Akron
Bulls Back on the Road at Akron on Saturday
10/29/2024 4:39:00 PM | Football
Buffalo (4-4, 2-2 MAC) at Akron (2-6, 1-3 MAC)
November 2, 2024
InfoCision Stadium - 12:00 pm
Bulls on the Air
Buffalo - ESPN 1520
Rochester - Fox Sports 1280
Television
CBS Sports Network
Storylines
• This is the second straight season Buffalo and Akron will meet at InfoCision Stadium. The Bulls defeated the Zips, 13-10, in overtime on Sept. 30, 2023.
• The Bulls have won six straight games against Akron.
• After averaging 125 yards passing over the first six games, quarterback C.J. Ogbonna has averaged 283 passing yards over the last two games, including a career-best 309 yards against Western Michigan.
• Linebackers Shaun Dolac (108) and Red Murdock (96) rank first and third in the nation in tackles, respectively.
• Red Murdock is four tackles shy of 100 on the season. It would mark the first time two players had 100 tackles in a season since 2022 when Shaun Dolac had 147 and James Patterson had 120. Prior to that, you have to go back to 2015 when Nick Gilbo had 113 and Brandon Berry had 104.
• Running back Al-Jay Henderson is averaging 107 yards rushing over the last three games. He is averaging 7.3 yards per carry over the same three-game span.
• Shaun Dolac (331) is 11 tackles shy of reaching Mike Newton (342) for eighth place in program history in career tackles.
• Victor Snow has scored touchdowns in three straight games, including two receiving touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns.
Bulls Back on the Road at Akron on Saturday
The University at Buffalo football team will play their second straight road game when they travel to Akron on Saturday.
Buffalo is 4-4 overall, 2-2 in MAC play and is coming off a 47-16 loss at Ohio last Saturday. Wide receiver Victor Snow led the Bulls with five catches for 75 yards and a touchdowns in the game.
Akron is 2-6 overall, 1-3 in the MAC and is coming off a 25-21 win over Eastern Michigan last Saturday. The Zips are led by quarterback Ben Finley who has thrown for 1,456 yards and seven touchdowns on the season.
Buffalo leads the all-time series, 12-11. The Bulls won the last meeting, 13-10 in overtime, at Akron last season.
Shaun Stars
Through eight games, Shaun Dolac has 108 tackles and 11.5 tackles for loss. He leads the nation in tackles and ranks 10th in tackles for loss. He is averaging 13.5 tackles per game. He has had double-digit tackles in every game this season.
In UB's win at Northern Illinois, he had the best game of his career and arguably one of the best outings in program history. He finished with 19 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and a game-changing interception.
He has been named MAC Defensive Player of the Week three times already this season earning the award after his performances against Lafayette, Northern Illinois and Toledo.
Dolac had a record-breaking season for the Bulls in 2022. A first-team All-MAC selection, he 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 2020. He was a 2022 semifinalist for the Burlsworth Trophy, given annually to the best player in the country who started their career as a walk-on.
Spreading the Wealth
The Bulls tied a program record with 12 different receivers catching a pass in Buffalo's game at Ohio.
Victor Snow led the way with five catches followed by J.J. Jenkins with four and Al-Jay Henderson with three.
Prior to the Ohio game, the most Bulls to catch a pass in a game this season was nine against UMass.
Let it Snow
Wide receiver Victor Snow has become a reliable target for the Bulls so far this season. His 30 receptions lead the team. He caught his first career touchdown against Northern Illinois. Snow has scored touchdowns in each of the last three games (2 receiving/2 rushing) to become the first Bull to score a touchdown in three straight games since wide receiver Marlyn Johnson scored in three straight games last season (Fordham/Liberty/Louisiana). The last UB player to score in four straight games was running back Dylan McDuffie who scored in six straight during the 2021 campaign.
In 12 games a season ago, Snow only registered one catch for 12 yards.
Snow is a native of Webster, NY and transferred to Buffalo from Nevada prior to the 2023 campaign.
Okay Al-Jay
Running back Al-Jay Henderson rushed for a career-high 142 yards against Toledo. He needed only 18 attempts, averaging 7.9 yards per carry.
He was the first UB player to eclipse the 100-yard mark in nearly two seasons. The last UB player to rush for 100 yards in a game was quarterback Matt Myers - 110 yards against Kent State (11/26/22).
He followed that up with a 97-yard performance on 12 carries against Western Michigan, including a 68-yard touchdown run.
Henderson leads the Bulls with 455 rushing yards on the season. He is averaging 5.5 yards per carry.
Offense Starting to Click
At the start of the season, it was the defense that carried the Bulls. But the offense has come into its own in recent weeks.
The Bulls had their best performance against Western Michigan, totally 551 yards of total offense.
It was the most yardage by a UB team since 2021 when they had 569 yards against Wagner.
UB passed for 309 yards and rushed for 242 yards against the Broncos. It was just the third time in the last 10 seasons the Bulls accomplished the feat - 353 pass/205 rush vs. Miami (OH) in 2020, 350 pass/215 rush at Ball State in 2017.
7 Up
C.J. Ogbonna has settled in as Buffalo's starting quarterback and continues to improve as the season progresses. Against Western Michigan, he had the best game of his career, throwing for a career-best 309 yards and two touchdowns. He became the first UB quarterback to throw for 300 yards in a game since ColeSnyder threw for 305 yards against Holy Cross in 2022. Kyle Vantrease was the last UB quarterback to throw for 300 yards against an FBS program (365 vs. Ball State, Dec.18, 2020).
