Ball State
Bulls Begin Midweek #MACtion Play against Ball State on Tuesday Night
11/9/2024 1:25:00 PM | Football
Buffalo (5-4, 3-2 MAC) vs. Ball State (3-6, 2-3 MAC)
November 12, 2024
UB Stadium - 7:00 pm
Bulls on the Air
Buffalo - ESPN 1520
Rochester - Fox Sports 1280
Television
CBS Sports Network
Storylines
• UB head coach Pete Lembo served as Ball State's head coach from 2011-15. He had a 33-29 record at Ball State and took the Cardinals to two bowl games. He faced the Bulls once as head coach at Ball State, a 28-25 Cardinal victory in 2011.
• This is a rare trip to Buffalo for Ball State. Since the Bulls joined the MAC in 1999, this is just the fifth time the Cardinals will play at UB Stadium. Ball State won the last four meetings, including the most recent in 2016.
• Buffalo has played in three MAC Championships games. Ball State was their opponent in two of them. The Bulls defeated the Cardinals in 2008, with Ball State returning the favor in 2020.
• After averaging 125 yards passing over the first six games, quarterback C.J. Ogbonna has averaged 259 passing yards over the last three games, including a career-best 309 yards against Western Michigan.
• Linebackers Shaun Dolac (120) and Red Murdock (107) rank first and third in the nation in tackles, respectively.
• Running back Al-Jay Henderson is averaging 107 yards rushing over the last four games. He is averaging 6.9 yards per carry over the same four-game span. He has gone over 100 yards of total offense in each of the last four games.
• Shaun Dolac (343) is two tackles shy of passing Lee Skinner (344) for seventh place in program history in career tackles.
• A win would make the Bulls bowl eligible for the eighth time in program history and the first time since 2022.
Bulls Begin #MACtion Play against Ball State on Tuesday Night
The University at Buffalo football team will play their first #MACtion game of the season when they host Ball State on Tuesday night.
Buffalo is 5-4 overall, 3-2 in MAC play and is coming off a 41-30 win at Akron on Nov. 12. Quarterback C.J. Ogbonna led the Bulls with 210 yards passing and two touchdowns and 63 yards rushing and a score.
Ball State is 3-6 overall, 2-3 in the MAC and is coming off a 27-21 loss to Miami (OH) last Saturday. The Cardinals are led by quarterback Kadin Semonza who has thrown for 2,029 yards and 16 touchdowns on the season.
Ball State leads the all-time series, 11-2. The Cardinals won the last meeting, 20-3, at Ball State in 2021.
Looking to Become Bowl Eligible
The Bulls are looking to become bowl eligible for the eighth time in program history. The Bulls have gone to six bowl games in their history, most recently winning the 2022 Camellia Bowl.
Buffalo's bowl history includes 2008 International Bowl (L, UConn), 2013 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (L, San Diego State), 2018 Dollar General Bowl (L, Troy), 2019 Bahamas Bowl (W, Charlotte), 2020 Camellia Bowl (W, Marshall) and 2022 Camellia Bowl (W, Georgia Southern).
Shaun Stars
Through nine games, Shaun Dolac has 120 tackles and 11.5 tackles for loss. He leads the nation in tackles. He is averaging 13.3 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 is a semifinalist for the Butkus award, given annually to the best linebacker in college football. He is also a nominee for the Burlsworth Trophy, given to the best player in college football who started his career as a walk-on.
Dynamic Duo
Linebackers Shaun Dolac and Red Murdock have been tackling machines this season. The duo ranks first and third in the nation with 120 and 107 tackles, respectively.
It marks the first time two UB 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.
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 has averaged 107 rushing yards over the last four games. He has also been a productive receiver and has gone over 100 yards of total offense in four straight games, averaging 132 yards of total offense.
Henderson leads the Bulls with 562 rushing yards on the season. He is averaging 5.6 yards per carry.
Turnover Margin of Victory
The Bulls forced a season-high four turnovers in their win at Akron (three fumbles/interception). Buffalo is 5-0 on the season when it wins the turnover battle. UB is a +6 on the year in turnover margin to rank third in the MAC.
Red Murdock has played a big role in turnovers as he leads the MAC and ranks second in the nation with four forced fumbles on the year. He is two shy of the single-season program record for forced fumbles in a season. He has eight career forced fumbles to rank third in program history. The record is 16 held by Khalil Mack which is also the NCAA record for career forced fumbles.
Let it Snow
Wide receiver Victor Snow has become a reliable target for the Bulls this season. He leads the team with 33 receptions for 424 yards and three touchdowns. He has had a knack for making big plays as he has had a reception of 25 or more yards in six different games this season, including two different games with catches of 44 yards or more.
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.
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 three games, he has averaged 259 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.
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. 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 touchdowns over the last three games.
Sacktrick Stewart
Kobe Stewart has made an immediate impact with the Bulls since transferring from Samford in the offseason. The junior edge leads the team and the Mid-American Conference with 6.5 sacks. He has had four sacks over the last four 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 12-for-13 on field goals and 18-for-18 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 (107) and has added 10 tackles for loss.
He is equally impressive in the classroom as he was named Academic All-MAC and Academic All-District last season. He was named the MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week following UB's win at Akron.
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.
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.
