Saturday November 28 - Noon
UB Stadium – Amherst, New York
CBSSN
What better way to kick off the second half of MAC football 2020 than to pit division co-leaders against each other in a game that could well decide the East title.
Both the Kent State Golden Flashes and Buffalo Bulls have . . .
Here is more on the two teams . . .
THE SERIES: Saturday’s game is the 26th lifetime meeting between the two schools, with the Bulls holding a narrow 13-12-1 advantage. KSU, which had lost four the last five meetings, ended a two-game losing streak awith a dramatic 30-27 win last November 14 at Dix Stadium.
LAST MEETING: The Flashes came back from a 24-6 deficit late in the third quarter to secure a victory when PK Matthew Trickett connected on a 44-yard field goal as time expired
KSU's 24 points in the final 7:39 of the game was the largest fourth quarter comeback in the Mid-American Conference since 1995 when Miami won at Northwestern (the week after NU won at Notre Dame). That Wildcat squad won a Big Ten title and played USC in the Rose Bowl.
BUFFALO BULLS (3-0)
● The Bulls last week improved to 3-0 on the season as they defeated Bowling Green, 42-17. Buffalo tallied a pair of touchdowns in both the second and third quarters to take complete control of the contest
● Junior RB Jaret Patterson rushed for a career high 301 yards on 31 carries, scoring four touchdowns on the evening. Overall, UB rushed for 396 yards.
● Junior Kyle Vantrease passed for only 74 yards, completing 7-of-12 passes, with senior WR Anthony Nunn catching seven of them for 70 yards.
● The defense as led by LB James Patterson who had 13 total tackles (eight of them solo). It was part of a defensive effort that registered three sacks, three pass breakup and an interception
● UB opened this abbreviated 2020 campaign with a 49-30 road victory at Northern Illinois. It followed with a home win over Miami, 42-10, in a battle of the two preseason favorites for the Eastern Division title
● Buffalo is 3-0 in MAC play for just the third time in program history
● In their wins over the Huskies and RedHawks, UB averaged 44.3 points per game (third in the MAC), 461.7 yards (242.3 rushing – second) and 219.3 passing
● Defensively, the Blue and White are allowing 19.3 point and 351.3 total yards (leading the conference)
● Head Coach Lance Leipold is halfway through his sixth season at UB and has a 34-32 record with the Bulls. He is 144-38 overall record after a stellar coaching career at Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater
● Over the past two plus seasons, Buffalo's running game has topped the the MAC and UB is continuing its ground success this season. Jaret Patterson leads the conference with 455 total yards. He has scored seven touchdowns on the ground and eight overall (MAC-best)
● Kyle Van Trease 9-2 is overall as a starter and has completed 36-of-57 passes for 658 yards with six touchdowns an only one INT. Van Trease went to high school down the road from KSU at Stow-Munroe Falls High School.
● Antonio Nunn leads the receiving corps with 17 catches for 309 yards and two touchdowns.
● The offensive line has not allowed a sack in the first three games and has helped UB go 11-of-12 in the red zone
● The defense is led by junior LB James Patterson (24 hits, 12 solo tackles)
● Senior DE Malcolm Koonce is tied for the team lead with three sacks
● The Bulls have a turnover margin of plus-5, which leads the conference
KENT STATE GOLDEN FLASHES (3-0)
● The Flashes are coming off a decisive win over arch-rival Akron, 69-35. KSU scored 28 unanswered points after UA tied the score 28-28 near the end of the first half. The victory moved KSU to 3-0 for the first time since 1958 and secured the Wagon Wheel Trophy for the second consecutive year.
● The Flashes offense totaled 750 total yards and KSU was 11-for-11 on third down conversions
● The win was the Flashes seventh straight dating back to last season their longest since 2012
● QB Dustin Crum had a career day, completing 22-of-25 passes for 348 and three touchdowns. In addition, he ran for 104 yards and a pair of scores. Freshman RB Marquez Cooper led the ground attack with 167 yards and three scores, while Isaiah McKoy owned six receptions with 104 yards and a score
● The defense had five sacks against the Zips with an interception, a forced fumble, a recovered fumble, seven tackles for losses and a pass breakup. Junior LB Khalib Johns had ten total tackles (five solo)
● Over its first three outings, KSU’s offense has scored 52.7 points and averaged 616 yards -- tops in the conference (rushing 299 yards and passing 317 also leads). The Flashes have converted 61.9 percent on third down and are a perfect 5-for-5 on fourth down.
● Dustin Crum has completed 61-of-81 passes for 838 yard with nine touchdowns and only one interceptions. He is second in total offense
● Isaiah McKoy has 20 receptions (second in the conference) and leads with four receiving touchdowns
● Marquez Cooper leads the ground attack with 218 yards and five touchdowns
● The Golden Flashes defense has allowed 27.3 points and 344.3 yards per game ( second in the MAC)and 166.7 passing. KSU has registered 11 sacks
●Sophomore S Dean Clark leads the defense with 21 total tackle (eight solo)
● Senior LB Kasean Gamble and sophomore LB Brandon Coleman are tied for first in the conference with three sacks each.
● PK Matthew Trickett leads the MAC in scoring among kickers with 23 points (17-for-17 PAT/ 2-for-3 field goals)