Kent State
Bulls Travel to Kent State for Saturday Primetime Matchup
10/6/2021 9:44:00 AM | Football
Buffalo (2-3, 0-1 MAC) at Kent State (2-3, 1-0 MAC)
October 9, 2021
Dix Stadium - 7:00 pm
Radio
Buffalo - ESPN 1520
Rochester - Fox Sports 1280
Television
ESPNU
Storylines
• Buffalo has won 9 of the last 14 meetings against Kent State, including six of the last seven games played at Dix Stadium.
• Quian Williams has had back-to-back 100-yard receiving games. He is looking to become the first UB wide receiver to have three-straight 100-yard receiving games since Anthony Johnson did it over the final three games of the 2017 season.
• UB quarterback Kyle Vantrease is from Stow, OH, just five miles from the Kent State campus.
• 14 of Buffalo's 17 offensive touchdowns this season have come on the ground. The Bulls lead the MAC in rushing touchdowns.
• Taylor Riggins has 17.5 career sacks, good for seventh in program history. He is a half sack behind Dave May (1983-86) and Malcolm Koonce (2017-20) for sixth place and a full sack behind Steven Means (2009-12) for fifth place.
• Kevin Marks is two rushing touchdowns shy of tying Branden Oliver (2010-13) for third in school history with 33.
• Kevin Marks is 91 yards shy of becoming just the sixth player in program history to rush for 3,000 career yards.
• The last time Buffalo and Kent State played, Jaret Patterson (409) and Kevin Marks (97) combined to rush for 516 yards - at the time, the most yards by a running back tandem in college football history.
Bulls Travel to Kent State for Saturday Primetime Matchup
The University at Buffalo football team travels to Kent State for a primetime matchup with the Golden Flashes on Saturday night.
Buffalo is coming off a 24-17 loss to Western Michigan last Saturday. Linebacker James Patterson led the Bulls with a career-high 14 tackles in the game.
Kent State is 2-3 overall, 1-0 in MAC play and is coming off a 27-20 win over Bowling Green last Saturday. The Golden Flashes are led by quarterback Dustin Crum who has thrown for 896 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 211 and two other scores.
Buffalo leads the all-time series, 14-12. The Bulls won the last meeting, 70-41, at UB Stadium last season.
Three-Headed Monster
Buffalo has been getting a balanced contribution from each of its three running backs this season.
Kevin Marks leads the Bulls in rushing with 288 yards and three touchdowns. Dylan McDuffie is second with 262 yards and four touchdowns. Ron Cook is third with 250 yards and two scores.
Marks, McDuffie and Cook have all been the leading rusher in a game this season.
Red Zone Defense
The Bulls have buckled down on defense once the opposition has gotten into the red zone. Opponents have scored only 14 of the 22 times they have entered the red zone. The 63.6 percent red zone defense not only leads the MAC, but ranks eighth in the nation.
Neon Quian
There were a lot of question marks surrounding the wide receiver position entering the 2021 campaign. Enter Quian Williams - a graduate transfer from Eastern Michigan.
Williams ranks second in the MAC in receiving yards (93 ypg) and fifth in receptions (30).
He is the fastest UB receiver to reach 30 catches since Ron Willoughby had 30 catches in the first five games of the 2015 season.
He has had back-to-back 100-yard receiving games with six catches for 119 yards against Western Michigan and nine grabs for 134 yards against Old Dominion.
In two seasons at Eastern Michigan, Williams had 76 catches for 983 yards and eight touchdowns.
Elite Eight
James Patterson continues to be a standout linebacker for the Bulls. He leads UB and ranks second in the MAC in tackles with 50. He is the fastest Bull to reach 50 tackles in a season since Khalil Hodge had 67 tackles over the first five games of the 2018 campaign.
Patterson had a forced fumble against Old Dominion to bring his career total to seven - tied for second in program history. Former All-American Khalil Mack holds the program record as well as NCAA record with 16 career forced fumbles.
Tale of Two Halves
The Bulls offense has been a Jekyll and Hyde of sorts as it pertains to first and second half production in recent games. UB has been outscored in the second half in each of the last three games. In addition, their offense production has been slowed.
Against Coastal Carolina, the Bulls averaged 7.6 yards per play in the first half and 4.1 yards in the second half.
At Old Dominion, UB averaged 6.4 yards per play in the first half and only 2.0 yards in the second half.
Against Western Michigan, the Bulls averaged 7.3 yards per game in the first half compared to 4.1 yards per play in the second half.
Welcome Back Taylor
After a breakout season in 2019, Taylor Riggins missed the entire 2020 campaign with an injury. The Bulls' defensive end is now healthy and returning to his All-MAC form.
Riggins was a first-team All-MAC selection in 2019 after posting 50 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. He ranked second in the conference in sacks in 2019.
Riggins has four sacks through four games. He now has 17.5 career sacks - good for seventh in school history. He was named the MAC East Defensive Player of the Week following his standout performance against Coastal Carolina.
Johnson Stepping Up
Since making the move from quarterback to wide receiver prior to the 2019 season, Dominic Johnson is enjoying his best season at his new position. Johnson was originally recruited as a quarterback and played the position from 2016-18. But with a crowded quarterback room, the athletic Johnson was given the opportunity to get on the field as a wide receiver.
Against Coastal Carolina, the sixth-year senior had six catches for 66 yards - both career highs. His six receptions were one more than he had all of last season.
