Buffalo, which won five straight starting in late September, has yet to win in November. Two straight losses knocked the Bulls out of first place in the MAC East. Ohio and Bowling Green will battle for the divisional crown on Tuesday, but UB can still reach bowl eligibility with a win in either of its last two games. The Bulls finish against Kent State Saturday, Nov. 26.
Neither Kent State nor Akron have winning records, but both are dangerous. Akron, in fact, has just one win to its credit, and that was in the season opener Sept. 1. Nonetheless, the Zips have been within a score of winning in four of six MAC contests.
Akron and Buffalo are meeting for the 22nd time in program history, with the Zips owning a 11-10 series
advantage. In the last meeting between the two schools, the Bulls registered a 45-10 triumph past
Akron on Oct. 23, 2021 at InfoCision Stadium. The Zips and Bulls last met in Buffalo on Dec. 12, 2020
when Buffalo posted a 56-7 victory.
Here's more on the two teams . . .
AKRON ZIPS (0-6 MAC, 1-9 OVERALL)
~~ Akron is playing its first season under new head coach Joe Moorehead.
~~ The Zips are coming off a 34-28 home loss to Eastern Michigan Nov. 8. The Eagles led at the end of each quarter. EMU was up 31-14 after three periods, but Akron climbed within three points with two quick touchdowns early in the fourth quarter. Cam Wiley, who had three touchdowns on the day, scored on runs of 11 and 55 yards within two minutes. pulled UA within three at 31-28, but there was only one more score in the game. That was an Eagle field goal.
~~ Akron lost the turnover battle, 3-1.
~~ The Zips outgained EMU 386-345 overall, with 163 yards coming on the ground. Wiley led the way with 18 trips for 144 yards with three scores.
~~ Quarterbacks DJ Irons and Jeff Undercuffler Jr. combined to complete 8-of-18 paa attempts, good for 223 yards with one TD and three interceptions -- two by Undercuffler. Alex Adams led Akron receivers with six catches for 102 yards and a TD.
~~ Bubba Arlanian led the UA defense with 12 tackles. The Zips recorded two sacks and seven TFL.
~~ UA ranks 12th/last among MAC teams in rushing offense (82.3 ypg) and is second in pass offense (283.0 ypg)
~~ The Zips are 11th in scoring offense (18.9 ppg) and 12th/last in scoring defense (36.7 ypg).
BUFFALO BULLS (4-2 MAC, 5-5 OVERALL)
~~ The Bulls are coming off a 31-27 road loss at Central Michigan. Buffalo appeared in control at intermission when it held a 24-7 lead. However, CMU tied the game with 17 unanswered points in the third period. The touchdowns came on runs of 75 and 40 yards.
UB went back in front with a 54-yard Alex McNulty field goal at 9:43 of the final quarter, but Central Michigan responded with a touchdown on its next drive. Buffalo's last drive ended on downs at CMU's 24 after the Chippewas stopped two straight UB rushes for no gain.
~~ Buffalo outgained CMU 431-420 and had seven more first downs.
~~ UB controlled the ball for 38:27. Both teams had one turnover.
~~ Central Michigan was able to run for 303 yards, averaging 8.4 ypc. All four Chippewas touchdowns came on runs.
~~ Ron Cook Jr. carried 22 times totaling 100 yards. Collectively, UB ran for a total of 240 yards.
~~ Sophomore Cole Snyder completed 19-of-32 attempts for 191 yards with one interception.
~~ Ten different players caught at least one pass. Justin Marshall led the group with four ctches for a total of 45 yards.
~~ Shaun Dolac led the UB defense with 13 tackles. He ranks second among all MAC defenders, averaging 10.8 tackles per game.
~~ Marcus Fuqua leads the MAC with five interceptions.
~~ Buffalo ranks third among MAC teams in scoring ofense (29.8 ppg) and is fifth in scoring defense (27.4 ppg). The Bulls are 5th in rushing (151.5 ypg) and third in pass offense (236.8 ypg).