UB Stadium -- Buffalo, NY
CBSSN
After a Week 5 loss to Western Michigan, the Buffalo Bulls have bounced back nicely with two straight victories. They are favored to make it three straight this week when they host Bowling Green in the MAC's only Saturday game. The Falcons have yet to win a conference game, dropping to 0-4 MAC (2-6 overall) with a home loss to Eastern Michigan last week.
BGSU leads the all-time series with UB, 11-7, who has been in the MAC since 2000. Buffalo, which has won the last four matchups, and Bowling Green met in the 2019 season finale, with the Bulls posting a 49-7 victory. UB running back Jaret Patterson rushed 26 times for 298 yards and six touchdowns in the victory. Jordan Anderson led the Falcons with 12 tackles in defeat.
Here's more on the two teams . . .
BOWLING GREEN (2-6, 0-4 MAC)
>> The Falcons are coming off a 55-24 home loss against Eastern Michigan. BGSU owned leads of 3-0 and 10-7 before the Eagles scored 38 of the game's next 44 points. Bowling Green added a TD in the final minute.
>> Eastern Michigan owned a 455-374 advantage in total offense. Both teams rushed for 130 yards.
>> Senior Matt McDonald completed 20 of 35 pass attempts, good for 223 yards with one interception.
>> Ten Falcons caught at least one pass; four had at least three receptions. Junior Austin Osborn led the way with five balls for 42 yards.
>> All three Bowling Green TDs came on runs -- the longest being a 9-yard scamper by Nick Mosley in the final minute. Terion Stewart paced the Falcons with eight carries for 57 yards and a score. Mosley contributed 43 yards and a TD on his seven carries and Jaison Patterson one touchdown among his four runs.
>> Darren Anders led the BGSU defense with 13 tackles, including a sack. n Anders is the only player in the nation this season with 70+ tackles (79), 7.0+ tackles for loss (7.5), 1+ fumble recoveries (1) and 1+ interceptions (1). Anders currently ranks tied for No. 8 in the nation and tied for No. 1 in the MAC with 9.9 tackles per game. He shares the top spot in the MAC with Buffalo’s James Patterson.
>> PK Nate Needham is 14-of-14 on field goal attempts this season. He is one of nine FBS players who is perfect
on the year, but his 14 made field goals ranks No. 1 in the nation among those who are perfect. He is a perfect 9-of-9, on field goals from 40+ yards -- tops in the nation.
>> Bowling Green is No. 9 in the nation in passing yards allowed. The Falcons are yielding just 169.6 yards per game through the air.
>> P Matt Naranjo has 16 punts downed inside the 20-yard line, which is tops in the MAC and tied for No. 10 in the nation. He had a game-high five against South Alabama. BGSU is No. 24 in the nation and No. 4 in the MAC on punt return defense, limiting opponents to 6.50 yards per return.
>> This year’s BGSU team has allowed the fewest passing yards (1,358) through the first eight games of a season in records dating back to 2000. The Falcons are eighth among MAC teams in rushing defense (189.9 ypg).
>> Bowling Green is last among MAC teams in scoring (19.5 ppg) and eighth in scoring defense (28.9 ppg).
>> The Falcons two wins include a 14-10 victory over Big Ten member Minnesota in Week 4.
BUFFALO BULLS (4-4, 2-2 MAC)
>> After edging Ohio on a last second field goal 27-26 on Oct. 16, the Bulls dominated Akron 45-10 last week. It was the first time this season that UB posted back-to-back wins.
>> Buffalo produced 484 yards against the Zips, who were held to a total of 304 (just 75 on the ground). Three Bulls TDs came on the ground and three went through the air game.
>> Senior QB Kyle Vantrease hit 15 of 20 pass attempts totaling 241 yards with three TDs. Eight players caught passes, with four having at least three receptions. Freshman Jamari Gassett led receivers, grabbing four balls for 05 yards and a score. Dominic Johnson and Dylan McDuffie also owned receiving TDs.
>> After only throwing 2 touchdown passes over the first 5 games, Kyle Vantrease has thrown 6 in the last 3 games.
>> McDuffie was the rushing workhorse, carrying 23 times for 111 yards and a TD. Vantrease and Jake Molinich also scored ground touchdowns. The Bulls totaled 231 yards on the ground.
>> Buffalo forced four Falcon turnovers and owned a 4-1 turnover margin advantage.
>> The Bulls are second among MAC teams in scoring (32.4 ppg) and fourth in scoring defense (23.0 ppg).
>> As usual, UB has a strong run game, producing 204 yards (3rd MAC) in all games. The Bulls are ninth in pass offense (213.8 ypc). Twenty-two of Buffalo’s 31 offensive touchdowns this season have come on the ground. The
Bulls lead the MAC and are tied for eighth in the nation in rushing touchdowns.
>> The Bulls have only allowed 75 yards passing in each of the last two games.
>> Buffalo leads the conference in both QB protection (just four sacks) and defensive sacks (29). Buffalo and top-ranked Georgia are the only two teams to rank in the top 10 in the nation in sacks and sacks allowed. The Bulls rank 7th in sacks (29) and 4th in sacks allowed (4). Georgia ranks 10th in sacks and 5th in sacks allowed.
>> The Bulls had a program-best 11 sacks in their last game against Akron. It was the most sacks in a gameby any team in the nation this season. Kyler Laing accounted for 3.5 sacks. Laing is now tied for the team lead in sacks with 4.5 and tackles for loss with 7.5. He has 6.5 sacks in 14 career games.
>> James Patterson continues to be a standout linebacker for the Bulls. He leads UB and the MAC in tackles with 79.
>> Buffalo tops the MAC in red zone offense, coming away with 28 TDs