It only took 10 straight losses, 26 Mid-American Conference road defeats, and the firing of the team's head coach for UB football to pull out a win at Kent State.
UB's 10-6 victory over the Golden Flashes on Saturday not only went down as the first victory of the season, but it also was the team's first conference road win in its seven-season MAC history.
"It's been a long time coming," junior safety Ramon Guzman said of the win, which came days after head coach Jim Hofher was dismissed but allowed to coach the last two games. "We worked pretty hard all season."
The offense put the points on the board but the defense was the game's shining star. UB's stout defensive performance stifled the injury-plagued Kent State offense to negative 37 yards rushing. UB (1-9, 1-6 MAC) also gave up only 138 total yards of offense as well as setting season highs with six sacks and forcing four turnovers on the afternoon.
"I'm proud of them," Hofher said. "UB had not won a MAC road game ever, so there is some historical significance out of this game."
The first scoring threat was in UB's second possession of the game. UB executed a fake punt on fourth-and-two on its own 49-yard line, allowing senior safety Stephen Thomas to run for 27 yards to put the Bulls within striking range.
The drive came up short when freshman quarterback Drew Willy threw an incomplete pass on Kent State's 15-yard-line.
Sophomore safety Kareem Byrom then came up big in the second quarter by making his team-leading third interception. Byrom earned the pick off Kent State's Mike Machen to stop a drive and then he recovered a fumble on the Golden Flashes' next possession. Byrom's recovery set up a UB drive that ended when senior kicker Mike Baker put the ball through the uprights for a 20-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead going into the half.
UB's third forced turnover of the day came when Guzman picked off Machen for his first career interception and a 10-yard return. On the following drive, UB had the chance to double its lead but red-shirt freshman kicker Gerry McGroarty missed a 37-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the first half.
Kent State (1-9 overall, 0-7 MAC) began its first drive of the second half with Jon Brown under center. He was immediately sacked by Bulls linebacker Jeff Bublavi. It only got worse for Brown on the next play as he fumbled the ball away to UB senior defensive tackle Rob Schroeder on Kent State's 17-yard line.
The recovery, the first of Schroeder's career, put the offense in position for junior running back Jared Patterson's 4-yard touchdown scramble.
Kent State received very favorable field position for the rest of the half with an average start on its own 46-yard line, but the Golden Flashes added two field goals for their only scores of the game.
"We came away with good things," said senior linebacker Bryan Cummings. "We had some confidence and then got a turnover. We pretty much had in our mind that we could stop them."
Freshman quarterback Drew Willy went 16 for 22 with 97 yards passing while Patterson lead the team on the ground with eight carries for 37 yards. Junior wide receiver Brian Watson set career-highs with four catches and 36 yards receiving, leading the team.
Defensively, Cummings recorded a team-high seven tackles and pitched in 1.5 sacks. Guzman finished with four tackles, 1.5 sacks, an interception and a forced fumble while Bublavi had a sack and a pass breakup. Schroeder had a sack and broke up a pass to go with his fumble recovery.
Kent State head coach Doug Martin felt UB's hard work was a reflection of its outgoing coach.
"They did a great job coaching," Martin said. "They were very observant. (Hofher) is a man of great integrity and character. We know they would be coming out and fighting hard for him. It's a testimony to what kind of man he is."
The Bulls will suit up for their final game of the season as they play at home on Saturday against Eastern Michigan. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
