Bulls Travel to Penn State to Face Nationally-Ranked Nittany Lions on Saturday Night

Saturday, September 7

University Park, PA

7:30 pm

Penn State

Bulls Travel to Penn State to Face Nationally-Ranked Nittany Lions on Saturday Night

9/3/2019 1:26:00 PM | Football

Game Notes - Week 2 Watch Live Listen Live Live Stats Weekly Press Conference (video)

Buffalo (1-0, 0-0 MAC) at #15 Penn State (1-0, 0-0 B10)
September 7, 2019
Beaver Stadium - 7:30 pm

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

Television
FOX

Storylines

• The Bulls are 1-8 all time against teams from the Big Ten Conference. UB won at Rutgers last season for its first Big Ten win. Buffalo did defeat Penn State in 1900 and Rutgers in 2002, but it was before the teams joined the conference.

• The Bulls are 1-12 all time against ranked opponents. Their lone win came against #14 Ball State in the 2008 MAC Championship Game.

• Penn State leads the all-time series, 2-1.

• This will be the first time the Bulls will appear nationally on an over-the-air network. UB did play Holy Cross on ABC in 1970, however the game was only broadcast on the east coast.

• Matt Myers was the first freshman/redshirt-freshman quarterback to start a season opener for the Bulls since redshirt-freshman Cliff Scott started under center in the 1991 opener.

• This will be Buffalo's third trip to Beaver Stadium in its history - the largest stadium the Bulls have ever played in. UB also played at Penn State in 2007 and 2015.

• The Bulls only attempted 10 passes last week against Robert Morris, it's fewest pass attempts since attempted seven passes in a 48-20 win over UCF on Oct. 2, 2004.

• Returning MAC Freshman of the Year Jaret Patterson is on the watchlist for both the Maxwell Award and the Doak Walker Award.

• This will be the only regular season game the Bulls will play on natural grass.

Bulls Travel to Penn State to Face 15th-ranked Nittany Lions
The University at Buffalo football team will travel to Penn State for a prime-time matchup with the 15th-ranked Nittany Lions on Saturday night.

The Bulls are 1-0 on the season following a 38-10 win over Robert Morris last Thursday night. The Bulls were led by quarterback Matt Myers who threw for two touchdowns and ran for another.

Penn State is 1-0 after routing Idaho, 79-7, last Saturday. The Nittany Lions are led by quarterback Sean Clifford who threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns against the Vandals.

Penn State leads the all-time series, 2-1. The Nittany Lions won the last meeting, 27-14, on Sept. 12, 2015 at Beaver Stadium.

Ground and Pound
Buffalo used a steady dose of the run game to earn a 38-10 win over Robert Morris in the season opener. Of the Bulls' 57 plays, 47 were run plays. UB rushed for 285 yards against the Colonials, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. The Bulls only attempted 10 passes in the game. It was their fewest pass attempts in a game since the 2004 season when they attempted seven passes in a 48-20 win over UCF. Former quarterback Chris Moore went 5-for-7 for 195 yards against the Knights that day.

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 preseason watchlist for the Maxwell Award and the Doak Walker Award.

In the opener against Robert Morris, Patterson rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries. He has now scored a rushing touchdown in 10 of his last 11 games dating back to last season.

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 29. Left tackle Evin Ksiezarczyk is second with 26 starts. Right tackle Kayode Awosika started all 14 games for the Bulls last season and left guard Paul Nosworthy had 13 starts last season. 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.

Welcome Matt
Redshirt-freshman Matt Myers earned the starting quarterback job out of camp. The local product is 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.

In his debut against Robert Morris, Myers had a productive game, throwing for 69 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 47 yards and another 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.

Lefebvre Carries the Tight End Torch
Tight ends have excelled in coach Leipold's offense since he came to Buffalo in 2015. The Bulls have had tight ends named All-MAC in three of the last four years, including Matt Weiser (2015/1st team), Mason Schreck (2016/2nd team) and Tyler Mabry (2018/1st team). Zac Lefebvre is hoping to add his name to that list as the Bulls' starting tight end in 2019. The junior from Victor, NY is off to a good start as he had two catches for 43 yards and two touchdowns in the opener against Robert Morris. He was the first UB tight end with two touchdown receptions in a game since Jesse Rack caught two against Gardner Webb on Oct. 10, 2009.

