No. 2 ranked Tigers outrun Bulls

For the third consecutive week, Buffalo's defense was unable to stop the run Saturday afternoon, as the Tigers tore through Bulls defense for 270 yards on the ground. Though the Bulls stayed close for more then half of the game, their rush defense eventually fell as Auburn piled the points on in the second half for a final score of 38-7.

The men in blue and white were given no chance coming into the game. As time passed in the first half, however, it seemed the Bulls (1-3, 0-2 MAC) would stay in contention as the Tigers could only muster seven points with 30 seconds left in the first half.

A 35-yard punt return by Auburn's Robert Dunn in the waning seconds of the first half, allowed Auburn (4-0, 1-0 SEC) to get into field goal position and take a two possession, 10-0 lead into halftime.

With all-American candidate Kenny Irons out of the game due to injuries, backup Brad Lester carried the brunt of the load with 18 carries for 83 yards and two touchdowns. Fellow backup Ben Tate contributed as well, as he exploded for 114 yards on seven carries.

The Bulls were not able to capitalize on opportunities to score in the first half. Most notable was Buffalo's 13-play, 67-yard drive down to the Auburn 13-yard line. The Bulls had a first-and-10 from the 10-yard line, yet were unable to find the end zone, and the drive was capped off by freshman kicker Taylor Packwood's missed 30-yard field goal.

"We got down inside the 30-yard line but we couldn't find a way to get touchdowns or even field goals," said head coach Turner Gill. "You have to keep on going back to that, you have to zero in on scoring in the red zone. We'll keep working. There are some very positive things that came from this game. Our offense did a great job of taking care of the football, and that gives us a chance to win some football games."

After the missed field goal, The Bulls caught a break as freshman cornerback Kendric Hawkins intercepted Auburn quarterback Brandon Cox and returned the ball 33 yards to the Bulls' 49-yard line. However, the Bulls again did not capitalize on this opportunity as the offense sputtered, going three-and-out. Hawkins' interception continued the Bulls streak of four straight games with an interception to begin the season.

Freshman James Starks had a career-high 20 carries in his first collegiate start. Starks racked up 66 yards on these 20 carries, including a long of 17 yards.

"The offensive line was blocking great," Starks said. "Coach was calling the right plays for the defensive setup Auburn was using, and I just had to capitalize on it."

To start the second half, Auburn took the ball 54 yards on 5 plays, and capped off the drive with a four-yard touchdown run by Lester. With the 17-0 lead, the Tigers looked to have all of the momentum. However, the Bulls did not go down easily answering right back with a touchdown drive of their own.

"We were thinking upset when we got on the plane to come here," said Buffalo tight end Chad Upshaw. "Obviously our focus throughout the game was to have great effort. It's like coach says, `Tell me which games we are going to lose, and I will stay home.'"

The 15-play, 80-yard touchdown drive was capped off by a five yard fourth down touchdown connection from sophomore quarterback Drew Willy to senior wide receiver Evan Wallace. The score brought the Bulls back to within 10 at 17-7, but this was as close as the Bulls would get as Auburn outscored the Bulls 21-0 the rest of the way.

Though the Bulls were unable to come away from the No. 2 ranked Tigers with a victory, Gill was positive on how playing Auburn will help the Bulls in the future.

"It can't do anything but help us, we played Auburn pretty tough in the first half," Gill said. "The thing about it was to give us exposure, that's what it's all about. It was good to give our football team experience playing against a big-time opponent. Our players enjoyed this college football experience. We came here to play hard and we came here to win the football game. That's the way I coach and that's the way our players play. That's what we talked about all week. There was no difference in our preparation for this game."

This was the conclusion of a three game road trip for the Bulls, as the team will have a bye next week before hosting Ball State on Oct. 7, in their first home game since defeating Temple on Aug. 31. The game starts at 1 p.m.