Troy shocks UB with late rally

By Budd Bailey

Buffalo sports fans shouldn’t have needed this reminder: Never leave a football game early.

They should have learned that lesson less than two weeks ago. Remember when the Bills were down by 15 points with four minutes to go against the Ravens? What seemed like a chance to beat the traffic turned into a missed opportunity to see one of the great finishes in Bills’ history, as Buffalo came back to win.

Reminder No. 2 arrived almost as unexpectedly at UB Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The University at Buffalo had dominated the first 46 minutes of the contest. The Bulls were ahead 17-0, and Troy was having trouble even getting first downs. You’d think people would want to hang around and enjoy the finish. After all, it’s not as if the traffic there is difficult.

Somehow, some way, the Trojans’ offense woke up. It scored three touchdowns within the final 11 minutes, and held on for a stunning 21-17 win over Buffalo. Now UB fans know how the Ravens’ backers felt.

“I thought we played pretty well for three quarters,” Bulls coach Pete Lembo said. “We didn’t make some plays that we did make in the first half to pull away, but we were still able to build a lead. … Obviously we were not very good on defense in the fourth quarter, giving up three scores and giving up plays through the air and through the ground.”

“It’s really disappointing,” linebacker Red Murdock said. “We’ve got to do a better job finishing.”

This was a Troy team that lost its starting quarterback, Goose Crowder, to injury in last week’s loss to Memphis. Reserves Tucker Kilcrease and Ul Ale both saw action at the position during the game with UB, and neither produced a great deal of offense … until that 17-0 lead. Troy crammed a 14-play, 75-yard drive within five minutes to finally score its first touchdown. There wasn’t much reason for UB to be too worried until it went three and out, followed by a seven-play, 66-yard Troy drive for another score to make it 17-14.

When Buffalo failed to earn a first down in its next two possessions (footnote: starting QB Ta’Quan Roberson was out with a lower leg injury), the Trojans had 2:33 to either tie or win the game. They took the lead with 45 seconds to spare, with Tae Meadows taking a draw play and running 22 yards for a touchdown.

“We just couldn’t get off the field on third and fourth down,” Murdock said.

The Bulls advanced the ball 46 yards on their final possession, but couldn’t reach the end zone and lost the ball on downs. It was a very tough spot for backup quarterback Gunner Gray, who did his best to make it interesting even though he had no experience to play in that spot.

“You’ve got to be ready,” Gray said about the situation. “You prepare all week for to be ready when the time comes. I’ve got to make the most when I get that opportunity.

“Obviously the goal there (on the final drive) is to score. We didn’t get that done. If we get that opportunity again, we’re going to be there.”

Lembo summarized, “If you look at the play-by-play, you’re going to see a lot of good things, some things we didn’t do to pull away. The bottom line is that this game is about coming together, digging deep and finding away when it’s on the line. We certainly did not that as a team today.”

It was all so unexpected. Buffalo scored on its first possession, while it took Troy almost 15 minutes to pick up a first down. UB finished the first half with six sacks to help the cause. The game was there for the taking, but the Bulls punted four straight times – including one that came after a drop of a sure long touchdown pass.

“We definitely left some opportunities out there, but we didn’t execute,” said Al-Jay Henderson, who led UB in rushing for the game with 78 yards.

But a 10-point burst on back-to-back drives make everyone on the UB side a little more comfortable … until it wasn’t.

It would have been nice for UB to start a three-game homestand with a victory. A 3-1 record would have sounded good at this point in the season, with the only loss coming to the Big Ten’s Minnesota. But the collapse and the uncertain status of Roberson left a few questions surrounding the Bulls as they prepare for next week. Buffalo takes on a good Connecticut team in that one.

“Hopefully we’ll learn from it,” Lembo said. “I don’t have any easy answers. I can’t put my finder on why we are struggling to finish games on defense, particularly after playing as well as we did for three quarters.”

One thing we can say for certain about the next home game: Stay until you see all zeroes on the scoreboard clock.

(Follow Budd on X.com @WDX2BB)