.2 yards per game. The Bulls have held each of their last three opponents to under 100 yards rushing. They held Penn State to 78, Liberty to 76 and Temple to 31 yards on the ground.

Converting on Third Down
The Bulls have done an excellent job extending drives by converting third downs this season. Buffalo leads the MAC in third-down conversion, converting 44.6 percent of the time (20-of-65).

Ground and Pound
The UB running game is off to a great start to the season. The Bulls are averaging 223 yards through four games. They rank second in the nation in rushing attempts with 207, second only to Army's 241. UB logged 58 carries against both Penn State and Temple. The 892 rushing yards through four games is 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 90.7 yards per game on the ground to rank third in the MAC. Marks is averaging 79.7 yards per game to rank fifth in the conference.

Banks Named MAC East Defensive Player of the Week for Second Time
For the second time in the last three weeks, Joey Banks was named the Mid-American Conference East Division Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against Temple.

Banks had six solo tackles and an interception returned for a touchdown in a 38-22 win over Temple. Banks spearheaded a defensive effort that held the Owls to only 31 yards rushing. Banks sealed the win with a 46-yard pick six, the first by a Buffalo player since the 2015 season.

Time after Time
The Bulls rank eighth in the nation in time of possession, averaging 34:30 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.

Toe Jackson
Early in the second quarter against Temple last week, Jackson Baltar trotted out to attempt his first career field goal. All the true freshman did was step up and drill a 52-yarder. It was the second longest field goal in school history - Gerald Carlson holds the record with a 54-yarder in 1996. Baltar tied John Rahuna (2010) for the longest made field goal in UB's modern FBS era (since 1999). Baltar is a perfect 6-for-6 on extra points on the season.

New Faces Finding the End ZoneIf it seems like new faces have been finding the endzone on a weekly basis to start the season, it's because they have. Five of UB's first eight touchdowns on the season were scored by players registering the first touchdowns of their careers.

Matt Myers scored his first career touchdown on a short run against Robert Morris. Ron Cook added a 3-yard run for his first career touchdown against the Colonials. At Penn State, Buffalo's lone touchdown was a reception by tight end Julien Bourassa for his first career score. Running back Dylan McDuffie and tight end Cole Burniston each had their first touchdowns on catches at Liberty.

Not Standing Patt
UB running back Jaret Patterson is coming off the finest freshman season in school history and looks to build 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 four games, Patterson has rushed for 363 yards on 79 carries (4.6 ypc) and has scored three touchdown.

Vantrease Stepping Up in New Role
After losing starting punter Evan Finegan to an injury in week two, the coaching staff turned to backup quarterback Kyle Vantrease to fill in. The redshirt-sophomore seems to be getting more comfortable each week. He had his best outing last week, averaging 41.3 yards per punt, including a 51-yarder.

Kicker Jackson Baltar has also filled in at punter, when the team is on a shorter field and looking to pin an opponent deep in their own territory.

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 33. Left tackle Evin Ksiezarczyk is second with 30 starts. Right tackle Kayode Awosika has started 18 games for the Bulls and left guard Paul Nosworthy has 17 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.

Nunn Better
Antonio Nunn had the best game of his career at Penn State, finishing with five catches for 113 yards - both career highs. The junior receiver had two catches of over 40+ yards, a 42-yarder in the first quarter and a 40-yarder in the second quarter. He continues to be dangerous deep threat for the Bulls. Over his career, Nunn has seven catches of 40 or more yards.

This season, Nunn leads the Bulls in receiving with 12 catches for 185 yards.

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 stepped up and had three catches for 27 yards at Penn State. At 6-5, 225, Johnson is a big target for the Bulls.

Welcome Matt
Redshirt-freshman Matt Myers earned the starting quarterback job out of camp. The local product was the first freshman or redshirt freshman quarterback to start the season opener in the Bulls FBS era (since 1999). Cliff Scott was the last freshman to start under center for the Bulls when he started the 1991 opener as a redshirt-freshman.

Through four games, Myers has thrown for 543 yards and five touchdowns. At Penn State he threw for 245 yards and a score.

As a senior at West Seneca West High School, he led the Indians to an undefeated season and its first ever state championship in 2017 and was named the game MVP. He was named the 2017 Buffalo News Western New York Player of the Year and was a two-time All-WNY First Team choice. He threw for 2,397 yards and rushed for 1,037 yards his senior year to become just the third quarterback in WNY history to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in the same season. He had 24 passing touchdowns, only two interceptions and 22 rushing touchdowns is senior season.

Watch Out
The Bulls have three players on five different NCFAA award preseason watch lists. Running back Jaret Patterson, linebacker Matt Otwinowski and Evan Finegan all appear on watch lists.

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).

Otwinowski Named Campbell Trophy Nominee
Senior linebacker Matt Otwinowski is a nominee 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.

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.

Youth at Receiver
The Bulls have a number of new faces at wide receiver this season. In fact, of the UB receiving corps, only two players have registered a catch for the Bulls. Antonio Nunn has the most experience, playing in 26 games and making 27 receptions for 447 yards and two touchdowns. Tito Overton is the only other receiver with game experience and he has one career catch.

Recruiting wide receivers was a clear focus for the coaching staff in the offseason - especially adding receivers with experience. The Bulls have three new receivers from the junior college ranks on the squad in the fall, including Daniel Lee (Cisco College), Bernard Porter (Highland CC) and Carlton Todd (Iowa Central CC).