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.

Buffalo Players on NCFAA Watch Lists
Jaret Patterson , Maxwell Award/Doak Walker Award
Matt Otwinowski, Wuerffel Trophy/AFCA Good Works Team
Evan Finegan, Ray Guy Award

Nine Bulls Named to Athlon Preseason All-MAC Team
Athlon Sports released its preseason All-Mid-American Conference football team and nine University at Buffalo players were named to the squad. The list was headlined by three first-team selections, running back Jaret Patterson, offensive tackle Evin Ksiezarczyk and offensive guard Paul Nosworthy.

Defensive end Taylor Riggins and linebacker James Patterson were named to the second team.

The third team included running back Kevin Marks, offensive tackle Kayode Awosika, defensive end Malcolm Koonce and cornerback Aapri Washington.

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).

The Stable is Able
There is a term running backs coach Andy Kotelnicki uses to describe his group of running backs and that is "the stable". The Bulls have a deep backfield led by MAC Freshman of the Year Jaret Patterson. The sophomore rushed for 1,013 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2018. He split time with Kevin Marks who also posted impressive numbers in his first season. Marks rushed for 845 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2018, on three less carries than Patterson.

However the Bulls are even deeper than the sophomore duo of Patterson and Marks. Junior Theo Anderson has been a productive back over his first two seasons. The Florida native has rushed for 488 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 4.3 yards per carry over his career. He rushed for a career-high 133 yards and a touchdown in a game against Bowling Green in 2017.

Redshirt-freshman Dylan McDuffie and freshman Ron Cook have both had strong camps and should also get carries as well.

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).

Bulls vs. the Big Ten
This will be Buffalo's tenth matchup with a Big Ten opponent. The Bulls are 1-8 all-time against Big Ten foes with their lone win coming last season at Rutgers, 42-13.

History of Bulls vs. Big Ten Opponents

Year	Opponent	Result
1901	Michigan	L, 128-0
2002	at Minnesota	L, 41-17
2003	ar #23 Iowa	L, 56-7
2006	at #12 Wisconsin	L, 35-3
2007	at #12 Penn State	L, 45-24
2013	at #2 Ohio State	L, 40-20
2015	at Penn State	L, 27-14
2017	at Minnesota	L, 17-7
2018	at Rutgers	W, 42-13

New Faces on the Coaching Staff
Head Coach Lance Leipold added three new coaches to his staff during the offseason.

Scott Fuchs is the new offensive line coach. A 25-year coaching veteran, he most recently spent the past five seasons as offensive line coach at Wyoming.

Jeff Burrow is the new safeties coach. He was the safeties coach at Kent State from 2011-17. He was the Golden Flashes' co-defensive coordinator in 2017.

Brad McCaslin will coach the defensive tackles. McCaslin has over 20 years of coaching experience. He was the defensive coordinator at Eastern Michigan in 2014 and 2015.

Murchie Family Fieldhouse Opens
Thanks to a record gift by the Murchie family, the Murchie Family Fieldhouse opened in April. The 92,000-square-foot indoor practice facility is situated just beyond the north end zone of UB Stadium on the university's North Campus.

The multi-use facility not only houses a full-size football field, but also features 6,000 feet of rubber track for sprint practice as well as long/triple jump and pole vault pits. It will also have motorized suspended softball hitting tunnels.

On The Airwaves
Again this season, University at Buffalo football can be heard locally on ESPN 1520, a 50,000-watt station with one of the strongest signals in the nation. The Bulls can also be heard on 1280 AM in Rochester and 1480 AM in Hornell.

Calling all the play-by-play action of Bulls football for his 20th year, and 12th consecutive, will be Paul Peck. Scott Wilson is back for his third season as analyst. Brad Riter also returns as game host.

Again this season, the UB Football postgame show will take place at Santora's on Millersport with host Bob Gaughan.

Peck will host the UB Football Insider with Lance Leipold on Monday nights at 5:00 pm. The show air on ESPN 1520 and will be taped at the Santora's Millersport location on Mondays at noon.