He is the Bulls' second leading receiver with 16 catches for 165 yards. His 16 receptions are six more than the total from his first two seasons playing the position.
Coming into his Own
Running back Dylan McDuffie is enjoying the best season of his career. The junior running back has rushed for 262 yards and a team-best four touchdowns on the season. Through five games, he has surpassed his rushing total of his first three seasons combined (225). McDuffie has scored a rushing touchdown in three of the five games this season.
Moving the Chains
The Bulls lead the MAC and rank 13th nationally in third down conversions at 51 percent (39-of-77). Buffalo was 8-of-13 against Wagner, 11-of-22 against a Nebraska, 9-of-16 against Coastal Carolina, 7-of-15 against Old Dominion and 4-of-11 against Western Michigan.
Bulls Win Big in Linguist Debut
It was an impressive debut for head coach Maurice Linguist on September 2 as the Bulls easily disposed of Wagner, 69-7.
UB scored on each of its first 11 possessions of the game. The Bulls were in victory formation on their 12th possession. It was the third most points ever scored by a UB team and the most ever in a season opener.
The Bulls rolled up 569 yards of offense - 320 yards rushing and 257 yards passing. It was first time since 2014 against Akron that the Bulls rushed for 300 yards and passed for 200 yards in the same game.
Defensively, UB only allowed 97 yards of total offense, its fewest allowed since giving up only 84 yards against Hofstra on Oct. 24, 1992.
On Your Marks
UB running back Kevin Marks is in his first season as the Bulls' starting running back after splitting time with All-American Jaret Patterson over the last three seasons.
Despite only starting nine games over his career, Marks ranks fifth in program history in career rushing yards with 2,909 and fourth in program history in career rushing touchdowns with 31. An All-MAC Third Team selection in 2020, Marks is 1,142 yards shy of breaking Branden Oliver's school record of 4,049 career rushing yards.
Marks was on the preseason watch list for the Maxwell and Doak Walker Awards.
Vantrease Using His Arm and Leg
In UB's game at Nebraska, quarterback Kyle Vantrease lined up in the shotgun formation and surprised the Huskers by punting the ball. All he did was boot the ball 81 yards - tying the second longest punt in program history. It was three yards shy of the program record. It was also the fourth longest punt in the history of Memorial Stadium.
Winning Ways
Since the 2017 season, the Bulls have more wins than any other school in the Mid-American Conference. Buffalo has 32 wins over that span. Toledo is second with 31 followed by Ohio which has 28.
Linebacker U
UB has had a number of standout linebackers in recent years, most notably Khalil Mack who was an All-American and now an NFL All-Pro.
The Bulls have had 12 linebackers named All-MAC over the last 10 years, including each of the last 10 seasons. Buffalo has two All-MAC linebackers on its current roster. James Patterson was named to the first team in 2020 and Kadofi Wright was a second team selection in 2019.
Rounding out the list are Khalil Hodge (2018, 2017, 2016), Brandon Berry (2015), Okezie Alozie (2015), Lee Skinner (2014), Adam Redden (2014), Khalil Mack (2013, 2012, 2011).
Back for a Sixth Year
The Bulls have six players on the roster who took advantage of their extra year of eligibility due to Covid and are playing their sixth year.
Offensive linemen Jake Fuzak and Jack Klenk, tight end Jake Molinich, wide receiver Dominic Johnson, linebacker Kadofi Wright and defensive end Taylor Riggins are all in their sixth year.
To quote Fuzak; "We are playing under our third president."
Vantrease Back Under Center
The Bulls will have a veteran presence under center again this season as Kyle Vantrease will be the Bulls' starting quarterback for the third straight season. After entering the starting lineup midway through the 2019 campaign, Vantrease has started the last 15 games at quarterback for UB.
The Stow, OH native threw for 1,193 yards and eight touchdowns in 2019 and 1,326 yards and seven touchdowns in a Covid-shortened 2020.
Last season, he threw for 353 yards against Miami (OH) and 365 yards against Ball State, becoming just the second quarterback in UB's FBS era (since 1999) to throw for 350+ yards twice in the same season (Joe Licata was the other in 2014).
In the opener against Wagner, Vantrease was 15-for-19 for 231 yards and a touchdown and was named the MAC East Offensive Player of the Week.
International Flavor
The Bulls have six international players on this year's roster.
Buffalo has four players who hail from Canada, including Dominic Johnson (Ontario), Cole Burniston (Ontario), Gabe Wallace (BC) and Deondre Doiron (Ontario). In addition, the Bulls have two players from Europe, Fabian Weitz (Germany) and Alain Schaerer (Switzerland).
Klenk Named Campbell Trophy Semifinalist
Sixth-year offensive lineman Jack Klenk 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.
Klenk graduated Summa Cum Laude with degrees in communication and social science interdisciplinary. He posted a 3.823 grade point average. He is a currently working towards a masters degree in real estate development.
He is a two-time Academic All-MAC selection and earned the Mid-American Conference Medal of Excellence in 2021.
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.
Calling all the play-by-play action of Bulls football for his 22nd year, and 14th consecutive, will be Paul Peck. Scott Wilson is back for his fifth season as analyst. Brad Riter also returns as game host.
New this season, the UB Football postgame show will take place at The Anchor Bar on Maple Road with host Bob Gaughan.
