Bulls pick bad time for a loss

By Budd Bailey

An up-and-down season for the University at Buffalo suffered a crucial "down' on Wednesday night.

The Bulls and Miami came into Wednesday’s game with the same record in the Mid-American Conference (4-2). They had the same overall record in 2025 (5-5). They both had a slim chance of winning the conference championship, thanks to the claustrophobic standings in the MAC. You’d think this was an even matchup. The swings in momentum were frequent and dramatic.

But when everything had settled, the Bulls had suffered a painful 37-20 loss to the RedHawks at UB Stadium.

The MAC title banner won’t be flying here any time soon.  More to the point, the Bulls missed a chance to win their sixth game of the season. That would have made UB bowl-eligible. That’s not an automatic ticket to the postseason, because it depends on how many other teams might qualify for available for bowl slots. But it would have been nice to wrap that detail up for next week’s season finale a week early.

"It was a tight, back-and-forth game until we let it get away from us," Lembo said. "We have not been able to play 60 minutes of clean football, and that showed up again tonight. Ultimately, we've got to execute at a higher level. Tonight it was all three phases."

It seemed unlikely at first that either team would reach double digits in points, let alone combine for 57 in the game. Buffalo had the only score of the first quarter, a field goal by Jack Howes. The Miami offense, which had been rather dormant, came to life. Freshman quarterback Thomas Gotkowski threw a touchdown pass to Kam Perry, and ran for another score. When the RedHawks’ Dom Dzioban added a 49-yard field goal late in the half, the visitors seemed in control.

That made Buffalo’s comeback that much more surprising. The Bulls moved smoothly down the field before halftime before scoring on Ta’Quan Roberson’s pass to Victor Snow. After the second half, UB wasted little time in tying the game on Roberson’s throw to Jasaiah Gathings. When Howes kicked a 47-yard field goal about six minutes later, the Bulls had a 20-17 lead and all of the momentum on their side - although a touchdown would have been even more of a boost in that situation.

"We really needed to get seven there," Lembo said. "But we still took the lead and had some momentum. We needed to come out and get a stop there."

That good feeling lasted one play after the ensuing kickoff. Jordan Brunson ran 60 yards to put Miami on the Bulls’ 15 - the equivalent of a roundhouse punch that landed.

"I won't say I wasn't surprised, because we had done a fabulous job of stuffing the run the entire night right up until that point," Lembo said.

The RedHawks were in the end zone two plays later to regain the lead, and a big punt return set up another Jones scoring run late in the period. That made it 31-20, and it's tough enough to rally against a good Miami defense once ... let alone twice. Two fourth-quarter field goals by Dzioban added some unneeded insurance.

Three turnovers proved extremely costly for UB, as did eight penalties. The RedHawks had no turnovers. The Bulls also couldn't contain Miami's running game, which picked up 162 yards to Buffalo's 46 (including a 12-yard run near the end of the game).

It was an odd night for statistics in other ways. Miami went 2 for 15 on third- and fourth-down situations. One of the best UB highlights was that wide receivers Victor Snow and Nik McMillan combined for 17 catches and 258 yards.

"We're like 1 and 1A," McMillan said. "You can't double him, and you can't double me."

With this opportunity now gone, the Bulls still have something at stake for the last game of the regular season. They will host Ohio a week from Friday, and they need a win in order to have a chance to avoid cleaning out the lockers for a few more weeks.

"We're devastated to be out of the race for a championship, but it's important to end the season the right way," linebacker Red Murdock said. "As a bunch of grown men, we have to feel this hurt and move on to the next challenge."

"We've got to respond," Lembo said. "This is a group that is vested and high character. They care a lot. ... I know we'll get their best this coming week."

(Follow Budd on X.com via @WDX2BB)