Amherst, NY (WGR 550) - The University at Buffalo football team (2-2) is set to kick-off the Mid-American Conference portion of their 2019 schedule this weekend down in Oxford, Ohio against Miami University (1-3). When the Bulls and RedHawks met in Buffalo in late October last season, the two sides combined for 93 points in an absolute shootout of a game, in which UB came out on top, 51-42.
In the nine contests they've played since the last matchup with Miami, the Bulls are 4-5, and have failed to win two-consecutive games in that stretch. However, things appear to be looking up for Buffalo, following their impressive, and somewhat upset of a win over Temple last Saturday. With some restored confidence and an uptick in intensity with conference play starting, this weekend could be as good a time as any for the Bulls to finally string two victories together, and possibly establish themselves as contenders to repeat as MAC East Division Champions.
After a rough first couple of games, the UB defense turned in its best all-around effort last Saturday against the Owls. Despite being without starting linebackers James Patterson and Kadofi Wright, the Bulls allowed just 31 rushing yards, held Temple to 22 points, with 12 coming in the fourth quarter, and forced four turnovers with three being interceptions. With an offense that is young and still building it's chemistry, the defense improving its play could go a long way for the Bulls.
"Six days earlier [before the Temple game] we sat in a staff meeting, talking about how we didn't have any interceptions, very few turnovers, we weren't creating any," Bulls head coach Lance Leipold said at his weekly press conference on Tuesday. "It's not all of sudden you snap your finger and things are going to happen. But, to see things start to take place, you drill them, you talk about them, and to see them start happening is very fulfilling for our guys, and fun to watch."
Leipold admitted he's still "hoping" that Patterson and Wright will be available on Saturday, although it seems that won't be the case. Luckily for UB, not only did the defense have a bounce back game last week, but the Bulls run game on offense found the groove it had seemed to have lost against Liberty.
Sophomore running back Jaret Patterson rushed for a season-high 133 yards and two scores in the win over Temple. Patterson's classmate and partner in the backfield, Kevin Marks, finished with 72 yards on the ground and one touchdown as well. Miami currently ranks 102nd in the nation in rushing yards allowed per-game (187.0).
The Bulls have rushed for 892 yards through the first four games so far this season, the highest total through the first four games for UB in their modern era (since 1999). Patterson and Marks are responsible for 682 of those yards, and rank third and fifth in the MAC respectively in yards per-game. The same can be said each week most likely, but Patterson, Marks, and the run game may be the Bulls' key to another win.
"It'll always be important for us to establish [the run game] if we're ever going to have a chance to win," Leipold said. "You can make days long on people, it can be long on us, if you don't stop the run. Now we have to continue to work, and develop, and create more balance. And I think with the growth in experience and maturity at the quarterback and wide receiver positions, when we get healthy at tight end, and all those things start coming back together, I think those things will show itself, just like they did in the Penn State game."
While the Bulls are coming off a win and a game that had a lot of positives for them last week, the same cannot be said for Miami. Last Saturday, the RedHawks were thrashed in Columbus by No. 5 Ohio State, 76-5. Miami has played two other challenging non-conference road games this season. They lost 38-14 at No. 14 Iowa in Week 1, and fell at Cincinnati the week before the Ohio State game, 35-13.
In conference play, you have to wipe the slate clean when it comes to records, to some capacity. Playing two Big Ten schools and another solid program all on the road is a tough way to start a season, but Leipold knows that scores don't tell the whole story of a team or a game. In fact, Miami pulled number of key players from the game against Ohio State once a victory was clearly out of reach.
"We're not reading much into the score," Leipold stated. "As you start looking at film, you start seeing who's on the field for both teams. I think in today's 'college playoff' world, we can see where teams keep playing, because there's a lot of people that don't watch those games, so they look at margin of victory, not exactly what's happened and who's on the field. I've been through that pretty much my whole career, what people look at when there's a playoff involved. So, I don't take much stock in that."
Kickoff on Saturday from Yager Stadium is scheduled for 12 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU and will also be available to listen to, as always, on ESPN 1520, along with pre-game and post-game coverage.
You can hear Leipold's full press conference from this week below:
