This year's home opener for the Bulls (0-3) was anything but a warm welcome for head coach Jim Hofher and the UB football team.
A record at an estimated student attendance of 7,000 (20,324 total) left UB Stadium with a sense of hopelessness for the team as Colgate (2-0) rolled over the Bulls 38-15. The score itself gives no justice to the manhandling Colgate gave UB.
This marks the second time that Buffalo has lost to a Division I-AA team, the first being Lehigh in last season's 1-11 stint. So how does a non-scholarship team beat on a Division I-A scholarship program?
They do it by running a well-balanced attack on offense, and blocking and tackling better than their scholarship opponents.
"Colgate did a terrific job in the ball game," said Hofher. "They clearly kept us off balance. They kept our defense off balance, but quite honestly kept our offense off balance, as well. Where we have had some success in certain areas during the course of the first two games, we did not tonight."
Colgate's 358 yards of rushing offense were more than UB's 243 yards of total offense. Through the air quarterback Chris Brown went 19-29 for 263 yards and two touchdowns. Brown, in just his fifth collegiate start, was deadly on the ground, as he rushed for 86 yards on 13 carries including a 12-yard run for a score.
"The key was we were able to run the ball and we were able to play action. I think we could of scored more," said Colgate head coach Dick Biddle.
Run the ball they did, as the offensive line of Colgate blew the Bulls defensive front off the ball every series as the Red Raiders ran 83 total plays.
It seemed at times that Buffalo came into the game totally unprepared, whereas Colgate seemed to know what UB was going to do before they even ran a play. According to Hofher, however, the players were prepared for Colgate. On the field, it didn't look that way at all.
"I completely believe as a coach that our players were in the right frame of mind as they entered the game," said Hofher.
Buffalo orchestrated a nice eight-play, 80-yard drive to put the first points on the scoreboard as Randall Secky led the team downfield. The drive was capped off with an eight-yard touchdown run by Aaron Leeper. However, that would be the only glimpse of a moving offense for the rest of the half and for most of the game. After that drive, the offense went into sleep mode and the defense soon followed.
With Colgate allowing UB seven points early in the first half, the Red Raiders racked up 17 unanswered points heading into halftime. The Bulls' performance was awarded with boos coming from the stands.
Buffalo's only other score came on a 10-yard run by freshman Stephen King, which was followed by a two-point conversion run by P.J. Piskorik who replaced Secky to start the fourth quarter.
It was clear that Colgate was faster and stronger in the skilled positions, evident in receiver Luke Graham's performance of 147 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Starting tailback Jamaal Brown scorched the non-existent UB defense for 170 yards on 21 carries with two scores.
On the other side of the ball, UB's tandem in the backfield, Aaron Leeper and Dave Dawson, were held in check all game and neither back had over 60 yards rushing. Leeper rushed for 54 yards on five carries, which included a 43-yard scamper that set up his eight-yard jaunt into the end zone. Dawson was limited to 28 yards on nine carries.
The passing game, which has been lacking all season, was yet again a no factor in this contest. Secky finished the game 9-16 for 74 yards while Piskorik went 4-8 for 50 yards. The rest of the team did not help the quarterbacks, as Bulls receivers dropped a number of balls and the line blocked poorly. Secky and Piskorik were both being hurried and forced out of the pocket every time they had the chance to throw the ball.
"I don't know if there is anything we did right," said Hofher. "There are no excuses. I can only hope as a coach that this is the low point. This was not a good performance at all by our football team, unfortunately."
UB remains at home for a game against UCONN next Saturday at 6 pm.