Over the last two games, he has averaged 283 yards passing after averaging just 125 yards over the first six games.
The well-traveled Obgonna began his career at Hutchinson Community College where he helped lead the Blue Dragons to a national title in 2020. From there, he transferred to Southeast Missouri State where he was a two-year starter for the Redhawks. His best season came in 2021 when he threw for 1,521 yards and 21 touchdowns and rushed for 357 yards and another three scores en route to being named to the Ohio Valley Conference All-Newcomer Team.
Home Sweet Home
The Bulls have been a different team at home offensively this season. While they are only averaging 10.5 points per game on the road, they are averaging 33.7 points per game at home this season. UB is averaging 406 yards of offense at home compared to 233 yards on the road.
Messiah Carry
Running back Messiah Burch has emerged as a secret weapon for the Bulls offense. After being seldomly used to start the season, the redshirt-freshman has played a more significant role in recent weeks.
In Buffalo's win over Toledo, Burch had four carries for 34 yards and added a 30-yard reception. He was even better the following week against Western Michigan, rushing for 58 yards on six carries and a score and adding a 24-yard reception. Last week at Ohio, he had a 27-yard touchdown run.
Burch had only eight carries for 26 yards over the first five games combined. He has had 11 carries for 119 yards and two toucchdowns over the last three games.
Upton Funk
Upton Bellenfant earned the starting kicker job in week three and all he has done since is make nearly every one of his kicks. He had the best game of his young career in Buffalo's win at Northern Illinois as he made all three of his field goal attempts, including a 37-yarder to win the game in overtime.
On the year, the redshirt-sophomore is 10-for-11 on field goals and 12-for-12 on extra points.
Seeing Red
After a solid season for the Bulls in 2023, linebacker Red Murdock is taking his game to new heights in 2024. The redshirt-sophomore had the best game of his career against UMass, totaling 12 tackles and three tackles for loss. He earned MAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his efforts.
Murdock ranks second in the MAC to only teammate Shaun Dolac in tackles (96) and tackles for loss (10).
In 2023, he appeared in 12 games and started the final six. He ranked third on the team in tackles with 60 and added 9.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and four forced fumbles. His four forced fumbles were two shy of the single-season school record.
He is equally impressive in the classroom as he was named Academic All-MAC and Academic All-District last season.
Hanging with Mr. Cooper
Former walk-on Marquis Cooper earned the starting cornerback job out of camp and has been impressive this season. In fact, he seems to one-up himself every game. After registering a career-high 12 tackles, including eight solo stops and a TFL at Missouri, the Colgate transfer had eight tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and an interception against UMass. He returned the interception 100 yards for a touchdown to break the record for longest interception return in program history. The previous record was 90 yards set by Gerry LaFountain against Delaware in 1965.
In UB's win at Northern Illinois, Cooper blocked the potential go-ahead field goal in overtime.
Cooper was awarded a scholarship prior to the start of the season.
Duane Oh!
New punter Ethan Duane has been a nice addition to the Bulls' special teams unit. The Old Dominion transfer is averaging 43.3 yards per punt to rank second in the Mid-American Conference. Eight of his punts have sailed over 50 yards. He was named the MAC Special Teams Player of the Week following UB's win over Toledo as six of his seven punts were downed inside the 20-yard line.
Running Back Depth
Buffalo's depth at running back has paid off so far this season as different backs have stepped up for the Bulls.
In the first two games, it was Jacqez Barksdale who came off the bench to lead UB in rushing. He rushed for 166 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries against Lafayette and Missouri, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. In UB's win over UMass, Lamar Sperling rushed for a career-best 86 yards and a touchdown to lead the Bulls. In UB's win at Northern Illinois, Al-Jay Henderson led the way with 56 yards on the ground, including a 36-yard touchdown. He rushed for a career-high 142 yards against Toledo and 97 yards and a touchdowns against Western Michigan.
Messiah Burch is the latest back to shine, totaling 119 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries over the last three games.
Taji Johnson Wins 1-MAC Award
Wide receiver Taji Johnson has won the Mid-American Conference's 1-MAC Award - given annually to those that have shown tremendous impact & excellence in inclusion efforts.
Johnson, who joined the Bulls in Spring 2024 for his final year of eligibility, quickly made a lasting impact by organizing the "A Day in the Life" event for at-risk middle school students. Through his partnership with TheTeam.org, a nonprofit focused on civic engagement and voter participation in college athletics, Johnson helped provide critical resources and support to students and their families. His efforts included arranging school supplies and connecting families with local services, addressing the diverse needs of the community.
In addition to organizing the event, Johnson fostered collaboration among student-athletes from various sports, creating a network that shared strategies and experiences to collectively support at-risk students. By emphasizing unity and teamwork, Johnson and his fellow student-athletes inspired resilience, leadership, and academic excellence among the students they mentored.
Johnson was also a nominee for the 2024 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.
New Look MAC
2024 will mark the first time the Mid-American Conference will not be divided into divisions for football. In years past, the 12 teams were divided into two six-team divisions, with the Bulls playing in the East Division. Moving forward, the top two overall teams in the standings will play for the MAC title as opposed to division winners.
Miami (OH) 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 25th year, and 17th consecutive, will be Paul Peck. Scott Wilson is back for his eighth 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.
