Passing Game
What an incredible turnaround for UB quarterback Randall Secky. In week one, coaches said Secky made all the right reads, he just did not execute the throws. Against Rutgers he made the right reads . and made the throws. He found Andre Ford for three touchdowns - each time in single coverage, and each time he floated it up where only his receiver could catch it. Secky's confidence grew as the game went on, and he threw no interceptions (although one Rutgers' pick was called back on a penalty). Secky spread it around, too; seven different receivers caught passes for UB - Ford with five receptions for 75 yards, Chad Bartoszek was next with four for 36. Secky was not sacked all day . in fact, he never even had to scramble out of the pocket and run - the UB offensive line dominated.
Grade: A
Running Game
Aaron Leeper was a workhorse for the Bulls after the team revealed before game time that senior RB Marquis Dwarte would sit it out with a shoulder injury. All Leeper did was run for 153 yards on 34 carries in only the second game of his college career, scoring once. Leeper was very effective on sweeps to the outside where his blockers got ahead of him to cause some holes and he exploited them with a quick cut up field. Behind Leeper's running the Bulls controlled the clock, and thus the game. Of course, you don't run like that unless your offensive line controls the line of scrimmage. A Leeper fumble on the goal line brings the grade down a half letter.
Grade: A-
Pass Defense
The Bulls secondary continues to make big plays, this time coming up with three interceptions (last week they had two). Rutgers QB Ted Trump was 16-38 for 166 yards, with his one touchdown coming in garbage time. Trump was sacked three times. This unit couldn't really get any better, a big improvement from last week.
Grade: A
Run Defense
The Rutgers combination of Markis Facyson and Clarence Pittman went nowhere all day, and the Scarlet Knights eventually gave up on the run when they fell way behind late in the third quarter. Freshman linebacker Bryan Cummings had another impressive day with five solo tackles; LB Lamar Wilcher also had five. It's always good when your front seven are making tackles and not your secondary. Again, Rutgers' only TD came when the game had already been decided.
Grade: A
Special Teams
Dallas Pelz had a rough day: He had two field goals blocked, missed two extra points and was heckled mercilessly by some guy in the front row behind the Bulls bench (I'm happy to say that I took the heat off Dallas when that guy took time out from his Pelz-bashing to call me fat). Pelz did make two field goals - from 45 and 37 yards. Kickoff and punt coverage was good.
Grade: B-
Coaching
UB beat Rutgers badly in every aspect of the game, so it's only logical that they did so in the coaching department as well. Credit Head Coach Jim Hofher and Offensive Coordinator Bill Lazor in Secky's impressive turnaround. They opened up the offense a bit more and their dedication to the running game had to have an impact on the passing game. Thurmond Moore's defense was suffocating. There seemed to be fewer mistakes in assignments and pass coverage.
Grade: A
Comment: While that lopsided win was great for the program, let's remember that Rutgers is a team that's struggling and started a quarterback who had never even thrown a collegiate pass. The schedule can only get tougher for UB, although this is certainly a step in the right direction.
