Itching to win their second game of the year and their first game against the Marshall Thundering Herd since 1959, the Buffalo Bulls football team traveled to West Virginia with the hopes of beating the green and white on its home turf.
But in front of a near-packed Homecoming crowd at Joan C. Edwards Stadium, the Herd (4-3 overall, 4-0 MAC) emerged from a season-long offensive slump, bidding the Bulls (1-7 overall, 1-5 MAC) a rude farewell, 48-14.
The Marshall offense was sparked to life by senior quarterback Stan Hill. Hill led the way with precision passing, going 19-for-26 for a season-high 269 yards against an anemic Buffalo secondary.
"This was as good a performance from a quarterback that I've seen in a long time," said Bulls coach Jim Hofher. "Stan Hill was almost flawless and he got great protection around him ... he really put the ball on the money."
After an opening 61-yard touchdown drive by Marshall to gain the early lead, Buffalo struck back with an 88-yard touchdown run by junior running back Dave Dawson. The lone bright spot for Buffalo, Dawson topped the century yard mark for the second time this season. It also marked the fifth time a Bulls running back has accomplished the feat this season.
Dawson's run was the longest for Buffalo since its promotion to Division I-A football in 1999.
With the score tied 7-7, Hill took control of the game for the Herd, throwing his first of four touchdown passes in the game, a 16-yard strike to wide receiver Tremel Guillory with 5:17 left in the first quarter.
The score put Marshall up 14-7, and the Herd never looked back.
Following another Marshall touchdown to bring the score to 21-7, Buffalo's true freshman cornerback James Evans made his team-leading fourth interception with 9:47 left in the first half, but the Bulls went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, punting the ball away.
On the very next Marshall possession, star UB linebacker J.J. Gibson swiped another interception off Hill, his second of the year, running it back 20 yards to the Marshall 16. However, the ball was brought back out to the 31, because of a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for excessive celebrating by Gibson.
The penalty was the only sour spot on Gibson's career day, as his 14 tackles were a career-best.
Buffalo ended up not scoring on the drive, which was capped off by a missed 44-yard field goal by kicker Mike Baker.
"We didn't take advantage of (the turnovers)," Hofher said. "It was as much of that we didn't execute well enough, as well as their defense is really good. They denied us a chance to be able to execute really well."
Marshall tacked on another seven points with 2:27 left in the half, as Hill lofted a 16-yard TD pass over the Buffalo secondary to wide receiver Josh Davis, stretching the halftime lead to 28-7. Davis was Hill's favorite target on the afternoon, catching a career-high 12 passes for 132 yards.
In the second half, Marshall picked up right where it left off. The Herd stuffed the opening Buffalo drive and stormed down the very short field for another touchdown pass by Hill, this time a five-yarder to Brad Bates to extend Marshall's lead to 35-7.
After another three-and-out by Buffalo, junior defensive tackle Rob Schroder knocked the ball out of the arms of backup Marshall running back Ahmad Bradshaw's hands. Gibson pounced on the ball, but once again the Bulls were unable to capitalize on offense, going three-and-out again.
On the punt, the Herd was able to take advantage of a Buffalo special teams miscue, as Marshall's Uranius Johnson blocked a Ben Woods punt, with the ball ultimately smothered in the end zone by Marshall's Dennis Thornton to stretch the Herd lead to 42-7.
"They're probably the best (team) in the MAC and will probably compete for the championship," said Bulls linebacker Jeff Bublavi. "They're a really good team and they made plays when they needed."
The lone second-half bright spot for Buffalo was P.J. Piskorik's first TD pass of the year, a 61-yard strike to senior receiver Matt Knueven with 8:34 left in the game. The reception was Knueven's first scoring catch of the season, and his only reception of the game.
Piskorik finished the game with a 10-for-22 performance, good for 101 yards. He also rushed the ball 11 times for a season-best 55 yards - a highlight in an otherwise "underwhelming" game, according to Hofher.
Buffalo's run-heavy offense, ranked 4th in the MAC in rushing yards per game, (168.7) was put to the test, as Marshall's highly-touted defensive line prevailed over the Bulls' offensive line. The Herd relied on the defensive antics of Jonathan Goddard, the MAC leader in sacks, tackles for loss, and forced fumbles.
The Bulls were able to rush through the tackles for 202 yards, the third time this season that the 200-yard mark was reached.
"Offensively, we faced the superior defense in our conference right now, and I think in many ways it showed ... they're very fast and sound in what they do, but they were really getting great plays from their defense," said coach Hofher.
The win was Marshall's hundredth at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
The Bulls will have an extra week off to plan for their next game, a 1:30 p.m. meeting against Kent State on Saturday, Nov. 6 at UB Stadium.
Photo: Courtesy of SUNY
