Three times in as many weeks the UB football team has rallied to come back from an early deficit. Three times denied. Clearly the Bulls are better off playing while ahead. Then again, who isn't?
Buffalo faces its toughest task of the season tomorrow as they travel to Huntington, W. Va. to take on the Marshall Thundering Herd and Heisman Trophy hopeful quarterback Byron Leftwich at 4:30 p.m. The game will be televised live from Marshall Stadium via satellite as part of the ESPN Gameplan package.
Leftwich has had a great deal of success against the Bulls with 833 yards and five touchdowns on 62-85 passing in his career. He has, however, thrown four interceptions against UB. Leftwich has thrown 11 touchdowns this year and has an astounding 150.56 passing efficiency. He is a lethal passer who is nowhere near the 248 pounds listed on the roster.
"They list him at 240, and there's no way. Add 20 and then start counting. He is a big, big man," said UB Head Coach Jim Hofher. "Byron Leftwich is probably the David Robinson of college football. When Robinson went to Navy he was something like 6'4" and he came out seven feet tall. When Byron went to Marshall he was listed at 6'3" 195 . he just kept growing."
A solid showing by the UB defense could shatter Leftwich's chances at winning the Heisman this year. The odds have already dwindled as the year has gone on, because experts believe he isn't putting up "Heisman-like numbers." If the Buffalo defense can keep him contained, it would probably be the end of his run.
"He checks off his receivers a lot," said senior corner Mike Lambert. "Sometimes he's looking at one receiver and goes to another one. We realize he is an elite quarterback. We just have to stay with our man, and when he throws the ball we need to break on it."
In spite of the Thundering Herd's dominance through the air, Marshall has been determined to balance their offense.
"One of the things that really impresses me about them is I look at them and they really developed a more complete offense," said Hofher, "which is going to be a challenge for Mike (Lambert) and his teammates. One of their comments after last season was that they were not pleased with how they ran the ball . they've really enhanced what they do on offense."
Marshall is running the ball well, averaging 152 yards per game with Brandon Carey and Franklin Wallace leading the team with 282 yards and 250 yards respectively. The rushing defense has still struggled though, giving up 217 yards per game - a fact the Bulls hope to capitalize on.
"Virginia Tech has arguably the two best tailbacks in the country and UB's two tailbacks last week against Western gained more yards than Virginia Tech (when they played Western Michigan)," said Hofher. "Now I'm not saying that we're better than Virginia Tech or that our tailbacks are better than theirs. Western Michigan is a very good defensive football team and our tailbacks were able to be more successful with those tailbacks."
Buffalo's defense has been improving every week. Although injuries have thinned their ranks, the squad will need to continue making strides this weekend in order to stop the offensive juggernaut that is the Thundering Herd's trademark.
It will be strength versus strength on Saturday, as the Marshall aerial show runs up against the Buffalo pass defense, which has been the most solid part of the Bulls' defense up to this point. They are seventh in the MAC in passing defense giving up only 218.8 yards per game. The secondary also has five interceptions on the season and the front seven has 12 of UB's 17 sacks.
"It's exciting because we know we're going to have a few chances to pick off balls, or get pass break-ups," said Lambert. "If we can get good pressure from the front seven we'll be alright. We just have to focus and play hard."
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
