University at Buffalo
Central Michigan
Bulls Open Midweek MACtion at Central Michigan on Wednesday
11/7/2025 2:57:00 PM | Football
Buffalo (5-4, 4-1 MAC) at Central Michigan (5-4, 3-2 MAC)
November 12, 2025
Kelly/Shorts Stadium - 7:00 pm
Bulls on the Air
Buffalo - ESPN 1520
Rochester - Fox Sports 1280
Television
CBS Sports Network
Storylines
• After Central Michigan won seven of the first eight meetings in the series, Buffalo has won three of the last four meetings.
• Buffalo is 1-3 all-time at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The Bulls' lone win was a 34-24 victory in 2018.
• A win will make the Bulls bowl eligible for the ninth time in program history and the seventh time in the last nine years.
• The Bulls are looking to go undefeated in MAC road games for the first time in program history.
• Red Murdock has six forced fumbles in the last six games and last week at Bowling Green, broke the NCAA record for career forced fumbles with 17.
• Nik McMillan has had three straight 100-yard receiving games. The last UB receiver to have four straight 100-yard games was Naaman Roosevelt in 2008.
• Al-Jay Henderson (2,042) is 21 yards shy of passing O.D. Underwood for ninth in program history in career rushing.
• With 405 career punt return yards, Victor Snow is 28 yards behind Tom Hurd (1965-67) for second place in career punt return yardage in program history.
• This will be Pete Lembo's 200th career game as a head coach.
• Pete Lembo has started his career with 14 wins over his first two season, the most wins by a UB coach in their first two seasons at the helm.
Central Michigan on Wednesday
The University at Buffalo football team will travel to Central Michigan on Wednesday night looking to stay atop the Mid-American Conference standings.
Buffalo is 5-4 overall, 4-1 in the MAC and is coming off a 28-3 win at Bowling Green on Nov. 1. The Bulls were led by running back Al-Jay Henderson who rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown in the game.
Central Michigan is 5-4 overall, 3-2 in the MAC and is coming off a 24-21 loss at Western Michigan on Nov. 1. The Chippewas are led by quarterback Angel Flores who has rushed for 519 yards and eight touchdowns on the season.
The Chippewas lead the all-time series 8-4. Buffalo won the last meeting, 37-13, at UB Stadium in 2023.
New York Nik
Nik McMillan has stepped up his game during conference play as he has gone over 100 yards receiving in four of the five MAC contests this season. He has had three straight 100-yard games with 10 catches for 119 yards at UMass, eight grabs for 177 yards against Akron and eight catches for 105 yards at Bowling Green. He is the first UB wide receiver to record three straight 100-yard games since Anthony Johnson in 2017.
McMillan currently leads the team in receiving with 42 receptions for 590 yards. He leads the MAC in receiving yards per game in conference games (108.9).
He has had the knack to catch the long ball with five receptions of 38 yards or longer on the season, including four in the last two games. Against Akron, McMillan had two 45-yard receptions and a 52-yard grab.
Snow Ends Punt Return Drought
Victor Snow ended the Bulls 10-year punt return touchdown drought when he returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown at Bowling Green on Nov. 1. It was the sixth-longest drought in the country.
It was the first punt returned for a touchdown since Jacob Martinez returned a punt for a TD against Albany on Sept. 5, 2015. It was just the third punt returned for a touchdown by a Bull in UB's FBS era (since 1999) and the first ever returned against a FBS opponent.
Al-Jay 2K
With 119 rushing yards against Bowling Green, Al-Jay Henderson became the 10th player in program history to rush for 2,000 yards in a career. The senior running back has rushed for 2,042 yards in his UB career, good for 10th all-time. He ranks 11th in program history in career rushing touchdowns with 18.
He is one rushing touchdown and 170 rushing yards behind current UB running backs coach Jordan Johnson who played for the Bulls from 2014-16.
Henderson has six career 100-yard rushing games and the Bulls are 6-0 in those games.
Forcing the Issue
Red Murdock has forced six fumbles in the last six games to bring his career total to 17. With his forced fumble at Bowling Green, Murdock broke the all-time NCAA record of 16 career forced fumbles held by former UB great Khalil Mack.
It only took Murdock 39 games to force 17 fumbles, while it took Mack 46 games to get to 16.
After leading the nation in forced fumbles a season ago with seven, Murdock ranks second this year with six.
Sack Lunch
The Bulls have totaled 14 sacks over the last three games to bring their total to 31. Buffalo leads the MAC and ranks sixth nationally in sacks.
14 different players have registered a sack on the season, led by Red Murdock and Junior Poyser who each have 4.5.
The program record for sacks in a season is 43 set in 2019.
Dead Red
Buffalo has played solid defense this season, but has been especially stout in the redzone. The Bulls lead the MAC and rank 11th nationally in redzone defense. Opponents have entered the redzone 21 times this season and have scored 15 times on 11 touchdowns and four field goals for a 71.4 percentage rate.
Close Calls
It has been a season filled with heart-pounding finishes for the UB football team. Six of their last seven games have been decided by one score with five of the six being decided in the final minute.
Trailing, 28-24, at Kent State, Victor Snow caught the game-winning touchdown pass with 1:03 left in the fourth quarter to help the Bulls win, 31-28.
UB dropped its next two contests to Troy, 21-17, on a touchdown with 45 seconds remaining, and to UConn on a walk-off field goal, 20-17, after the Bulls tied the game on a touchdown with 59 seconds left.
Jack Howes drilled a 50-yard field goal against Eastern Michigan, as time expired, to force overtime, where the Bulls won, 31-30.
