Football Looks to Bounce Back Against Kent State

After being handled easily by Marshall two weeks ago, the Bulls are coming off a bye week to host the Kent State Golden Flashes and their premier quarterback, Josh Cribbs.

Cribbs leads Kent State (2-6 overall, 1-4 Mid-American Conference) into this game as the reigning MAC-East Offensive Player of the Week after torching Ohio University for three touchdowns on 211 yards through the air and a career-high 223 yards on the ground. The Bulls (1-7 overall, 1-5, MAC) come off of a poor defensive showing against Marshall, where they were blown out by a 34-point margin.

"Cribbs is one of the most dominating players ever in the MAC," said UB Head Coach Jim Hofher. "He is a tailback playing quarterback with the ability to scramble for yards while still being dangerous through the air. By the end of this year he should be the MAC's all-time leader in rushing yards by a quarterback."

Last year, Cribbs proved how dangerous he could be when facing Buffalo. He killed the UB defense with his elusive ability and he was responsible for 372 yards of total offense in Kent State's 34-24 win over UB. His second quarter touchdown runs of 80 and 56 yards proved too much for the Bulls to overcome.

Scoring plays will also be harder to come by for the Bulls. Kent State has improved by leaps and bounds on the defensive side of the football in comparison to last season.

The Golden Flashes have emerged from a 2003 season that included a defense that gave up 461.8 yards and 33.0 points per game to a 2004 defense that has allowed a manageable 329.9 yards and 27 points per game.

The Flashes' defensive improvement has been thanks in large part to a monster season by defensive lineman Justin Parrish. Parrish has 10 sacks on the season along with 13.5 tackles for losses thus far.

UB's offensive line will have to turn in another solid performance, similar to the performance the Bulls exhibited against Marshall and its defensive terror Jonathan Goddard. The Bulls' O-line held Marshall to one sack and opened the holes for the UB running attack as they pounded out 202 yards on the ground.

"I felt one of the bright spots from the Marshall game was Leroy Auguste," said Coach Hofher. "He did a good job on Goddard and the offensive line as a unit executed on him and in the run game the way we wanted to."

Dave Dawson led the way for the UB's running backs two weeks ago thanks to a record breaking run that tied the game early in the first quarter at 7-7. Dawson scampered 83 yards nearly untouched to record the longest rushing play in UB's Division 1-A era. He finished the game with 101 yards on just five carries.

The Bulls' passing game has continued to struggle. P.J. Piskorik threw for just 101 yards on 10-22 throwing with one touchdown and an interception despite getting decent offensive line protection.

Piskorik did, however, connect with Buffalo's leading receiver Matt Knueven for a 61-yard strike and his first touchdown pass of the year.

The passing touchdown is only the Bulls' fourth of the year. Buffalo now has played four quarterbacks on the season and each has recorded a touchdown.

Defensively, the Bulls will need to bounce back from their worst performance of the year. The Bulls were torched by the electrifying offense of Marshall for 466 yards and 48 points.

J.J. Gibson continued a very stellar 2004 season and was again a bright spot and leader for the Bulls. Gibson made 14 tackles and was responsible for two Marshall turnovers. Gibson leads Buffalo with 81 tackles and his fumble recovery gives him a team-leading three on the year

James Evans also added to his already impressive freshman stats with another interception. He leads the Bulls with four interceptions and is slowly becoming one of the top cornerbacks in the MAC.

The Bulls are a very youthful team and with inexperience comes growing pains. Of the top 19 tacklers on the team, 18 will return on defense next season.

"We can still accomplish more this season. Our team is young and every game they are learning," said Hofher. "We need to finish the season strong and get the momentum a program needs to consistently compete in this conference.

UB hopes to replace the pain left by Marshall with the elation of a home victory against Kent State when they take to the field of UB Stadium on Saturday at 1:30 pm.