The UB Bulls (1-3) entered Saturday afternoon 1-25 against Power Five schools. They left 1-26, outplayed by ACC school Boston College in all three facets of the game.
The Boston College Eagles (3-2) dominated most of the game, winning 35-3 on a misty Saturday at BC's Alumni Stadium. Graduate transfer quarterback Patrick Towles led the Eagles with 234 yards through the air along with two touchdowns. The Bulls were held to their lowest offensive output in 18 years in Division I, with just 67 total yards on the day. Senior running back Jordan Johnson was held to 13 yards on seven carries. Freshman quarterback Tyree Jackson completed 9 of 21 for 42 yards.
“Credit them, it’s a top 10 defense in the country,” said UB football head coach Lance Leipold.
The Eagles No. 8 ranked defense was too much and Buffalo looked thoroughly outmatched as the BC offense outgained them by 333 yards. The Bulls punted on their first five drives and only accumulated 22 yards.
Boston took a couple drives to get started as well, but opened up the scoring in the last minute of the first quarter when redshirt freshman running back Davon Jones punched it in from one yard out. Redshirt freshman receiver Chris Garrison had a big 44-yard catch on the drive but had an awkward landing and had to leave the game. He did not return.
The Eagles came back out their next drive and added to their lead with a seven-yard pass from Towles to junior wide receiver Charlie Callinan. UB was able to finally get a little momentum going when junior linebacker Ishmael Hargrove sacked Towles, forcing a fumble and recovering it himself on the BC 11-yard line.
“I was in coverage with the running back and saw that he was blocking,” Hargrove said. “So I tried to find a crease open and went for it and luckily I got to [Towles] and was able to get the ball out.”
Buffalo scored their only points of the day following the play. After three incomplete passes, sophomore kicker Adam Mitcheson hit a 28-yard field goal leaving the bulls down 14-3. Boston had a tremendous showing from their front seven. The Eagles only allowed 26 rushing yards all game.
Buffalo was without junior tackle Tyler O’Henly, who missed the game after suffering a concussion in practice this week.
Overall, the Bulls only averaged 1.6 yards per play.
“[They’re an] excellent group, confident, you can see the experience and speed they play with on a weekly basis, their ability to read, react and get downhill,” Leipold said.
Boston answered the field goal with an 84-yard drive capped off by an 11-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Michael Walker. In the fourth quarter, Boston added another pair of touchdowns, the first off of a one-yard run by sophomore running back Jon Hilliman. The Eagles then finished out the game on a three-yard run from sophomore running back Richard Wilson with 14 seconds left in the game.
One of the few bright spots of the day for Buffalo was that they only allowed 142 yards to an Eagles offense that rushed 57 times, a 2.5 yard per rush average. Sophomore linebacker Khalil Hodge had 10 tackles on the day, marking his third straight game with double-digit tackles.
With MAC play beginning next week, the Bulls are hoping they can save their season before it really begins.
“Everyone starts out 0-0 in the MAC, everyone has a clean slate, whether you’re 4-0 in non-conference or 0-4, it doesn’t matter, what matters is next Saturday against Kent State,” Jackson said.
Buffalo hosts Kent State next Saturday at UB stadium. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m.
Dan Petruccelli is a sports staff writer and can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com
