UB falls a yard short in loss

By Budd Bailey

About a month ago, Western Michigan lost a game when a second was added to the clock and Michigan scored the game-winning touchdown after, in a sense, time had run out.

On Saturday afternoon, Buffalo had a chance to hand Western Michigan yet another last-second loss, although this time without an officiating controversy.

But the Bulls couldn’t pull off the re-run. They dropped a 20-17 decision before 6,350 in Broadview Stadium.

Let’s take a look at the end of this one, which won’t receive national attention but was quite spellbinding for those who were watching. Western Michigan took a three-point lead on a field goal by Dieter Kelly with 1:19 left. But UB still had time to complicate the finish. The Bulls went on a steady drive featuring some mid-range completions to move the ball into scoring position. Then quarterback Jason Wright ran the ball to the WMU 4 with 42 seconds left. A touchdown and victory seemed almost inevitable.

On first down, Nino Hill ran for two yards to the WMU 2. Second down, and 38 seconds left.

On second down, Wright’s pass for Clint Walker fell incomplete. Third down, and 32 seconds left.

On third down, Messiah Burch ran for zero yards to the WMU 1. Fourth down, and 11 seconds left.

It was decision time: kick the tying field goal and go into overtime, or try to win the game right then and there. The Bulls had figured out their plan in advance.

“We made our decision earlier in the week,” coach Pete Lembo said. “We were not planning to go to overtime with these guys if that was the case. Our thoughts were to treat it like three two-point plays, and percentage-wise hope that we got one.”

“I loved the aggressiveness,” Wright said. “It showed confidence in the offense. … We just didn’t execute.”

Wright rolled to the left, and ended up heading for the corner of the end zone … but falling a yard short.

“That’s one of the plays we’ve been working on in practice,” he said. “It was something we thought was going to work – a dump pass. I felt like it was a little foggy, and I didn’t want to risk it.”

The Broncos fell on the ball to kill the last two seconds, and this win was in the history books … unlike the one against Michigan,

It was a frustrating day for the Bulls, who played their best game of the season to date. A week ago, the mistakes had multiplied in a win over Robert Morris that should have been more one-sided than it was. This time, Buffalo didn’t have a single turnover in the entire game. Come to think of it, neither did Western Michigan. It was a step forward.

“Not big enough, but the fact that we took care of the football and ran the ball pretty effectively against a good defensive certainly helped keep us in it,” Lembo said.

Wright, the sophomore quarterback, again looked increasingly comfortable as the quarterback. He was 11 for 18 in passing, including a 59-yard pass for a touchdown to Patrick Clacks III in the first quarter. Wright also took five sacks in the game, but sometimes it’s better to do that than throw a hurried pass into tight coverage. It was another step forward for him.

“I think he operated the offense, and I give our offensive staff a world of credit,” Lembo said. “They have worked extremely hard to mentor Jason to bring him along, and to tailor things to his strengths. One of the things we said in the staff meeting last night is that we hope this is the game where he takes a step forward. I think he did. Hopefully there is more to come.”

Burch finished with 106 yards rushing, with almost all of them coming in the second half. Chance Morrow needed a little time to catch some passes, but he eventually finished with seven receptions for 90 yards.

The team stats were relatively even. Western Michigan had a slight edge in first downs and total offensive. As you’d expect from such numbers, it was a back-and-forth day. The Broncos scored first, Buffalo rallied to take the lead, Western Michigan bounced back to tie the game with 6:44 left. When WMU needed a nice drive in the final minutes to take the lead, quarterback Broc Lowry led an 11-play, 59-yard drive for a field goal. Lowry was 19 for 24 for 212 yards.

“We missed some base picks, and had some plays that we should have stopped,” SaVeon Brown of the Bulls said. “One or two yards turned to six or eight.”

“They outplayed us in the fourth quarter,” Lembo said. “They had two scoring drives in the fourth quarter. On both of those drives, we didn’t tackle particularly well.”

It was a tough way for the Bulls to open the conference schedule. UB probably can take solace in the fact that the Broncos were the preseason pick to win the conference championship, and there was only a yard’s difference between losing to them and beating them.

“We’ll make the corrections going forward,” Burch said. “It’s all good.”

Buffalo heads on the road next week for a game at Toledo.

(Follow Budd on X.com via @WDX2BB)