Memories of the collapse against Western Michigan reared their heads Tuesday night. During a torrential downpour, the Buffalo Bulls lost momentum during the fourth quarter after holding a 24-7 lead. Fortunately for the Bulls, Ohio made enough mistakes to hand the game to Buffalo.
Despite a strong second-half effort from Ohio (2-7, 1-4 Mid-American Conference), the combination of a solid running attack and a flurry of Bobcat mistakes helped Buffalo (4-4, 2-2 MAC) seal the game and defeat the Bobcats 32-19 on the road. The victory tied the Bulls up with the Akron Zips on top of the MAC East standings.
The Bulls were led by a strong effort from junior running back James Starks, who had a season-high 185-yard game. It was Starks' ninth 100-rushing yard game of his career.
Ohio had numerous miscues and turnovers to give the Bulls the win. The Bobcats had five turnovers, leading to many drives where the Bulls would score.
Bulls head coach Turner Gill was ecstatic over the Bulls first road win of the year.
"I celebrate the chemistry in our football team," Gill said. "I felt like our guys were on edge this week in practice, everyone was anxious and ready to play."
The Bulls quickly grabbed energy after taking advantage of their first drive of the game. Starks capped the six-play, 64-yard drive with first of two touchdowns of the game. The score was setup by a career-high 26-yard run by senior quarterback Drew Willy.
After a 67-yard kick return by L.J. Flintall, the Bulls defense stepped up to hold the Ohio offense. After driving the ball to the Bulls three-yard line, Ohio running back Chris Garrett coughed up the ball in the end zone where it was recovered by senior defensive end Mike Thompson.
The offense was unable to take advantage on the remainder of the drive. After a first down, Starks fumbled the ball right back to the Bobcats in Bulls territory.
But once again, Ohio could not score with their great field position. A botched snap by Ohio ruined the Bobcats' chance at cutting into the Bulls lead.
Sophomore Brandon Thermilus then put the pressure on the Bobcat defense. After taking a career-high 39-yard run into Ohio territory, Thermilus scored his seventh touchdown on the season, doubling the Bulls' lead.
The Bobcats were able to make things interesting in the beginning of the second quarter. On third down, Ohio quarterback Boo Jackson completed a 59-yard bomb to wide receiver Brandon Peterson to get the home team right back in the game down 14-7.
Buffalo was quick to answer. Keeping the Bobcats on their heels, the Bulls utilized both their running and passing attacks to drive down the field. The offense was able to convert on three third-down plays, including a touchdown to junior wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt from the nine-yard line, making the score 21-7. The Bulls were able to convert on seven of eight third-down plays in the first half.
Trying to answer, Ohio's special teams came back to haunt the Bobcats once again. After getting to the Bulls red-zone, another bad snap spoiled another Bobcat field goal attempt.
The Bulls punted the ball with time running out in the half, giving the Bobcat offense a chance to cut into the lead before half.
But on the first play of their possession, Jackson threw an interception to sophomore cornerback Domonic Cook, who ran the ball back to the Ohio 34-yard line. The interception capped what was a disastrous half for the Bobcat offense, who ran 22 plays in Bulls territory, but came out with no points.
The Bulls increased the lead heading into halftime when sophomore kicker AJ Principe nailed a 25-yard field goal as time expired.
The third quarter didn't bring scoring, but the Bobcats continued to hurt themselves with turnovers and mental miscues. Looking to come back from 17 down, Jackson committed another error when Buffalo sophomore cornerback Sherrod Lott stripped him of the ball, which was recovered by Cook.
Despite the turnovers, Ohio would not give up. Their defense stepped up in the third half, allowing Buffalo just 27 yards in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Ohio cut into the 17-point lead. Jackson was able to scamper into the end zone from eight yards out.
The extra point attempt brought along another Bobcat catastrophe. Cook got into the backfield and blocked the kick, which was grabbed by senior defensive end Andrae Smith. He would go on to rumble to the opposing end zone, giving the Bulls two points.
Smith attributes discipline and luck as the reasons why the play went the way it did.
"I stayed disciplined and never gave up on the play," he said. "I was at the right spot at the right time. I just took it in. No one was going to catch me."
Cook felt that the Bulls kept their heads in a game where they didn't want to falter in the final minutes.
"We were worried about just finishing," he said. "We weren't worried about what they were doing because we control what we do."
After a Bulls three-and-out, Ohio would score once again. Jackson found wide receiver Riley Dunlop in the end zone, cutting the Bulls lead to seven points.
Another extra point attempt failed for the Bobcats as a Barrett Way kick missed, keeping the lead deficit at seven.
Starks made sure the Bobcat fans did not get too confident. On a third and one and the Ohio fans getting behind their defense, Starks silenced them when he found a hole and exploded towards the end-zone for a 52-yard touchdown. The Principe extra point was blocked, keeping the lead at 13 with 7:10 left.
Another Ohio fumble in Buffalo territory sealed the game for the Bulls, who became the first team in the MAC East to win two straight games.
Gill was proud of his team in the final half of the game after the Bobcats tried to bounce back.
"We over overcame adversity in the second half," Gill said. "There's always a situation when you have to make a stop on defense or a play on special teams or have to control the climate score on offense and we did all of those things."
With this game in the books, Gill looks to celebrate the win and then get ready for their next match, which takes place on Election Night.
"This win gives us great momentum; to win on the road in the conditions we played in," Gill said. "We have an exciting opportunity now and all we wanted was a chance and we got what we wanted. We have the opportunity to control our own destiny. We'll see how our team responds."
The Bulls look to go 5-4 on Tuesday night when they take on the Miami (OH) Redhawks. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at UB Stadium and will be shown on national television on ESPN2.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
