Everyone at Yager Stadium thought that Buffalo junior running back Brandon Thermilus was carrying the football and was about to score his third touchdown of the night.
He didn't get the carry, but Buffalo got the score.
With 18.9 seconds to go in the first half, sophomore quarterback Zach Maynard faked a handoff to Thermilus that froze the Miami (Ohio) (1-11, 1-7 Mid-American Conference) defense, allowing him to breeze into the end zone for a two-yard score. The touchdown put Buffalo (4-7, 2-6 MAC) ahead 21-3 and was all that the blue and white would need Wednesday evening in Oxford, Ohio as the Bulls topped the RedHawks, 42-17.
'We needed a win,' said head coach Turner Gill. 'To win here at Miami for the first time and to see our players continue to play hard and execute to their fullest makes it great to have a win.'
Miami struck first with a 37-yard field goal by junior kicker Trevor Cook, but the RedHawks didn't keep the lead for long. On the ensuing possession, Buffalo stormed 69 yards ahead 7-3 with a Thermilus three-yard touchdown run.
The Bulls have had injury problems with the running back position all year and haven't had a consistent rusher this season. It seems like a new number is called on to play each game, and on Wednesday it was No. 27.
'It definitely feels good to be healthy and to be back out there running with the guys,' Thermilus said. 'It's unfortunate that Ike [Nduka] got injured, but we knew one of us had to step up and make something happen.'
And make something happen he did. The junior running back finished the night with a career-high three touchdowns – including one receiving – and a career-best 126 yards on the ground.
Although Buffalo didn't dent the scoreboard until there was 6:49 left in the first half, the team was relentless once it scored its first touchdown. It closed out the half by scoring three consecutive touchdowns and then continued its assault on the first drive in the second half.
After a first down run by Maynard, Buffalo pulled out a schoolyard play and ran a double reverse to redshirt sophomore Terrell Jackson. Instead of keeping the ball on the ground, however, Jackson tossed the pigskin downfield to wide-open senior tight end Jesse Rack for a 30-yard touchdown, putting Buffalo up 28-3.
The touchdown was No. 1 on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays.
Maynard had success both on the ground and in the air. The gunslinger finished 13-for-18, threw for 136 yards and tossed one touchdown. He also ended the evening with 61 yards on six carries and a rushing touchdown. The young quarterback has now thrown at least one touchdown in each of his 11 starts this season.
Maynard, however, is less concerned with the individual accolades and more interested in the result.
'We wanted to get some momentum going into next season,' Maynard said. 'Everybody did well. We executed our plays very well and ran a couple of trick plays and they worked for us and put points on the board.'
Buffalo received strong play from all three units, but offensively, the play calling was especially impressive.
'We had [the trick plays] in our game plan and we had the opportunity to call them,' Gill said. 'Once you call them, you have to execute them. They were great calls by [Offensive coordinator Danny] Barrett of the offensive staff and our players executed and caught [Miami] off guard.'
Although the offense rolled, Buffalo received a lot of help from the defense, especially its senior playmaker.
Safety Mike Newton saved two crucial touchdowns during the game. He picked off RedHawks quarterback Zac Dysert in the end zone in the first quarter and recovered a fumble on the 1-yard line in the fourth quarter. He also recorded 10 tackles.
Still, he sees that the defense has room for improvement.
'We need to get off the field better on third down,' Newton said. 'They kept converting on third downs with quarterback sneaks.'
Junior defensive back Davonte Shannon also chipped in with 16 tackles. He was glad the team was finally able to hold on for the win.
'It was important for us to come out and get a win like this,' Shannon said. 'The past few games, we struggled at the end and couldn't finish, but this game we came out and kept the lead. It's good for our momentum heading into next year and good for the seniors.'
The Bulls will finish off the regular season on Friday, Nov. 27 as they travel to Kent, Ohio to take on the Kent State Golden Flashes. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m.
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