University at Buffalo
Northern Illinois
Bulls Open 2020 Campaign at Northern Illinois on Wednesday Night
10/30/2020 12:10:00 PM | Football
Buffalo (0-0, 0-0 MAC) at Northern Illinois (0-0, 0-0 MAC)
November 4, 2020
Huskie Stadium - 7:00 pm (EST)
Radio
Buffalo - ESPN 1520
Rochester - Fox Sports 1280
Television
ESPN2
Storylines
• The Bulls are kicking off their 108th season of football.
• The Bulls are looking for their first win against Northern Illinois since joining the Mid-American Conference in 1999 (0-11). NIU is the only MAC opponent the Bulls have not defeated since joining the conference.
• This is a rematch of the 2018 MAC Championship game in which the Huskies won, 30-29.
• Jaret Patterson is 188 yards shy of becoming the fifth running back in school history to rush for 3,000 career yards.
• Jaret Patterson's next rushing touchdown will tie James Starks (2006-08) for the school record for career touchdowns with 34.
• The Bulls return all three players that attempted a pass, six of seven players that had a carry and 12 of 14 players that recorded a reception in 2019.
• Malcolm Koonce (9) and Taylor Riggins (8.5) were the top two sackers in the MAC last season.
• Buffalo is predicted to finish first in the MAC East Division by the media and second by the coaches.
• UB quarterbacks coach/co-offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski was the quarterbacks coach at NIU in 2010. Northern Illinois offensive line coach Daryl Agpalsa was the offensive line coach at UB from 2015-18 and NIU linebackers coach Robert Wimberly was the linebackers coach at UB in 2009.
• Seven starters return to one of the most dominant defenses in recent memory. The Bulls led the MAC in total defense and were especially stout against the run, allowing only 94.2 yards per game which ranked fourth in the country in 2019.
Bulls Open 2020 Campaign at Northern Illinois
The University at Buffalo football team will kick off the 2020 season at Northern Illinois on Wednesday night. It will be the first of six straight games against Mid-American Conference opponents.
The Bulls are coming off a season in which they went 8-5 and defeated Charlotte in the Bahamas Bowl for the program's first ever bowl win.
Buffalo returns 19 players who started two or more games in 2019. The Bulls were picked first in the MAC East Division preseason media poll and second in the MAC East Division preseason coaches poll.
Northern Illinois is coming off a 5-7 season. The Huskies were picked seventh in the MAC West Division preseason poll.
Northern Illinois leads the all-time series, 12-1. The Huskies won the last meeting, 30-29, in the 2018 MAC Championship game.
Not Standing Patt
UB running back Jaret Patterson is coming off the finest season by a running back in school history and looks to build on it in his third year with the program. Patterson rushed for a school-record 1,799 yards in 2019, breaking the previous record of 1,535 yards set by Branden Oliver in 2013. In addition, Patterson's 19 rushing touchdowns were also a single-season school record, breaking the record of 16 held by James Starks (2008) and Lee Jones (1966).
Patterson posted eye-popping numbers to finish the 2019 campaign. He rushed for 663 yards and 12 touchdowns over the last three games of the season. He broke the MAC record for rushing touchdowns in a game when he scored six times to go along with 298 rushing yards against Bowling Green on Nov. 29.
A first-team All-MAC selection in 2019, Patterson was a preseason All-American and is on the preseason watchlists for the Maxwell Award and the Doak Walker Award.
On Your Marks
While Jaret Patterson got most of the headlines last season, running back Kevin Marks also had a breakout season for the Bulls. As a sophomore, The Virginia native rushed for a career-best 1,035 yards and eight touchdowns last year. It marked the first time in school history the Bulls had two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season. Marks had a rushing touchdown in each of the last six games of the regular season.
Marks rushed for over 100 yards five different times, including 118 yards on 16 carries against Toledo and 112 yards against Ohio.
Marks joins Patterson on the Doak Walker Award watch list. Buffalo is one of just nine schools in the country to have multiple candidates on the Doak Walker list.
Pick Your Poison
The Bulls feature two of the best defensive ends in the Mid-American Conference. Malcolm Koonce and Taylor Riggins were both All-MAC First Team selections in 2019 and both are on the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.
Koonce led the Mid-American Conference in sacks last season with nine. The senior defensive end added 34 tackles and 11 tackles for loss on the season. He was named the Defensive MVP of the 2019 Bahamas Bowl after recording five tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble against Charlotte. Koonce was also named to the Reese's Senior Bowl Top 250.
Riggins tallied 8.5 sacks in 2019, second only to Koonce in the MAC. He added 50 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and three fumble recoveries on the season. Riggins has also been named to the Bednarik Award Watch List.
Building a Consistent Winner
Head Coach Lance Leipold has been able to build a consistent winning program since being hired prior to the 2015 season. The Bulls have won 24 games over the last three seasons - going 6-6 in 2017, 10-4 in 2018 and 8-5 last year. It is the most wins over a three-year span in the history of the program. Buffalo has also been one of the most consistent programs across the MAC over that same three-year span as only Ohio has more wins with 25 (Toledo also has 24).
