Miami (OH)
Bulls Host Miami (OH) on Tuesday Night in Key Early Matchup
11/6/2020 2:52:00 PM | Football
Buffalo (1-0, 1-0 MAC) vs. Miami (OH) (1-0, 1-0 MAC)
November 10, 2020
UB Stadium - 8:00 pm
Radio
Buffalo - ESPN 1520
Rochester - Fox Sports 1280
Television
ESPN
Storylines
• Miami leads the all-time series, 15-7.
• The Bulls are looking to start 2-0 in MAC play for the third time in program history. They started 6-0 in 2018 and 5-0 in 2013.
• Jaret Patterson is 51 yards shy of becoming the fifth running back in school history to rush for 3,000 career yards. If he does it against Miami, he would be the fastest running back in school history to reach 3,000 yards.
• Jaret Patterson has rushed for 100 yards in seven straight games dating back to last season.
• The Bulls didn't allow a sack against Northern Illinois in the opener and now haven't allowed a sack in five straight games dating back to last season. UB will be facing a Miami squad that had six sacks against Ball State in the opener.
• Buffalo scored three defensive touchdowns against Northern Illinois with two fumble returns and a pick six. Overall, the Bulls forced five turnovers in the game.
• This is a match up of the MAC preseason media poll favorite (Buffalo) and the MAC preseason coaches poll favorite (Miami).
• The Bulls are coming off a game in which they scored 49 points at Northern Illinois, the most in a MAC road game since joining the conference in 1999.
• This is a matchup of the last two MAC East Division champions. The Bulls won the division in 2018 and the RedHawks took the title last year.
Bulls Host Miami on Tuesday Night in Key Early Matchup
The University at Buffalo football team will host Miami (OH) on Tuesday night in a match up of two of the preseason favorites to win the MAC East Division. The Bulls are coming off a 49-30 win at Northern Illinois on Wednesday night. The UB defense scored three touchdowns and running back Jaret Patterson rushed for 137 yards and two scores to lead the way.
Miami (OH) is coming off a 38-31 win over Ball State on Wednesday night. The RedHawks are led by quarterback A.J. Mayer who threw for 212 yards and three touchdowns in the opener.
Miami (OH) leads the all-time series, 15-7. The RedHawks won the last meeting, 34-20, in Oxford, OH last season.
Taking Matters into their Own Hands
UB scored three defensive touchdowns in its 49-30 win at Northern Illinois on Wednesday. Tim Terry returned a fumble 46 yards for the first defensive score. On the Huskies very next possession, Isaiah King scooped up another fumble and dashed 42 yards for a touchdown. Kadofi Wright added a 65-yard pick six for the Bulls' third defensive score.
It was the first time the Bulls scored three defensive touchdowns in a game since 2015 when the defense also scored three times at FAU.
With three defensive touchdowns in the opener UB was already tied for first in the nation in defensive touchdowns.
Record-Breaking Night for Patterson
Jaret Patterson scored two rushing touchdowns in the opener at Northern Illinois. The junior running back now holds the school record for career rushing touchdowns with 35. He broke the record of former All-MAC running back James Starks who rushed for 34 scores from 2006-08.
What's more impressive about Patterson's record is how quickly he got there. Patterson scored his 35th touchdown in only his 28th career game. Starks rushed for his 34th career touchdown in his 36th career game and Branden Oliver, UB's all-time leader rusher, scored his 33rd touchdown in his 40th game.
Wright Place, Wright Time
Senior linebacker Kadofi Wright scored on a 65-yard interception return against Northern Illinois. It was his third career defensive score that have all come over the last eight games. Wright forced and recovered a fumble for a touchdown at Akron on Oct. 19, 2019 and then, a week later, scored on a 40-yard interception return against Central Michigan. Wright was an All-MAC Second Team selection last season.
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 25 games since the start of the 2017 season - going 6-6 in 2017, 10-4 in 2018 and 8-5 last year. Buffalo has also been one of the most consistent programs across the MAC over that same span, tying Ohio and Toledo for the most wins since the start of 2017.
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%).
Nunn had six catches for 102 yards and a touchdown against Northern Illinois in the opener.
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.
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.
Senior Jack Klenk made his first career start at the other guard spot against Northern Illinois. Sophomore Gabe Wallace and graduate transfer Ray Thomas-Ishman will also likely be in the rotation at guard.
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.
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.
Five 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 five international players from three 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 two players from Europe, 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.
