Last season's magic came back for a game.
Buffalo (3-4, 1-2 Mid-American Conference) forced three turnovers, converted on all of its trips to the red zone and won the possession battle in a 21-17 victory over the Zips (1-5, 0-3 MAC). It was Buffalo's second-straight victory after dropping four-in-a-row.
Akron went into the fourth quarter trailing by seven but scored the first 10 points of the quarter to take a 17-14 lead.
The Bulls didn't falter under the pressure and on the ensuing drive marched down the field, entering the red zone on a 10-yard run by senior running back Mario Henry. Senior wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt got the Bulls to the 1-yard line and Henry capped off the drive by punching the ball into the end zone, giving Buffalo a 21-17 lead.
Buffalo didn't look back.
With Akron driving with less than two minutes left, junior cornerback Dominic Cook intercepted a pass and ran it 55 yards into Akron territory to preserve Buffalo's third victory of the season.
Buffalo's defense also came to life. Junior defensive back Davonte Shannon and junior outside linebacker Justin Winters each contributed 10 tackles and redshirt freshman defensive end Steven Means recorded two sacks for the second consecutive game.
Maynard was the first to praise the defense's strong play.
'The defense did a great job the whole game,' Maynard said. 'They created turnovers for us so when we got the ball. I wanted to get in the end zone as fast as possible.'
Buffalo will look to extend their winning streak next Saturday as they fly to Kalamazoo, Mich. to take on MAC foe Western Michigan. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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