Movement on the Offensive Line
The Bulls will be replacing three starters on the offensive line, but fortunately they have experienced players ready to move into starting roles. The Bulls will be replacing LT Evin Ksiezarczyk, RG Tomas Jack-Kurdyla and LG Paul Nosworthy.
Kayode Awosika has been the starting right tackle for the past two seasons and will make the move to left tackle in 2020. An All-MAC Second Team selection in 2019, Awosika is on the Outland Trophy watch list.
Mike Novitsky started all 13 games at center last season and is on the 2020 Rimington Trophy watch list.
Jake Fuzak will likely start at right tackle after starting the final two games of the 2019 season.
Jacob Gall started the final five games at right guard in 2018 and had one start in 2019. He will likely start at left guard this season.
The other guard spot will be feature a new starter. Senior Jack Klenk, sophomore Gabe Wallace and graduate transfer Ray Thomas-Ishman have been battling it out in camp.
Last season, UB's line blocked for an offense that rushed for a school-record 3,256 yards and allowed a program-low eight sacks, second fewest in the country.
Opening Against the MAC
While this is a unique season consisting of only Mid-American Conference games, it isn't the first time the Bulls will open the year with a conference game since joining the MAC. The Bulls opened the 1999 season, their first in the MAC, by hosting Akron (L, 17-10) and opened the 2004 campaign at Eastern Michigan (L, 37-34).
QB Battle
The Bulls return two quarterbacks who each spent time as the starter last season.
Kyle Vantrease started the final eight games of the 2019 campaign. He completed 101-of-172 passes for 1,193 yards and eight touchdowns, while throwing only two interceptions. He also rushed for 64 yards and six touchdowns. He went 6-2 as a starter.
Matt Myers was the Bulls' starting QB at the start of the 2019 campaign before suffering a season-ending injury in week five. He completed 49-of-105 passes for 602 yards and six touchdowns on the season. He also rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns. The local product threw for a season-best 245 yards and a touchdown at Penn State.
Nunn Better
Senior receiver Antonio Nunn continues to develop into one of the best targets in the Mid-American Conference. He is coming off his best season in 2019 when he had 49 catches for 687 yards and six touchdowns en route to earning All-MAC Third Team honors. His 49 catches were twice as many as any other UB player (Daniel Lee was second with 23). Nunn had 49 of the Bulls' 155 catches last season (32%) and nearly half of the team's touchdown receptions (6 of 14 - 43%).
Watch Out
The Bulls have eight different players on eight different NCFAA award preseason watch lists. Running back Jaret Patterson and defensive end Taylor Riggins each appeared on two different watch lists.
Buffalo Players on NCFAA Watch Lists
Jaret Patterson - Maxwell Award, Doak Walker Award
Taylor Riggins - Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy
Kayode Awosika - Outland Trophy
Tyrone Hill - Jim Thorpe Award
Malcolm Koonce - Bronko Nagurski Trophy
Mike Novitsky - Rimington Trophy
Kevin Marks - Doak Walker Award
Max Michel - Wuerffel Trophy
11 Bulls Named to Athlon Preseason All-MAC Team
Athlon Sports released its preseason All-Mid-American Conference football team and 11 University at Buffalo players were named to the squad. The list was headlined by five first-team selections, running back Jaret Patterson, offensive tackle Kayode Awosika, defensive ends Taylor Riggins and Malcolm Koonce and safety Tyrone Hill.
Wide Receiver Antonio Nunn and linebacker Kadofi Wright were named to the second team.
The third team included running back Kevin Marks, center Mike Novitsky and defensive tackle Eddie Wilson.
Linebacker James Patterson was on the fourth team.
5 Grad Transfers Join the Bulls
The Bulls added five graduate transfers ahead of the 2020 campaign - four on defense and one on offense.
Three linebackers have joined the team, including Brendan Pyne from Brown, Tyree Thompson from UCLA and Keith Woetzel from Lehigh. Former Vanderbilt defensive tackle Eddie Zinn-Turner also joined the team. On the offensive side of the ball, offensive lineman Ray Thomas-Ishman came to UB from UMass.
International Flavor
The Bulls have six international players from four different countries on this year's roster.
Buffalo has three players who hail from Canada, including Dominic Johnson (Ontario), Cole Burniston (Ontario) and Gabe Wallace (BC). In addition, the Bulls have three players from Europe, Fabian Weitz (Germany), Alain Schaerer (Switzerland) and Jordan Avissey (France).
Lefebvre Named Campbell Trophy Semifinalist
Senior tight end Zac Lefebvre has been named a William V. Campbell Trophy semifinalist. Given annually to college football's top student-athlete, the Campbell Trophy is also known as the Academic Heisman.
Lefebvre is a health and human services major with a 3.37 cumulative grade point average and is a three-time Academic All-MAC selection.
A native of Victor, NY, Lefebvre has started 14 games at tight end. He has 36 catches for 370 yards and three touchdowns over his career.
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.
