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University at Buffalo
Liberty
Bulls Host Liberty on Saturday
9/12/2023 1:33:00 PM | Football
Buffalo (0-2, 0-0 MAC) vs. Liberty (2-0, 1-0 C-USA)
September 16, 2023
UB Stadium - 12:00 pm
Bulls on the Air
Buffalo - ESPN 1520
Rochester - Fox Sports 1280
Television
CBS Sports Network
Storylines
• This is the third meeting between Buffalo and Liberty, with the Flames winning the previous two contests. This will be the first time the teams will play at UB Stadium.
• The Bulls are 2-1 against the current version of Conference USA. UB beat UTEP in 2008 and 2009 and lost at Liberty in 2019.
• Seven members of the current UB squad played in the 2019 game at Liberty. Gabe Wallace started at left tackle that day (his first career start). Alex McNulty, Max Michel, Ron Cook, Evan Davis, Kyler Laing and Marlyn Johnson also played that day.
• Five of Buffalo's seven touchdowns on the season have come on scoring drives of at least 65 yards.
• Cole Snyder is the first UB quarterback since Tyree Jackson in 2018 to throw multiple touchdown passes in each of the first two games of the season. Snyder had two TD passes at Wisconsin and three against Fordham.
• Ron Cook has surpassed Naaman Roosevelt for fourth in program history in career kick return yardage (1,441). He is 64 yards shy of catching Andre Forde for third place.
• The Bulls faced Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell each of the last two seasons when he was the head coach at Coastal Carolina.
• Buffalo is tied for the MAC lead for fewest turnovers with one.
• Both Buffalo and Liberty have defensive ends named C.J. Bazile (no relation).
Bulls Host Liberty on Saturday
The University at Buffalo football team will host Liberty on Saturday at UB Stadium.
Buffalo is coming off a 40-37 loss to Fordham last Saturday. Wide receiver Marlyn Johnson had seven catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bulls.
Liberty, is 2-0 on the season and is coming off a 33-17 win over New Mexico State last Saturday. The Flames are led by quarterback Kaidon Salter who has thrown for 419 yards and four touchdowns on the season.
Liberty leads the all-time series, 2-0. The teams last met on Sept. 14, 2019 with the Flames winning, 35-17, at Williams Stadium.
Sterling Marlyn
Marlyn Johnson had the best game of his UB career against Fordham, finishing the game with seven receptions for 105 yards and two touchdowns - all career highs.
Now in his fifth season with the Bulls, Johnson is looking to have a breakout campaign. Heading into the year, Johnson had 23 catches for 234 yards and a score. He has 11 catches for 134 yards and two scores already this year.
Agent Zero
Cole Harrity is becoming a favorite target of quarterback Cole Snyder. Over the first two games, he has 11 catches for 104 yards and two touchdowns. He made the most of his first career start at Wisconsin. The UB grad had five catches for 47 yards and two touchdowns against the Badgers.
In his second year with the program, the New Mexico State transfer appeared in all 13 games last season and finished with 13 catches for 170 yards and a touchdown.
Spreading the Wealth
Cole Snyder spread the ball around in the opener at Wisconsin. A program-record 12 different Bulls caught passes against the Badgers.
Cole Harrity led the way with five receptions followed by Marlyn Johnson and Ron Cook who each had four.
Seven of the 12 players made their first catches as UB Bulls on Saturday.
Snyder followed that up by finding seven different receivers against Fordham.
Hinesight
A season ago, Clevester Hines was playing wide receiver. In fact, he remained at that position until a week before the Bulls played George Southern in the Camellia Bowl and Coach Linguist asked him to move to cornerback due to injuries at the position.
Hines started in the Camellia Bowl and, in his first game at the position, totaled seven tackles and three pass breakups. He has remained at cornerback for 2023 and started the first two games of the season, totaling 10 tackles and two tackles for loss.
Silver Season
2023 marks the 25th season of FBS football for the Bulls. UB entered the FBS ranks in 1999 as members of the Mid-American Conference. Over the past six seasons, the Bulls have won 41 games and played in four bowl games, winning their last three. Toledo (44) is the only MAC program to have more wins than Buffalo since 2017.
Depth at Running Back
Buffalo returns three running backs that made at least one start in 2022 and added some talented newcomers to that should make the running back unit one of the deepest and most talented on the team.
Leading the way is fifth-year back Ron Cook, who made 10 starts last season and rushed for 600 yards and four touchdowns.
Sophomore Mike Washington was the Bulls leading rusher in 2022, finishing with 625 yards and a team-best eight rushing touchdowns.
Fellow sophomore Al-Jay Henderson appeared in 10 games last season and had a team-best 5.1 yards per carry average.
In addition, a trio of impressive newcomers should also see action this season.
JUCO transfer Dylan Kedzior was an All-American at Hutchinson Community College where he rushed for 1,090 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2022.
Jacqez Barksdale averaged over six yards per carry in his two seasons at Coffeyville Community College.
Lamar Sperling was the USA Today Offensive Football Player of the Year after he broke the Ohio state rushing record, totalling 3,984 yards and 59 touchdowns his senior season at Archbishop Hoban High School.
