There is no place like home.
Unfortunately for the football team, it's on the road this week.
The Bulls (2-6, 1-3 Mid-American Conference) have been nothing short of horrendous on the road this year, but they might finally find an opponent of their own caliber this week. The Miami (Ohia) RedHawks come into the game just one-half game better than the struggling Bulls with a 2-5 (1-2 MAC) record.
The Bulls are seeking their first road win of the year, as they've gone 0-4 away from UB Stadium.
The matchup pits two of the conference's top passers against each other. Quarterback Zac Dysert, who has thrown for 1,836 yards and eight touchdowns on the year, leads the RedHawks. Senior quarterback Chazz Anderson has provided the Bulls' fireworks lately, with 1,712 yards and eight touchdowns this season, and he's coming off a record-setting performance.
Anderson set school records with 35 completions and 404 passing yards last week against Northern Illinois. He also threw three touchdowns and rushed for 56 yards and a score.
The Bulls' D will face a serious challenge in stopping the quarterback position for the second straight week. A week ago, Buffalo shut down standout Huskies quarterback Chandler Harnish. Harnish was limited to 150 passing yards and 68 rushing yards on the day. He only found the end zone once. One week before that, Harnish passed for 203 yards and ran for 229.
"Where the offense was making mistakes, the defense was picking them up," Anderson said.
The Buffalo defense was in rare form last week, as the unit has struggled tremendously so far this year. The Bulls' defense is surrendering 396.3 yards per game and 28.8 points per game in 2011.
Miami started the season 0-4, but the RedHawks bounced back to defeat Army and Kent State, before falling 49-28 to the dominant Toledo Rockets last week.
Meanwhile, the Bulls are coming off a heartbreaking 31-30 loss to Northern Illinois. Senior kicker Peter Fardon missed a potential game-tying extra point with 14 seconds remaining, and the Bulls committed five turnovers.
They beat themselves.
"Typically when you give up the ball five times, the result's not 31-30," said head coach Jeff Quinn. "Typically there's a much wider margin. Our kids were able to fight, and it showed me there are players that are making up for other guys' mistakes."
If Buffalo wants to get its first road win, the squad is going to have to cut down on its errors.
Anderson knows he needs to continue his hot play if the Bulls are going to have a shot this weekend.
"[Winning] takes execution and consistency out of the quarterback," Anderson said. "It also takes protecting the football, giving yourself the most opportunities to make plays. Your best players have to make plays in order for you to win football games."
Anderson also threw two interceptions a week ago.
Miami defeated heavily-favored Northern Illinois in last year's MAC championship game.
Sophomore running back Branden Oliver needs just 147 yards to join the school's 1,000-yard club.
Buffalo and Miami have played 13 times before, and Miami holds the all-time series lead of 11-2.
Buffalo's offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach, Alex Wood, was previously an assistant at Miami.
The game is a little over an hour away from Anderson's hometown of Pickering, Ohio. He expects around 50 friends and family to make the trip, and he said he competed against several Miami players when he was in high school.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.
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