Bulls keep making it exciting

By Budd Bailey

Maybe the University at Buffalo should guarantee an exciting finish at their home football games this year. The ads could say, “If the game’s not in doubt with two minutes left, you’ll get a full refund.”

It’s not as if the athletic department would hand back any cash.

The Cardiac Bulls were at it again on Saturday afternoon. They won their third straight game, a 31-24 thriller over Bowling Green before 5,988 at Broadview Stadium. Buffalo is 4-1 in home games this season, and all of them have been decided by a touchdown or less.

The games have been enough for anyone to check with a cardiologist for an appointment. More importantly, the close contests have helped the young Bulls grow up.

“There’s a humility in that locker room,” head coach Pete Lembo said. “I don’t think there are guys that think we are better than we are. They know we have to earn everything we get. It does say a lot that we’re finding a way to pull these out.”

It’s been quite a transformation for UB (5-3, 3-1 MAC), which started the home seasons with too-close-for-comfort wins against FCS opponents from UAlbany and Robert Morris. Those games now seem like more than a month ago.

If there’s been one standout for the Bulls during this stretch, it’s Messiah Burch. The running back finished with 184 yards rushing on the day. That’s five straight games of 100 or more yards. That performance should allow him to pad his lead for rushing yardage for the season in the MAC. He did it even though his offensive line suffered some injuries on Saturday. Two regulars left, which caused some shuffling. The unit didn’t miss a beat.

“I’m so proud of that group and how they work,” Burch said. “The coaches prepare them every week. It’s a next man up mentality.”

“He’s faced a lot of adversity,” Lembo said about Burch. “Last year was a very challenging year for him in every way, shape or form. I don’t think we didn’t a good enough job of utilizing him, and he probably looks back and thinks there are a lot of things that he could have done better to put himself in position to play. But this game is about opportunities, and he has seized the moment. He’s a different guy, a different player.”

Burch was at his best on a 73-yard dash for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, as he came out of the pile at the line of scrimmage and suddenly had an open field ahead of him.

“With the recent runs, I’ve been getting caught,” he said. “That’s probably the first thing going through my head was, ‘Let’s not get caught. Let’s not step out of bounds.’”

Bulls quarterback Jason Wright managed the game nicely, completing 13 of 21 passes for 127 yards. More importantly, he only was sacked once (resulting in a fumble) and did not throw any interceptions. In other words, Wright didn’t give the Falcons much help in their attempt to win Saturday’s game.

“It’s week to week – we’re making strides on offense and defense, honestly,” he said. “It comes with reps and being on the field. I feel like we can continue to elevate. I feel like the close games tell the group how important it is to finish. I feel like we don’t want to sit back. We want to stomp on them.”

It was a back-and-forth contest on an afternoon that was simply a picture-perfect day for a college football game. UB scored first on Burch’s 11-yard run, but Bowling Green (2-6, 2-2) came back with a pair of impressive back-to-back drives. Both of them went for more than 70 yards, and that’s the sort of twin killings that can leave a defense worn out.

“Most of it is just staying the course,” safety Miles Greer said. “It is frustrating, but you go to the sidelines and see why it happens and what’s fixable. We have to execute and get that three-and-out.”

The Bulls responded by running their two-minute offense to score a huge touchdown at the end of the first half. It tied the game at 14-14, and seemed to change the course of the contest. Both teams had a touchdown in the third period (the second of three for Burch), and Oliver Hautanen kicked a field goal to start the fourth quarter. That gave UB its first lead since 7-0. Burch delivered a big cushion with his long run for a score, and the Bulls held on from there.    

“It’s been a challenging first 10 months of 2026,” Lembo said. “With all the new coaches, and new coordinators, and new support staff, and so many new players and so many players, with all the growing pains, and all the other challenges that we have faced, everyone has stayed the course.”

With four games left in the regular season, the schedule now turns a little funky. The Mid-American Conference plays games in midweek in early November in order to pick up some precious airtime (and dollars) from ESPN. A “game week” that lasts 10 days is a little unusual, but Lembo hopes to take advantage of the schedule by adding some recovery days for the players.

“Tomorrow is weight-lifting and recovery. We’ll watch the film. We’ve got a lot to clean up. Monday is a day off. Tuesday and Wednesday are what we call modified practices. We’ll certainly scale down some of the guys who have been on a tough stretch. …  We haven’t played that many guys this year, and some of that has been a necessity because of all the injuries. There will be a dozen guys that will do very little, and it’s a great opportunity for others to get some work in. Friday becomes Tuesday of game week.”

The Bulls will play at Miami (Ohio) on November 3.

(Follow Budd on X.com via @WDX2BB)