Down, 21-20 at UMass, Ta'Quan Roberson connected with Victor Snow for a 16-yard touchdown with just 19 seconds left for the game-winning score.
Let it Snow
A season after being a third-team All-MAC wide receiver, Victor Snow has taken his game to new heights in 2025 and has been on a recent tear. Through nine games, Snow has 45 catches for 586 yards and seven touchdowns.
He combined for 14 receptions for 248 yards and scored five touchdowns (one rushing) in wins over Eastern Michigan and UMass and was named to the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll following each of those games.
He has saved his best plays for clutch moments and is a big reason why the Bulls got off to a 3-0 start in the MAC. He caught the game-winning touchdown at Kent State with 1:03 left on the clock. He scored the game-winning touchdown on an end-around in overtime to help the Bulls beat Eastern Michigan. He caught the game-winning touchdown with 19 seconds left at UMass.
He was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week following his six-catch, 136-yard, two-touchdown performance in UB's win over Eastern Michigan. He added a nine-yard rushing touchdown against the Eagles.
He was named the MAC Special Teams Player of the Week after returning a punt 65 yards for a touchdown in Buffalo's win at Bowling Green.
The Webster, NY native led the Bulls in receiving a season ago with 55 catches for 651 yards and six touchdowns en route to earning All-MAC Third Team honors.
Ta'Quan Throwberson
Ta'Quan Roberson had his best game as a Buffalo Bull in UB's win over UMass. He finished the game 36-of-55 for 403 yards and two touchdowns.
The 36 completions tied a school record. Joe Licata also completed 36 passes against Toledo in 2013. 24 of his 36 completions went for first downs which was also a school record.
His 403 passing yards were the 11th most in program history for a single game and the second most ever by a UB quarterback in a MAC road game. The last Buffalo quarterback to throw for 400 yards in a game was Tyree Jackson against Bowling Green in 2017.
Roberson is the first UB quarterback to throw for 250-plus yards in three straight games since Cole Snyder in 2022.
Gimme That!
The Bulls have created five turnovers in the last two games, including a season-best three against Akron with two forced fumbles and an interception. Buffalo forced a fumble and had an interception at Bowling Green the following week.
This is in stark contrast to the start of the season as the five turnovers in the last two games match the five turnovers they created in the first seven games of the season.
Passing the Test
Buffalo has utilized the passing game to find success in Mid-American Conference play so far this season. In their five games, the Bulls are averaging 279 yards per game through the air. The Bulls averaged only 129.5 yards passing in their four non-conference games.
In conference games only, the Bulls lead the league in passing yardage and rank third in passing touchdowns (10).
Dylan Named National Punter of the Week
Dylan Drennan was named the Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week for his performance against Eastern Michigan.
The redshirt-freshman from Dallas, TX recorded five punts with a net average of 56.6 yards in Buffalo's 31-30 overtime victory over Eastern Michigan. Drennan had three punts downed inside the 20-yard line, including one at the one-yard line, one at the six and one at the eight. His longest punt of the day traveled 76-yards, a career-best.
Drennan ranks third in the Mid-American Conference in punting, averaging 44.7 yards per punt. Of his 49 punts, 11 have sailed over 50 yards and 17 have been downed inside the 20-yard line.
Block Party
The Bulls have blocked four punts this season. Connor Henderson had a block against Saint Francis and Eastern Michigan, Miles Greer had a block at Kent State and Jonathan Capo had a block against UConn.
The four blocked punts are second in the nation.
It is the most blocked punts by a UB team since joining the FBS ranks in 1999.
Howes it Going
Kicker Jack Howes joined the Bulls prior to the season after transferring from Maryland. He has been a consistent threat for UB, making 10 of his 13 field goals and all 20 of his extra point attempts.
Howes has made a field goal in eight of nine games this season. His 50-yarder against Eastern Michigan, as time expired, forced overtime where the Bulls eventually won the game.
Murdock Named to Allstate AFCA Good Works Team & Finalist for Campbell Trophy
Linebacker Red Murdock might be even more impressive off the field than on it and that's saying a lot.
Murdock was one of 11 FBS players named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, recognizing college football players from across the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) who exemplify community service, academic excellence and athletic achievement.
Along with volunteering at numerous community service events, he is the founder and director of the Virginia Homework Helpers branch - a free K-12 tutoring program for students back in his home state of Virginia. He founded this organization after seeing many of his peers struggle in school with no extra help resulting in getting in trouble outside of school or dropping out.
He is just the second UB player named to the team, joining former wide receiver Fred Lee who earned the honor in 2013.
He was also selected as a finalist for the 2025 William V. Campbell Trophy, recognizing the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.
Graduating magna cum laude in May 2024 with a degree in psychology, Murdock is now pursuing a master's in education studies, maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA. A two-time CSC Academic All-District selection, he was also a two-time Academic All-MAC honoree.
New Faces
Despite only losing a few players to the transfer portal, it didn't stop the UB coaching staff from dipping into the portal to strengthen the team. Eleven transfers joined the Bulls prior to the 2025 campaign.
All 11 of the transfers appear on the Bulls' depth chart for week one, including projected starters QB Ta'Quan Roberson (Kansas State), C Jake Timm (LIU), WR Jasaiah Gathings (UConn), CB Koentez Bradley (Arizona State), S Miles Greer (Shepard) and K Jack Howes (Maryland).
Others appearing on the depth chart include OL Jake Merritt (Michigan State), TE Marcus Velez (Bethune-Cookman), LB Mitchell Gonser (Harvard), LB Connor Henderson (North Texas) and P Ethan Stumpf (East Carolina).
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 26th year, and 18th 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.
