UB’s bowl hopes are officially over.
The 6-6 (4-4 Mid-American Campus) Bulls became bowl eligible this season for just the third time in school history. This is the first time Buffalo has been bowl eligible under current head coach Lance Leipold. There were 81 bowl-eligible teams and only 78 spots. Buffalo has been named one of the three teams who did not receive a bowl invite Sunday. Buffalo, fellow MAC team the Western Michigan Broncos (6-6, 4-4 MAC) and the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners (6-5, 3-5 Conference USA) will all see their season come to an end without a postseason.
“It has been an exciting last few weeks and I'm incredibly proud and impressed with how the team has performed this season,” said Director of Athletics Allen Greene.
Buffalo rattled off three straight wins to close out the season including a victory over the heavily favored Ohio Bobcats (8-4, 5-3 MAC) the day after Thanksgiving that sealed Buffalo’s bowl eligibility. Ohio will be heading to Nassau to take on
Despite not being invited to a bowl game, the Bulls registered five all-MAC selections. Junior receiver Anthony Johnson and junior linebacker Khalil Hodge were selected to
Johnson finished first in a single season for receiving touchdowns in school history. He is also ranked second in the nation for receiving touchdowns and receiving yards. Hodge finished second in the nation in tackles with 154 total tackles for the year. He also set the Division I program record.
Daniel Petruccelli is the sports editor and can be reached at daniel.petruccelli@ubspectrum.com