On Saturday afternoon versus Kent State, UB bid farewell to 12 of its finest gridiron warriors at Dix Stadium in what was two-time captain Lamar Wilcher's and the rest of the Buffalo Bull seniors' final game in blue and white.
It was a valiant effort, but it would prove to be not enough.
UB knew that in order to beat Kent State, they would have to stop KSU's dynamic quarterback, Josh Cribbs. Doing that, however, is easier said than done, and the Flashes fought off a late comeback by Buffalo (1-11, 1-7 Mid-American Conference) en route to a 34-24 victory.
"I'm very proud of the effort that our kids gave not only today, but have really tried to give as long as possible in a 12 game season," said UB head coach Jim Hofher. "My hat is off to Kent, this is now the sixth consecutive game that they have scored 30 points or more and they have an excellent offense and a singularly great talent in Josh Cribbs, who did a terrific job today."
Kent State's one-man wrecking crew at quarterback, Cribbs, was the deciding factor as he torched UB for 372 all-purpose yards on the ground and through the air.
"We knew coming in that Cribbs was just an unbelievable quarterback, probably the best QB in the MAC if not in the country," said UB's Rob Schroeder, who had one sack for a loss of nine yards and six tackles.
"We knew if we could stop Cribbs we could stop their whole offense and unfortunately we didn't stop him and unfortunately we lost," Schroeder said.
With the Golden Flashes on top of Buffalo 27-24 and some hope for UB still lingering in the air, Cribbs would rain on Buffalo's comeback as he darted through the UB secondary and out ran a diving Bryan Cummings for a 56-yard touchdown run.
That would be the nail in the coffin so to speak as Buffalo's once resurgent offense couldn't muster any points with 10:11 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Kent State (5-7, 4-4 MAC) would open the game by scoring first on their opening possession with a 42-yard field goal. Buffalo answered right back by recovering a fumble on a poor handoff attempt by Cribbs. Gemara Williams came out with the ball on the KSU eight yard line, but Buffalo could not punch the ball in and had to settle for a 21-yard field goal from Dallas Pelz to put the game at three apiece.
Kent State would tack on another field goal by Travis Mayle and then it was Cribbs' turn to go hog wild.
KSU, which ran the option to near perfection all game, put together an 85-yard drive capped by an eight yard run by tailback Elijah Woods. On the next possession, Buffalo would take a gamble and lost as Cribbs burned the Bulls for an 80-yard run going untouched to the end zone to put the Golden Flashes up 20-3 on a third and two play.
"They took a gamble," said Cribbs. "When you take gambles it's going to be a big play or a loss, it was a big play for us."
Buffalo wouldn't go down quietly though, as quarterback P.J. Piskorik and the UB offense answered right back on a five-play 87-yard drive. Piskorik connected with a diving Matt Knueven in the end zone on a 21-yard pass. Piskorik had a career day going 18-24 for 172 yards and two touchdowns with 57 yards rushing as well.
However, right when Buffalo seemed to gain momentum, KSU tacked another seven points on to go up 27-10 with 1:17 left in the first half. This would be Cribbs' second big passing play of the game, first hooking up with Derrick Bush for a 52-yard pass in triple coverage, and then with 19 seconds left in the first half, Cribbs hit Neil Buckosh for a four yard touchdown pass.
The second half would be a different story for Buffalo, which scored 14 unanswered points to come within three at 27-24. Jared Patterson scored the first touchdown and on the Bulls' next possession, Piskorik connected with Knueven for a two-yard touchdown pass. The difference between the first and second half would be, according to Hofher, execution.
"Really is just a matter of executing the plays," said coach Hofher.
That would be all the offense that UB would generate, and it proved futile after Cribbs' game-breaking 56-yard touchdown run
Buffalo gained 262 yards rushing yards on the day, and were led by tailback Dave Dawson with 66 yards on 15 attempts.
For KSU, a hobbled and sick Cribbs finished with 211 yards passing and rushed for 161 yards.
"I just had to fight hard ... I had to suck it up and play for them," said Cribbs.
For the UB seniors, this was it - the last time to strap on the pads, lace up their cleats and hit someone. Despite the rocky road that most of the seniors took part in, Wilcher wouldn't give any of it back.
"Ups have to be people I've met, people I've played with and the coaches I've had the chance to play under," said Wilcher. "I wouldn't change coming to Buffalo for anything in the world."
Buffalo loses 12 players including Wilcher, long snapper Adam Johnson, kicker Pelz (school record 11 consecutive field goals made) and tackle Jeff Mills who started his 34th consecutive game.
Buffalo's second straight finish of 1-11 can be deceiving, especially when you look at their schedule and see five teams that were all at one time or another in the top 30 in the nation and looking at how well the Bulls played towards the end of the season.
"I honestly don't feel like the results of our record reflect that these guys have done or tried to do but in the end we are 1-11 and we have tremendous room to improve," said Hofher.
Buffalo returns 17 starters next year, most of which are two-year starters, which should make for an intriguing year for UB football in 2004.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
