The game turned quickly in . . .
The first touchdown was set up by a strip sack by James Patterson. That led to an eight-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Vantrease to Antonio Nunn to give UB a 10-7 lead.
On the very first play of the Chippewas' next possession, Joey Banks ripped the ball free from a CMU running back, and it was recovered by Kadofi Wright at the Central Michigan 15-yard line. It took only one play for Buffalo to find the endzone as Jaret Patterson ran it in from 15 yards out to extend the UB lead to 10 points.
Buffalo took a 24-7 lead with 3:39 left in the half when Vantrease and Nunn connected for their second touchdown of the game, this time on a 14-yard fade pattern.
After CMU scored with just 1:35 left in the half to cut the UB lead to 24-14, the Bulls marched 75 yards on only five plays and scored on a three-yard Kevin Marks touchdown to take a 30-14 lead at the half. The big play on the drive was a 54-yard pass completion from Vantrease to Patterson.
Central Michigan never threatened in the second half, scoring one TD but failing on a PAT pass. Meanwhile, Alex McNulty made two of this three field goals in the second half to help the Buffalo cause. On the day, the redshirt-freshman made kicks of 29, 29 and 39 yards.
Wright sealed the victory by returning an interception 40 yards for a touchdown late in the contest. It was the second straight game in which Wright has scored a defensive touchdown.
"Causing five turnovers is outstanding and it builds confidence for everyone" head coach Lance Leipold said. "[CMU has] been an explosive offense all year, and for us to do a good job ourselves, it's a good day when you can be plus-four in the turnover margin."
Patterson led the Bulls offensively with 149 yards rushing and a touchdown as well as 59 receiving yards to account for 208 yards of total offense. Vantrease threw for 179 and two touchdowns. Nunn was his favorite target with five catches for 77 yards and two scores.
Defensively, it was another standout performance for Banks. The senior safety had a game-high 10 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception. Tyrone Hill added eight tackles. Riggins had five stops, 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery.