The University at Buffalo football team dropped the 2018 MAC Championship in disheartening fashion, then missed out on a return trip by virtue of two one-score dejecting MAC losses in 2019. Can they take a cue from Detroit’s own Big Sean in bouncing back to make a return appearance to Ford Field?
We all know about the chaos that COVID-19 has caused within the sports world, especially at the mid-major collegiate level. Big schools had the money and resources to put together safety plans more efficiently, especially with the assurance of large television contracts. Things were much more challenging for the Mid American Conference, but they figured things out.
Six games in six weeks before the MAC Championship game the next week. Let’s take a preliminary look at UB’s road to Detroit.
November 4th @ Northern Illinois
How fitting is it that UB’s start to their path back to Detroit is against Northern Illinois? The last time these two teams met was in Detroit for the 2018 MAC Championship. I still shudder when I think about seeing how deflated Degenerate Al was after the Huskies came back to win 30-29.
Hopefully, this matchup goes better for the Bulls this time around, and on paper, it looks favorable.
The Huskies took a big step back in 2019 as they finished just 5-7. NIU’s offense did a great job possessing the ball but averaged just 23 points per game. Their offense was ranked as just the 104th-best in the nation. In comes new offensive coordinator Eric Eidness.
Much of NIU’s offensive successes came on the ground, which happened to be where the Bulls defense excelled in 2019. Eidness will look to bring NIU’s offense into 2020 by opening things up. However, he may not have all the talent to do that immediately.
NIU’s leading rusher Tre Harbison transferred to Charlotte, and their second-leading rusher, QB Marcus Childers, is gone as well. Eidness will have to rely on former Cal QB Ross Bowers, who is not a running threat.
Bowers has just seven touchdowns and eight interceptions in his career. His leading target will be Cole Tucker, who had just 38 snags for 531 yards in 2019. NIU also lost their second-leading receiver to transfer as TE Mitchell Brinkman left for USF.
All this bodes well for the Bulls defense to pick up where it left off in 2019. They were the nation’s fourth-best defense against the rush and return eight of their top-12 tacklers.
November 10th vs Miami (OH)
The Redhawks are the defending MAC Champions, and they return 10-of-11 starters on offense. At just 309 yards per game, the Redhawks were not prolific by any means, but the continuity in a chaotic year should really help.
QB Brett Gabbert now has a year under his wings and should be given a bigger opportunity to help his team through the air. Gabbert finished with just 2,411 yards with 11 touchdowns and 8 interceptions through the air during his freshman campaign.
All four of Gabbert’s top receivers from 2019 return, including the ever-reliable Jack Sorenson. Guys like Jalen Walker and James May can cause matchup nightmares on the outside to create big plays. Jaylon Bester is a threat in the backfield after finishing with 14 touchdowns last year.
Miami (OH)’s defense will have to replace half of its top-10 tacklers from 2019. They return their two leading-tacklers LB Ryan McWood and S Sterling Weatherford, who had 99 and 98 tackles, respectively. Joining Weatherford in the secondary is S Mike Brown and the game-changing senior CB Emmanuel Rugamba.
Last season, UB fell to Miami (OH) by a score of 34-20 even though they out-gained the Redhawks by 133 yards. Bulls quarterbacks were a combined 7-for-20. However, running backs Jaret Paterson and Kevin Marks both ran for over 100 yards.
November 17th @ Bowling Green
The Bowling Green Falcons were not good in 2019. The Falcons finished 3-9 on the year, including an absolute stomping from the Bulls during the last week of the season.
In that game, Jaret Patterson ran for six, yes SIX touchdowns and 298 yards. Patterson could have very easily had more as his running mate Kevin Marks also eclipsed 100 yards with a touchdown of his own.
UB’s defense kept the Falcons to just 187 total yards. Bowling Green’s quarterbacks were just 7-of-18 for 81 yards. That led to the team being just 3-for-15 on third down attempts.
2020’s iteration of Bowling Green does not look to be all that much better as they still look for guys to fit in head coach Scot Loeffler’s system. It looks like Boston College transfer Matt McDonald will be the starter at QB as Grant Loy transferred to Auburn(yes, transfers are killing small schools this year more than ever).
McDonald was at Boston College while Loeffler was the offensive coordinator, so he should have a solid grasp of the playbook. The offensive line returns three starters who led the MAC last season in least sacks allowed. That should allow Loeffler time to find senior TE Quinton Morris.
