Quarterback: C
The Good: Junior quarterback Joe Licata threw for 383 yards and three touchdowns. Licata showed poise in the pocket even when the team was down by 17 and showed mobility outside of the pocket to extend the play and avoid a couple of sacks. He hit eight different receivers and made solid throws all day, including a 50-yard touchdown strike to junior tight end Matt Weiser in the fourth quarter.
The Bad: Licata did something he rarely does on Saturday – he turned the ball over. Licata threw two pivotal interceptions that hindered Buffalo’s comeback attempt. His first interception was at the Eagles’ 1-yard line with Buffalo trailing by three. His second interception was just as pivotal and came when the Bulls were trailing by 10 with less than five minutes remaining in the game. It may not be fair to Licata, but when he’s not playing a near perfect game, the Bulls have seemingly no shot at a victory.
Running backs: B-
The Good: Junior running back Anthone Taylor failed to post a third consecutive 200-yard rushing game, but his 128 yards on 24 carries is still admirable. Taylor was on pace to rush for over 200 yards, as he ran for over 100 yards in the first half.
Taylor’s biggest run of the day was a 41-yard gain on third down that set up a Buffalo field goal that gave the Bulls a 10-0 lead.
The Bad: Taylor exited with an apparent lower body injury with 10 minutes remaining and finished the second half with just 19 rushing yards. He also was stopped twice on the goal line in the first half. Buffalo settled for a field goal on the drive.
Junior running back Devin Campbell only carried the ball five times for nine yards.
Wide receivers and tight ends: B+
The Good: Eight Bulls caught a pass Saturday and three different receivers scored a touchdown. Junior wide receiver Ron Willoughby led the group with 103 yards on four receptions.
The Bad: In an overall sloppy game for the Bulls, the receiving unit had the best performance. They caught virtually everything that was thrown to them and made Licata look better than he played.
Run defense: F
The Good: Senior linebacker Lee Skinner had a team-best 10 tackles and eclipsed 300 tackles for his career. Senior safety Adam Redden made a nice play on fourth and goal to contain Eagles’ quarterback Reggie Bell.
The Bad: The unit allowed 337 rushing yards to one of the worst running attacks in the MAC. Buffalo had no answer to Bell and the Eagles’ option attack. The defensive line could not fill the gaps and linebackers were getting fooled by the read-option the entire second half. Bell ran for two touchdowns of more than 70 yards, going untouched on both scores. He finished with 202 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.
Pass defense: C+
The Good: The pass defense allowed just 10 completions and Eagles finished with just 147 passing yards. Through the first 25 minutes of the game, the Bulls’ secondary allowed just three yards on two completions, forcing Eastern Michigan to make a quarterback change.
The Bad: Don’t let the 10 completions fool you. The Eagles stayed with their run game after it became clear Buffalo could not contain Bell. The corners and safeties were unable to keep Bell’s runs to only moderate gains. Five of the 10 completions went for more than 20 yards and with ease.
Special Teams: C-
The Good: Senior kicker Patrick Clarke converted two field goals of 24 and 40 yards, respectively. The 40-yard field goal was a season-long for Clarke. He also was successful on an onside kick attempt in the fourth quarter and would have been successful on a second one had it not be called back for an offside penalty.
The Bad: Clarke also missed two field goals, one from 27 yards away that shanked to the right and hit the upright. His other miss was blocked from 39 yards away and the Eagles scored a touchdown four plays later to go ahead by 10.
Campbell fumbled on a fourth quarter kickoff return, which set up an Eastern Michigan 23-yard touchdown pass. The score extended the Eagles’ lead to 17.
Coaching: F
The Good: Nothing. The Bulls were 14-point favorites yet trailed 30-13 at one point in the fourth quarter.
The Bad: The Bulls were simply not prepared for any aspect of this game. When Bell entered the game, Buffalo had no idea how to stop him and his read-option. The team was not ready for the quarterback switch and it showed.
The Bulls also had two pivotal penalties that negated a touchdown pass and an onside kick recovery. Buffalo committed seven penalties for 62 yards. Penalties and lack of discipline always come back to the coach.
Buffalo’s red zone offense struggled throughout the day. The Bulls came away from six trips inside the Eagles’ 20-yard line with just 13 points. The Bulls are entering their bye week, so they will have time to prepare properly for the next matchup against Central Michigan (3-3, 1-1 MAC) on Oct. 25.
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Photo: Paul Hokanson/UB Athletics
