Bulls Blown Up by Rockets

On a balmy night in Southwestern Ohio, the Buffalo Bulls finally found their offense.

Unfortunately, the Toledo Rockets already had theirs.

Toledo quarterback Bruce Gradkowski tied a school record for touchdown passes in a game before the end of the half, throwing five against a lackluster Buffalo defense. Meanwhile, UB added 26 points of their own to cap off a 61 total point first half.

The fireworks continued after the break, as Gradkowski further lit up the scoreboard with his sixth and record-breaking touchdown pass as the Rockets (6-3, 4-1 MAC) pulled away and beat the Bulls (1-9, 1-5 MAC) by a score of 56-29.

Although Buffalo quarterback Randall Secky also played well, the Bull that kept UB alive up until the fourth quarter was place kicker Dallas Pelz. He notched five field goals on five attempts, including one of 50 yards, three of over 40 yards, and one of 39 yards. Including PAT's, he scored 17 points in this game, more than half of Buffalo's total points. Pelz credited the favorable climate of 54 degrees and no wind for his kicking success.

"You can't ask for better conditions," said Pelz. "There's no wind whatsoever. It felt very nice to kickoff. They were great plays, it just stinks that it had to be overshadowed with a loss."

Buffalo's demise came via their inability to pressure and defend Gradkowski and the nation's leading receiver, junior Lance Moore. Gradkowski finished the game with 435 yards through the air on 23-25 passing.

While Gradkowski spread the ball around very well, hitting eight different receivers, it was evident that he had two favorite targets. Moore was one, torching the Bulls for eight receptions and 195 yards. Steve Odom was the other, with nine receptions and 143 yards.

Buffalo's offense was not often stymied either, even though starting quarterback P.J. Piskorik missed the game due to a shoulder injury to his throwing arm. Randall Secky stepped in for him, and took back the reigns of the offense. Secky performed much better than he had in the three games he started at the beginning of the season.

While Secky went 23 of 35 for 254 yards, the true leaders for the offense in this game were UB's running backs, Chris McDuffie and Jared Patterson. The pair ran for a combined 118 yards and two touchdowns. Patterson averaged three yards per carry, and McDuffie averaged 4.1.

"We didn't really get any surprises, the coaches prepared us really well and everything we practiced is what we saw, that's what we got," said McDuffie.

Normally, Aaron Leeper and Dave Dawson lead Buffalo's running attack, however, they missed most of the game due to team disciplinary actions.

"They were disciplined for not traveling the way that they need to travel," said Bulls head coach Jim Hofher.

Leeper and Dawson were relegated to special teams duty, and had a total of five carries between them.

Injuries also plagued the Bulls on Saturday, as Mark Graham went down with one minute 21 seconds remaining in the third quarter after a kickoff by Pelz.

It was a scary moment for UB as trainers came onto the field to look at Graham's left knee, however, he was able to get up and get off the field under his own power.

"He's got an upper leg injury, he'll have a med-check tomorrow and we'll certainly know about the severity of it," said Hofher.

Hofher added that he did not yet know whether or not Graham would be available to play next week.

Another scary moment occurred to a UB star on the other side of the ball, as wide receiver Matt Knueven went down about halfway through the fourth quarter. After hauling in a Secky pass near the sidelines, he was forced violently out of bounds, slamming his back against Toledo's team bench.

"I think he'll be fine," said Hofher. "He's as tough as a boot."

When asked about Knueven's previous back injuries, Hofher again was nonchalant, calling it "just a bruise."

Through all the injuries and the disciplinary actions that were taken, the Bulls still played a competitive game. The Bulls averaged just 12.8 points per game coming into the contest, but they were able to more than double that with 29 points.

The final score doesn't do the effort put forth by UB any justice, as the Rockets began to run up the score in the fourth quarter, conveying their mistrust for their streaky place kicker who did not attempt a field goal in the game.

At the end of the fourth quarter, the Bulls picked up an interception by Gemara Williams, which would have been returned for a touchdown had it not been for a desperation tackle by quarterback Cedric Stevens. Stevens was called for grabbing Williams' facemask on the play.

The Bulls next play at 1 p.m. against Northern Illinois on November 8 at UB Stadium. It will be the team's final home game of the season, before traveling to Kent State on the 22nd, following a bye week.