College Football
RedHawks slip past Bulls, 38-31

Untimely penalties and turnovers ruined a spirited effort by the University at Buffalo football team as it dropped a 38-31 decision to Miami University on Sunday afternoon at UB Stadium. The game was rescheduled from Saturday after a record snow fall on Friday closed the school.

The Bulls led Miami, 21-14, early in the third quarter before a series of turnovers and breakdowns gave the RedHawks three short touchdown drives and control of the game. The Bulls rallied late in the game but a final onside kick with just over one minute remaining went out of bounds, allowing the RedHawks to escape with the victory.

"I'm disappointed," said Buffalo head coach Turner Gill. "I thought we played with a lot of energy and a lot of heart. We played very hard, but I think at some points we even played a little too aggressive."

"I think our coaches put together a great game plan for the game and we did some good things on both ends of the ball," he continued. "With that said, there are things we need to work on - we can't have four turnovers and 13 penalties in a football game and expect to win - and we will address those and be ready next weekend to play Ohio."

The Bulls opened the game with a 46-yard kickoff return by freshman Naaman Roosevelt to the Miami 45-yard line. However, the Bulls' drive stalled after a sack.

The Bulls got on the board first on their second possession. Redshirt freshman James Starks capped an eight play, 75-yard drive with a career-long 38-yard touchdown run. Starks ran around right end and went the distance untouched. The score marked the first time that the Bulls have opened the scoring in a game since the opener versus Temple.

The RedHawks, however, responded with a drive of their own on the ensuing possession, tying the game on the second play of the second quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Austin Sykes.

After another Miami score to put the visitors up 14-7, UB's defense came up with a huge play late in the first half and registered a touchdown for the second straight week. Senior linebacker Jeff Bublavi forced a fumble by Andre Bratton that was scooped up by defensive end Trevor Scott and returned to the Miami 5-yard line, where he fumbled, however teammate James Judges fell on it in the end zone. After the PAT by senior Adam Tanalski, the game was tied at halftime.

UB had a quick start to the second half, stopping Miami on downs before striking with a short field of their own. UB overcame a second-and-20 as quarterback Drew Willy hit Terrance Breaux with a clutch 18-yard catch and run. Willy would eventually hook up with redshirt freshman Jesse Rack for an 8-yard touchdown toss. It was Rack's first touchdown in his career.

After that, however, the Bulls' mistakes caught up with them. After an interception on a deflected pass late in the third quarter, the RedHawks had to travel just 22 yards to tie the score on a Sykes touchdown run. Then, on the last play of the third quarter, punter Ben Woods had his kick blocked and recovered at the Bulls' 5-yard line. The RedHawks wasted little time in taking the lead two plays later on a pass from quarterback Mike Kokal to Jake O'Connell.

The RedHawks extended the lead to 38-21 after two more Buffalo interceptions, before UB would rally once more to make things interesting.

Trailing by 17 points, strong safety Kareem Byrom forced a fumble that teammate Kendric Hawkins recovered at the Miami 45-yard line.

One play later, Willy connected with Roosevelt for a 45-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline. After the Tanalski PAT, the Bulls trailed 38-28 with 1:50 remaining.

It got more interesting when the Bulls recovered Woods' onside kick. Buffalo moved into field

goal range on a 30-yard hookup from Willy to Starks, eventually settling on a 32-yard field goal from Tanalski to make it 38-31 with 1:06 left.

However, Woods' final onside kick bounced out of bounds and the RedHawks were able to run out the clock and secure the win.

The Bulls were severely hampered in the game by a total of 13 penalties for 117 yards, including two calls on third and fourth down that kept Miami touchdown drives alive. Buffalo had entered the game as the least penalized team in the Mid-American Conference and ranked 21st in the nation in fewest penalty yards per game.

Individually, redshirt frosh James Starks had a career-best 113 yards on 19 carries, averaging 5.9 yards per carry. He also contributed career-bests with five receptions for 68 yards, for a total of 181 all-purpose yards.

Willy finished 13-of-23 for 174 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Roosevelt totaled 145 yards of all-purpose yardage on the day with three receptions for 60 yards, three kickoff returns for 80 yards and a punt return for 11 yards.

Defensively, senior linebacker Ramon Guzman led the Bulls with 11 tackles - including a half-sack. Fellow senior Bublavi added seven tackles and a forced fumble. Scott had 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery and sophomore David Hubbard had six tackles and 1.5 sacks.