The Bulls (3-3, 1-1 Mid-American Conference) lost 36-35 Saturday on the road against Bowling Green (4-2, 2-0 MAC) Saturday. The win moves the Falcons into first place in the MAC East.
Stat rundown
-The Bulls possessed the ball for 38:08 – nearly two-thirds of the game. The Falcons only possessed the ball for 21:52, but still ran more plays (76 to 71) than Buffalo with their quick-tempo offense.
-There were only two drives in the entire game that lasted more than four minutes – Buffalo’s game opening 15-play touchdown drive and the drive that ended in senior kicker Patrick Clarke’s 33-yard missed field goal attempt.
-After taking a 28-17 with 2:02 left in the first half, the Bulls were outscored 19-7 for the remainder of the game.
-Junior quarterback Joe Licata completed six of 13 pass attempts in the second half for just 15 yards.
-Junior running back Anthone Taylor ran for 219 yards Saturday, including 111 in the fourth quarter alone.
Turning point:
Clarke missed a 33-yard field goal attempt wide right with three minutes left in the game that would have given Buffalo an 8-point lead. Bowling Green scored the eventual game-winning touchdown four plays and 40 seconds later.
When the game was lost:
The Bulls failed to convert on fourth-and-8, turning the ball over on downs and allowing the Falcons to run out the remaining 88 seconds. Licata was under pressure and threw to junior wide receiver Marcus McGill in the middle of the field, but three Falcons were in the area and the pass was broken up.
Buffalo Player of the Game:
Taylor ran for more than 200 yards for the second consecutive game – making him the first player in program history to do so. He also ran for three touchdowns and was essentially the Bulls’ offense in the second half, running for 125 of the team’s 160 total yards of offense after halftime.
Bowling Green Player of the Game:
Sophomore wide receiver Ronnie Moore had more than half of Bowling Green’s receiving yards – finishing with nine receptions for 178 yards a touchdown Saturday. He had 40 and 36-yard plays on the Falcons’ four-play game-winning drive.
Quote of the game:
“No excuses,” said head coach Jeff Quinn. “We had a chance and weren’t able to complete the mission.”
Next game:
Buffalo returns to the road against Eastern Michigan (0-4, 0-1 MAC) next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN3.
A full game story and post game video can be found on www.ubspectrum.com.
email: sports@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of UB Athletics
