Last weekend, the UB football team last another winnable game, but their memory must be short to quickly bounce back against MAC East rival Kent State. The Bulls took a lead in the second half of last week’s Homecoming game before stalling out and losing by a touchdown.
Kent had a stronger Homecoming performance as they scored two-straight touchdowns and forced a redzone turnover to earn their first MAC victory of the season. However, this week will present another tough task as Kent will welcome the Bulls into town with eyes on retribution from last year’s beatdown.
Revenge on the Mind
“The key to victory is we gotta stop the run. We all know what it is, it’s a personal vendetta. We’ve been talking about it for a long time. We gotta stop the run. We gotta run the ball. We gotta be disciplined. We gotta score touchdowns. Field goals aren’t going to win it.”
Kent State head coach Sean Lewis to the media in advance of Saturday’s game
Last Time Out
Bulls fans left UB Stadium disappointed after the team squandered a small lead to drop their MAC Opener 24-17. The game was generally back-and-forth until a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was called after linebacker Kadofi Wright spiked a dropped interception. Then instead of facing third down, WMU was given a new set of downs and they immediately took advantage with a 64-yard touchdown to speedster Skyy Moore on the very next play.
That is not how you want a veteran team to respond to adversity. In addition, undisciplined play has been a bane of the UB football team over the past few seasons whether an untimely penalty or being out of position and it reared its ugly head yet again. Hopefully these Liepold-era mistakes do not make a habit of popping back up under new head coach Maurice Linguist.
Senior linebacker Kadofi Wright was benched after the incident. Wright plays a very important part in the Bulls defense as he posses the athleticism to make plays from sideline-to-sideline plus the strength the reroute a ball carrier from his destination. The Bulls did not release a depth chart heading into this week’s game, so it is unclear whether or not the punishment will carry into Kent.
Last weekend, Kent also played in a one-score MAC Opener, however they ended up on the right side of things. Super senior quarterback Dustin Crum is well known throughout the MAC and many slotted him as a contender for Player of the Year, but Kent’s rushing game saved them last week. Crum struggled to find consistency through the air as he finished just 15/28 for 134 yards with most passes being quick hitters.
That worked for Kent as their rushing game continued to roll. As a team, the Golden Flashes ran for 268 yards and three touchdowns. Finding themselves trailing late, Kent scored two unanswered touchdowns to secure the 27-20 homecoming win.
Last Meeting
2020’s meeting between the Bulls and Golden Flashes was one for the history books as the UB football team reached the 70-point mark for the first time in their Division-1 history and running back Jaret Patterson tied the FBS-record with eight touchdowns in one game.
Many fans will remember this game for what could have been for Jar. Patterson as former head coach Lance Leipold failed to realize how close his running back was from history. A late rushing touchdown scored by Kevin Marks could have easily gone to Jar. Patterson who then would have set the record for most touchdowns and rushing yards in an FBS game.
At the end of the evening, Jar. Patterson finished with 409 yards and eight touchdowns as Marks added another 97 yards and two touchdowns. The Bulls amassed 663 total yards and averaged 8.8 yards per play.
Buffalo leads the all-time series 14-12 including wins in 9 of the last 14 contests.
Rushing Reversal
The UB rushing game has been solid in 2021, but it isn’t the juggernaut it was last season. Ironically, the team UB ran all over last season seems to have adopted the run-first identity. Currently, the Bulls rank 38th in the nation in rushing yards per game while the Golden Flashes rank 10th at 242.2 yards.
Kent is averaging 53 more yards per game than Buffalo and more than .2 yards per carry. The Kent rushing attack is led by a two-headed backfield with Marquez Cooper and Xavier Williams. Cooper leads the team with 73.4 rushing yards per game while Williams is just shy of the 50-yard mark. Quarterback Dustin Crum is heavily involved in the rushing attack as well.
Kent runs an RPO-focused spread offense that looks to take advantage of spreading out a defense. Crum is not the most athletic runner in the world, but he has enough speed to be elusive at 6-foot-3 and the power to run through a linebacker. UB will need to emphasize wrapping and making the initial tackle or else with will be a very long day defensively.
Rankings
| Team Statistics | UB | Kent |
| Points per game | 28.6 (70th) | 24.0 (94th) |
| Points allowed per game | 24.2 (68th) | 27.6 (87th) |
| Rushing yards per game | 189.2 (38th) | 242.2 (10th) |
| Passing yards per game | 193.8 (97th) | 188.2 (104th) |
| Total offense | 383.0 (75th) | 430.4 (46th) |
| 3rd down pct | 50.6% (13th) | 42.2% (54th) |
| Rushing yards allowed per game | 167.6 (90th) | 168.8 (96th) |
| Passing yards allowed per game | 222.0 (65th) | 258.4 (107th) |
| Total defense | 389.6 (78th) | 427.2 (100th) |
| Opposing 3rd down pct | 38.8% (76th) | 46.5% (116th) |
Bundt’s Preview
Degenerate Danger Zone
Kent State -5.5
Over/Under 65
Tune In
When:
Saturday at 7 P.M.
Dix Stadium
Kent, OH
TV:
ESPNU
Radio:
WNY: ESPN1520 (1520 AM)
Be sure to follow @BulletPoints716 for more UB coverage including our LIVE preview tonight(Friday) at 6:30 P.M.!
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