One statement summarized the Bulls (0-2, 0-1 MAC) football team as they were dominated in their 35-0 loss at Bowling Green (2-0, 1-0 MAC) Saturday night.
"It was a thorough defeat. We really didn't win in any aspect of the game," said UB Head Coach Jim Hofher.
It was a nightmarish evening for Buffalo offensively. The Bulls turned the ball over three times in the first half and never got into an offensive rhythm, which contributed to a Bowling Green average drive start at the UB 40-yard line.
Buffalo quarterback Joe Freedy was intercepted on his first pass of the game, and later again in the opening half. After the second interception Freedy was benched in favor of Randall Secky, who saw the first action of his college career.
Hofher would not tip his hat as to whether or not Secky is challenging for the starting job.
"I don't know [who will be the starting quarterback]. We'll have to look and see why Joe had two interceptions in the first quarter, and we'll have to look and see how well Randall played," Hofher said.
Freedy's first interception came on a quick three-step drop, Buffalo's second play of the game. Looking to throw a quick slant to a wide receiver over the middle, Freedy threw the ball right into the surprised hands of linebacker Chris Hanline.
The Falcons took advantage of the miscue when running back Joe Alls capped off a quick two-play, ten-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run to give Bowling Green a 7-0 advantage less than two minutes into the game.
Freedy's second pick was not as costly, but still earned him a spot on the bench. In an attempt to go downfield his 14-yard pass landed right into the waiting hands of Falcon safety Chad Long, who returned the ball to the Buffalo 38-yard line with 2:19 to play in the opening quarter.
Bowling Green was unable to turn the good field position into a score, but that was one of the only times they failed to do so.
Following a 14-yard punt return by Robert Redd, Bowling Green once again started a drive inside UB territory. Quarterback Josh Harris led the Falcons on a 38-yard drive that culminated in his 5-yard touchdown run and gave BGSU a 14-0 lead.
A costly fumble by UB tight end Chad Bartoszek led to the Falcons' third touchdown.
Quarterback Andy Sahm threw a perfect 13-yard touchdown pass to Redd, who was coasting to the back of the endzone a hair ahead of a UB cornerback, highlighting Bowling Green's scoring drive of just 31 yards.
The Falcons rotated quarterbacks Sahm and Harris for much of the night until Sahm was knocked out of the game early in the third quarter and had to be carted off the field.
Redd struck again with a 40-yard punt return late in the first half that led to Bowling Green's fourth touchdown.
Alls hit pay dirt once again following the Redd punt return with his second two-yard touchdown run of the game. The Falcons scoring drive went just 12 yards.
The Bulls offense had nothing to speak of heading in to the locker room. At halftime they had gained only 112 yards, turned the ball over three times - leading to two touchdowns - and had just three first downs. The closest they came to scoring was Dallas Pelz's missed field goal of 34 yards.
The Buffalo defense did not have an answer for the well-balanced, shotgun formation offense that Bowling Green employed. They were, however, hampered by Falcon advantages in field position and time of possession. BGSU's average drive start for the game was their own 48-yard line, compared to UB's average start at their own 21. The Falcons also had the ball for an exhausting 36 minutes, 51 seconds.
"Our defense played valiantly when they had to defend a 10-yard drive, a 12-yard drive, and a 30-yard drive based either on turnovers or on special teams," Hofher said. "That's a hard nut to crack even if you're a good defense, and we played far too long."
UB defensive end Chris Shelly knew his defense was the stronger Bulls unit, but did not want to assign blame for the loss.
"It gets frustrating, but you can't point any fingers," Shelly said.
After a downpour at halftime that sent most of the 16,183 fans in attendance to the exists, Bowling Green fullback Todd DiBacco ended scoring with an 18-yard touchdown run to give the Falcons a 35-0 lead with 8:13 to play in the game.
Bowling Green punter Pat Fleming was touted by both coaches as the game's most valuable player. Fleming pinned the Bulls in their own territory often with high, short kicks that the Falcons' punt team was able to down inside the Buffalo 20-yard line four times.
"Bowling Green's punter was absolutely fabulous. He did a great job with his hang time and his distance," said Hofher.
"I think he's a weapon, he's one of the most valuable players on this team," said Bowling Green Head Coach Urban Meyer.
One look at the Buffalo offensive stats characterized their futility.
Secky was not terribly impressive in his first game, but was never intercepted, and went 12-29, throwing for 134 yards. He did not seem pleased with his performance, however.
"It was a learning experience. We didn't get much going tonight," Secky said. "We just didn't execute tonight."
Freedy was 4-9 for 28 yards, with two interceptions. UB's leading rusher was Albert Grundy, who gained a dismal 18 yards on 8 carries.
Hofher's post-game comments were straightforward, and did not lay all the blame on his players.
"It's as bad an offensive performance that I've seen in a long time," Hofher said. "I've got to take as much responsibility for it as anybody, maybe even more."
For Bowling Green, David Bautista had an outstanding game at receiver, catching six passes for 70 yards.
Harris completed seven of 13 passes, for 74 yards, and Sahm went 8-12 for 59 yards and a touchdown.
The Bowling Green quarterbacks were never sacked Saturday night.
The 35-0 whitewashing was the first time the Falcons have shutout an opponent since 1994, and the most points they have scored since 1999.
The Bulls hit the road again - where they are 0-13 since 1999 - when they travel to West Point, N.Y. to face Army at 1 p.m. Saturday.