Snyder Looks to Build on Solid First Season
Cole Snyder enters his second season under center for the Bulls.
A Western New York native, Snyder transferred from Rutgers prior to the 2022 campaign. Last season, he started all 13 games under center for the Bulls.He threw for 3,030 yards and 18 touchdowns last season to become just the third quarterback in program history to throw for 3,000 yards in a season. He joined Drew Willy who threw for 3,304 yards in 2008 and Tyree Jackson who threw for 3,131 yards in 2018.
Snyder is on the preseason watch list for the Manning Award as well as the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
Doling Out the Hits
Linebacker Shaun Dolac had a record-breaking season for the Bulls last year. A 2022 first-team All-MAC selection, the UB senior ranked second in the nation in tackles with 147 which were the third-most in program history for a single season. Even more impressive was that he led the nation in solo tackles with 97 - 17 more than any UB player in program history.
A local product, Dolac came to UB as a walk-on in 2019. Last season, he was named a semifinalist for the Burlsworth Trophy, given annually to the best player in the country who started their career as a walk-on.
Perfect 10
Graduate safety Marcus Fuqua tied for the national lead with seven interceptions in 2022. It was the most by a UB player in the program's FBS era (since 1999).
Along with being an All-MAC First Team selection, Fuqua was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press. He joined Khalil Mack (2013) and Jaret Patterson (2020) as just the third UB player ever named an AP All-American.
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 at least one linebacker named All-MAC each of the last 12 seasons. Shaun Dolac was named to the first team in 2022.
Rounding out the list are James Patterson (2022, 2021, 2020), Kadofi Wright (2019), Khalil Hodge (2018, 2017, 2016), Brandon Berry (2015), Okezie Alozie (2015), Lee Skinner (2014), Adam Redden (2014) and Khalil Mack (2013, 2012, 2011).
Watch Out
The Bulls have representatives on eight different NCFAA award preseason watch lists. Linebacker Shaun Dolac, safety Marcus Fuqua, defensive tackle Daymond Williams, running back Ron Cook, quarterback Cole Snyder, kicker Alex McNulty and defensive end Max Michel each appeared on at least one watch list.
Buffalo Players on NCFAA Watch Lists
Shaun Dolac - Bednarik Award,Butkus Award,Nagurski Trophy
Marcus Fuqua - Jim Thorpe Award, Nagurski Trophy
Daymond Williams - Outland Trophy
Ron Cook - Paul Hornung Award
Cole Snyder - Manning Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award
Alex McNulty - Lou Groza Award
Max Michel - Allstate Good Works, Wuerffel Trophy
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 four first-team selections, linebacker Shaun Dolac, safety Marcus Fuqua, defensive tackle Daymond Williams and kicker Alex McNulty.
Running back Ron Cook and offensive lineman Gabe Wallace were named to the second team.
The fourth team included running back Mike Washington, cornerback Caleb Offord and punter Anthony Venneri.
Max Michel Nominated for Allstate Good Works Team
Graduate defensive end Max Michel is among 136 nominees for the 2023 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team Awarded to community champions, it recognizes student-athletes who display exemplary community service, academic dedication and impact on and off the field.
A native of New Jersey, Michel quickly embraced the Queen City. Last December, he held his second annual coat drive. Through his efforts, he was able to collect numerous coats, jackets, gloves and hats and donate them to the Buffalo City Mission.
He also donates his time volunteering at the Buffalo City Mission's kitchen, helping prepare and serve food, emptying the garbage and whatever else he can do to help.
In addition, Michel volunteers his time with Harrison's Playmakers, a non-profit organization that promotes social inclusion and kindness with year-round sports programs and activities for kids with developmental differences and special needs.
Among his numerous other volunteer ventures, Michel organized a group of teammates to work with WNY Peacemakers to distribute free groceries in East Buffalo.
In addition, Michel is on the watch list for the Wuerffel Trophy.
McNulty Named Campbell Trophy Nominee
Graduate kicker Alex McNulty 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.
McNulty graduated with degrees in biology for pre-veterinary science and physics. He carries a 3.7 grade point average and is a four-time Academic All-MAC selection.
McNulty is a two-time All-MAC selection and was the 2022 MAC Special Teams Player of the Year. He is the program record holder in career field goals (50), extra points (165) and points scored by a kicker (315).
He has made five 50+ yard field goals over his career and is the first kicker in program history to make 100 consecutive extra points.
Bulls Picked Third in MAC East
Buffalo was picked to finish third in the Mid-American Conference East Division according to the MAC head coaches.
Ohio was picked first with 63 points, followed by Miami (OH) (52), Buffalo (51), Bowling Green (35), Akron (26) and Kent State (19).
Toledo was picked to win the West Division, followed by Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Central Michigan, Ball State and Western Michigan.
Toledo was selected as the preseason favorite to win the MAC Championship.
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 24th year, and 16th consecutive, will be Paul Peck. Scott Wilson is back for his seventh season as analyst. Brad Riter also returns as game host.
The UB Football postgame show will once again take place at The Anchor Bar on Maple Road with host Bob Gaughan.