Morris had 55 grabs for 649 yards and four scores in 2019, but behind him the playmakers are a bit suspect. The wide receiver room returns just one guy who made more than one reception last year in Julian Ortega-Jones.
Another position group that the Falcons are young at is the secondary, however most of those guys are quite experienced. Bowling Green returns sophomores S Jordan Anderson and CB JaJuan as well as his partner junior CB Caleb Biggers.
The linebacking core is solid with leading-tackler Kholbe Coleman, but the team still must replace four of their top six tacklers. The interior defensive line looks to be the shakiest area for the Falcons.
November 28th vs Kent State
UB led Kent State 24-6 entering the fourth quarter last season. They lost 30-27.
Those are the types of losses that crush hopes of MAC glory in Detroit. That is exactly what it did to the Bulls in 2019. Can they avoid that same fate in 2020?
Senior QB Dustin Crum returns to the helm of the FlashFast offense after leading Kent State to their first ever bowl win. Crum finished with over 2,600 passing yards and 20 touchdowns to just two interceptions. The offense really picked up steam as they finished the season with over 450 yards in three-straight games.
In those three games, the running game added at least 250 of its own. Crum is a very adept runner as he finished with 707 yards and six touchdowns in 2019. Their top running back is gone, but Xavier Williams is a dynamite threat. Williams had 98 yards and two touchdowns in the Flashes’ comeback win over UB.
The Golden Flashes defense was the fourth-worst in the nation against the run and returns eight of the top ten tacklers. Will these guys be able to improve or should we expect more teams to run it down Kent State’s throats?
Well their linebacking and defensive line corps are quite undersized. Leading-tackler LB Mandela Lawrence-Burke is just 187 pounds and LB Cepeda Phillips is 217. Most of their defensive ends are built like linebackers including 246-pound Zayin West.
If their line cannot get pressure, then the secondary will face a lot of pressure. Kent lost one of their best safeties Qwuantrezz Knight to UCLA, but will get some help in transfers S CJ Holmes from Penn State and CB Tony Butler from Nebraska.
December 5th @ Ohio
UB missed two field goals and an extra point in a 21-20 OT loss to Ohio last year. It was their second-straight MAC loss, but they were able to right the ship as they only dropped one more game all season.
Ohio has had a great offense over the past few years. In 2019, the Bobcats finished with the 29th best total offense in the country by averaging 442 yards and 34 points per game. Much of that success was due to QB Nathan Rourke who has now graduated.
The new signal caller is likely to be Nathan’s brother Kurtis who is just a bigger version of Nathan. Grad transfer Armani Rogers is the main competitor. Rogers rushed for 1,549 yards and 18 touchdowns while at UNLV. Although, it seems Ohio is intrigued by the younger Rourke’s upside and big arm.
Whoever the signal caller is will be happy to know all of the top-receivers from 2019 return. Isiah Cox led the way with 663 yards on 39 grabs for a 17 yard per catch average. Shane Hooks and Shaun Leuherman are both back after snagging five touchdowns each last season.
The offensive line graduated three All-MAC players, so that will be Ohio’s biggest concern on offense. They ran for over 200 yards per game last season, so the trenches are generally a place where there Bobcats succeed.
Ohio’s defense was very pedestrian in 2019 as they allowed 27 points per game. They do return eight of their top-10 tacklers, but they will have to replace do-it-all safety Javon Hagan.
The Bobcats will be looking for progression as they return three of four D-line starters and almost all of their snaps at the linebacker position. Linebackers Dylan Conner and Jared Dorsa combined for 163 tackles in 2019 and should have a larger workload in 2020.
Ohio could be UB’s toughest task on the road to Detroit, but can they take care of business before the trip to Athens?
December 12th vs Akron
Akron finished 2019 defeated at an 0-12 record. That may happen again in 2020.
The Zips finished dead last in the country with 47 rushing yards per game in 2019. If QB Kato Nelson does not get some help on the ground, then it could be another very ugly year for Akron. It won’t help that four members of Akron’s secondary left to transfer.
In the year 2020, it is hard to predict anything. So much changes day-to-day. However, one thing that I am actually confident in is that head coach Lance Leipold will have his team ready to play.
Leipold wanted to build a winner at UB when he took the job and moved on from his alma mater UW-Whitewater. The team has now been bowl eligible in three-straight seasons and has made the trip to Detroit.
The only thing missing now is a victory at Ford Field for Leipold’s Bulls. Then a few consecutive trips back to the Motor City bringing back more hardware. That is the next step to building a sustained winner in Buffalo.