UB self-destructs against Akron

By Budd Bailey

As football games so, the University at Buffalo’s matchup with Akron on Saturday afternoon won’t be placed in any local art galleries for public display in the near future.

The teams combined for eight turnovers, and went a rather discouraging 4 for 26 on third down. That put the game up for grabs, since the issues were split relatively evenly.

However, the Zips were the ones who made the necessary plays at crucial times. The Bulls couldn’t answer, and ultimately that’s why they fell by a score of 24-16 before 12,491 in UB Stadium. The loss ended Buffalo’s two-game winning streak, and dropped the team’s overall record to 4-3.

When it was over, a bunch of missed opportunities wound up adding up to a giant missed opportunity – as UB lost its first conference game of the season to fall out of a share of the MAC lead.

“I’ve got to figure out to solve some very specific problems that we’re having that seem to pop up on almost a weekly basis,” Bulls coach Pete Lembo said after the game. That covers both sides of the ball, based on this matchup.

This was a game of two different halves in terms of style. Buffalo did virtually nothing on offense at the start of the game, recording only one first down in the first 15 minutes. UB’s only score in that time came on a safety recorded on an Akron punt play. That made the score 3-2 at the time, leaving people to wonder if someone was warming up in the bullpen.

Typical of the half was a fake field goal attempt midway through the second quarter. Three points would have given UB the lead, and Lembo thought some deception might work. But the Zips sniffed out the play, which never had a chance.

“It was a 3-2 game and a field goal is only going to put you up two,” Lembo said. “It was a little bit far to go on offense so I thought it was a good time to get that called. That’s a thousand percent on me. Those are great when they work, but in hindsight you’d like to kick it there.”

The Bulls did take the lead Ta’Quan Roberson hit Patrick Clacks III for 1-yard score very late in the first half. A two-point conversion left the score at a much less awkward 10-3 for Buffalo. Akron only had 60 yards of total offense in the first half, and the Zips still had the same defense that had allowed a total of 129 points in its last four games.

Along the way, Bulls’ linebacker Red Murdoch forced a fumble by Akron. That was No. 16 for him in his excellent career, a number that tied an NCAA record – held, coincidentally enough, by former UB star Khalil Mack. Murdoch has five this season to again rank with the nation’s best.

“Coming into it, I think every single (play) is going to be a fumble,” Murdoch said. “Truth be told, I’m looking forward to the 17^th one. Now, we’re just tied.”

“He’s definitely got a knack for it,” Lembo said about Murdoch’s ability to create fumbles. “The key to getting the ball is getting multiple guys to the party. We talk a lot about that. …. When you do that, you have an opportunity with the second, third, fourth guy to get the ball out. But there’s no doubt that Red is an explosive player."

Then the third quarter started, and the game started to flip. The Zips took the kickoff and moved the ball 75 yards in 12 plays. If the Bulls had any momentum entering the second half, it was gone.

“It shouldn’t (deflate the defense), because at some point they’re going to score,” Lembo said. “That’s a highly talented offense, and I hope we’re mentally tougher than that. We should be. We’ve shown to be that before.”

“We go into games every week expecting to play 60 minutes, especially in this conference,” Nik McMillan said. “Anybody can beat anybody, so we never sleep on an opponent.”

Buffalo answered with a field goal, but Akron took the lead with another good-sized drive. When the Zips made it 24-13 with a 38-yard scramble by quarterback Ben Finley with 11:46 left, the Bulls’ margin for error was gone. The Zips went on to pick up 265 yards in offense in the second half, a discouraging number for any team, but particularly for a Buffalo squad that needs that unit to be a strength of the squad.

UB did pick up a field goal with about six minutes to go to make it a one-possession game (its sixth straight such contest), but could move no closer. Akron’s strong pass rush helped its defense record three interceptions in the final quarter.

If nothing else, the Bulls have learned – or at least been reminded – that most of the games in the MAC this season figure to be dogfights. UB had won its last two contests that went to the wire, but the law of averages has been known to come into play.

“You can talk ad nauseum about being in close games, but just coming to peace with what we are this year and the likelihood of that happening – I don’t know if everyone believes me when I say it … but every other game (besides the first one) has been close,” Lembo said. “The good news is that our guys don’t panic.”

“You’re going to have close games, but in the end it’s going to make us stronger,” Roberson said.

The Bulls’ immediate task to reach the first goal of any college team – the sixth win of the year to become bowl-eligible – became more difficult by the end of Saturday afternoon. Buffalo has some cleaning up to do for its next game, a road trip to Bowling Green next weekend.

“There’s a big sense of urgency here,” Lembo said. “I just want to see us playing our best, whatever that is. …. I want to figure out a way to get those things solves. But it’s a good bunch of guys, and they’ll take their share of ownership of this.”

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