One year ago, the University at Buffalo football team opened the season against a far superior team in Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights embarrassed the Bulls in front of their record-breaking home crowd of 22,658 at UB stadium, showing UB just how far they had to go to reach a level of respectability in Divison I-A.
One year later and the Bulls have proven just how far they have come.
The Bulls went down to Piscataway, N.J., and earned an extremely impressive 34-11 blowout victory Saturday night. By smearing the Scarlet Knights from goalpost to goalpost, the UB football program has shown the nation it's on the right track and headed to a destination in a new era of respectability.
Total team effort was what was being echoed from everyone associated with the UB team. From Bulls Head Coach Jim Hofher down to the towel-boy, the amount of pride in this accomplishment was palpable.
"What we did out there was not easy. It is not easy to play the college football game," said Hofher. "This is a terrific team victory for this football team, and frankly for our football program. We came to a Big East Conference team, and we've been able to get a victory."
" Our kids gave the best effort that they could give, we had smart things called, and we executed those smart things well."
"Buffalo is a good team. They played better than us tonight. We weren't surprised by anything they did," said Rutgers defensive end, Raheem Orr.
Randall Secky silenced his season-opener critics by showing his true mettle. Secky scorched the Scarlet Knights defense by connecting on 18-34 passes with 201 yards and three touchdown passes. He looked like a completely different quarterback this week as he made excellent decisions all night long and was able to make sharp passes connecting with his receivers on many occasions for big plays.
" Last week I went out there and I was aiming the ball, today I just went out there and threw it and that's what you have got to do," said Secky. "You can't think about it, you just have to go out there and play."
"We came into the season expecting that a young quarterback, just like many of our young players, were going to be a work in progress, and Randall is no different," Hofher said. "He will be a work in progress, and I think our team will be a work in progress, but we certainly made progress from the first to second game."
"When you know your coach is behind you, that means everything, because you're more confident to go out there and play," said Secky. "I don't really pay attention to what other people say, because we're a team and we know what's going on. So, we went out there and tried to do better, and I think we did."
Wide receiver Andre Forde came up tremendous, as he was the recipient of those three Secky touchdown heaves. In breaking his own personal record for three touchdowns in a game, he in turn also broke the backs of the Rutgers players by turning in those touchdowns at the most inopportune times for the Scarlet Knights. Forde was able to put up 165 all-purpose yards on the night.
"Oh man, it was my teammates, my offensive line did a tremendous job," said Forde. "For Secky, the blocks on the line, everything was outstanding."
Redshirt freshmen Aaron Leeper also put in an awe-inspiring Curtis Martin type of performance, making his first start in place of the injured starting tailback Marquis Dwarte, as he ran for 153 yards on 34 carries with one touchdown in only his second collegiate game ever. Leeper was the embodiment of a genuine workhorse.
"Aaron got his feet wet last week in our opening game and ran hard and ran well," Hofher said. "We have to deal with the things that happen to our football team. We didn't have Marquis tonight, but Aaron was very tough and there's plenty that he'll learn from this game. He really ran hard, and it looked like he ran smart."
As well as the offense played, the defense showed massive improvement from week one. The Bulls allowed over 500 yards of total offense last week against Lehigh but were able to shut the Rutgers offense down to an anemic 221, most of it coming in garbage time. Cornerback Kevin Concepcion led the team with eight solo tackles, but it was senior cornerback Dahnel Singfield who stopped the Scarlet Knight's offense cold at the right times, making the big breakups on the big plays time and time again.
Rutgers quarterback Ted Trump was consistently shut down by the UB defense with only 52 yards passing heading into the half, and most of his big second half yardage coming when the game was already decided and out of reach for the Scarlet Knights.
"I tried to do my best breaking routes, so we could keep the balls out of their hands," said Singfield.
"Our defense did a terrific job all night long," said Hofher. "We did so many good things during the game, with turnovers, with toughness, and I'm real proud of our team."
The game was broken wide open in the third quarter when a Rutgers botched punt snap got away from punter Mike Barr and trickled out of the back of the endzone for a safety and a 18-3 lead for the Bulls. On the ensuing drive, Buffalo drove the stake into the heart of Rutgers with an 11-play, 70-yard drive, punctuated by Secky and Forde keeping the drive a live with a big 3rd and long connection for 37 yards from the UB 17-yard line. The two met up once again on the drive, this time for an 8-yard touchdown pass, essentially sealing the deal at 24-3 after Bulls kicker Dallas Pelz missed his second extra-point of the night.
"You get a win and you can enjoy it, unfortunately it's not long enough," said coach Hofher. "Then you have to get ready for the next ball game, and I think our kids are going to be very energized to do that."
Connecticut comes to UB Stadium Saturday at 7:30 p.m. as the Bulls look to go over .500 for the first time in their modern Division I-A era.
