Edit Note: A victory against a Big East opponent is notable, even if it is Rutgers. Many outstanding individual performances highlighted this game. Any victory against a BCS team is something to be proud of, and there were glimmers of hope for a couple of wins, but it was not meant to be. Still, it was a nice win, especially on the road. The Bulls still have a long way to go.
One year ago, the UB 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 Division I-A.
One year later and the Bulls proved 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.
"What we did out there was not easy. It is not easy to play the college football game," Hofher said. "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."
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.
" 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."
Wide receiver Andre Forde came up tremendous since he was the recipient of those three Secky touchdown heaves. Forde was able to put up 165 all-purpose yards on the night.
Aaron Leeper made 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.
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.
