This Week's Opponent

Buffalo (2-2) vs. West Chester (0-3)
Saturday, September 27,1997 - 1:30 pm
UB Stadium (16,500) - Buffalo, NY

Bulls Looking to Bounce Back

The University at Buffalo Bulls hope to bounce back from the worst loss in six seasons when they host West Chester University at UB Stadium on Saturday at 1:30 pm.

The Bulls were self-destructive in a 50-0 loss at Division I-A Ohio University last Saturday, turning the ball over four times in their worst loss since a 50-0 loss at Ithaca in 1991. It was the Bulls' first game against a Division I-A opponent since the 1970 season and was their first game against a Mid-American Conference opponent since learning they would become a member in football in 1999. With the loss the Bulls fell to 2-2 on the season.

West Chester fell to 0-3 on the season with a 28-7 loss at Delaware on Saturday. The Golden Rams, who are a Division II school that plays in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), will be facing their third Division I-AA opponent in four outings this season. The Rams have already played Villanova and Delaware before making their trip to Buffalo this weekend.

News & Notes

Bulls and Rams Meet for First Time

The Bulls of Buffalo and the Golden Rams of West Chester have never played on the gridiron, although PSAC teams certainly have not been strangers to UB since the Bulls have returned to Division I in 1993.

The Bulls have played four games against PSAC teams during that span, winning three (Edinboro, Cheyney and Lock Haven this year) while losing to Edinboro in 1993. During the decade of the '90's, the Bulls are 4-4 against PSAC teams.

Bulls Find Going Tough in MAC Preview

On paper the University at Buffalo football team found that they could play with future Mid-American opponent Ohio University on Saturday despite playing a Division I-A team for the first time in 27 years.

But each mistake the Bulls (2-2) made they paid for dearly in losing 50-0 to the Bobcats (3-1). Despite only being outgained 367-247, the Bulls turned the ball over four times in the first half and found themselves down 36-0 at halftime.

The loss was the worst the Bulls have suffered since a 50-0 defeat at Ithaca College in 1991, the Bulls last season in Division III. The game was lost in the first half when Ohio took advantage of all four of UB's turnovers to turn a slight advantage in yardage into a huge edge on the scoreboard. That fact wasn't lost on UB head coach Craig Cirbus.

"It's an indication that in a football game when you're playing this kind of quality team, when you're playing at the Division I-A level, it instantly reinforces that minor mistakes, a little thing that may be hidden against a Division I-AA opponent, is graphically enlarged in a game like this," said Cirbus. "Any minor, minor breakdown we had Ohio University capitalized on the way they should."

The Bulls got several good performances in the loss, including a strong performance from their offensive line. The Bulls' offensive line did not allow a sack against starting quarterback Chad Salisbury (Newell, PA/Frazier HS) and helped tailback Anthony Swan (Kingston, NY/Kingston HS) rush for a season-high 107 yards on 28 carries. It was the 13th 100-yard game of Swan's career and left him 299 yards away from the school's all-time record.

Senior flanker Jamie Gasparre (Yonkers, NY/Hackley HS) had five catches for 50 yards while Drew Haddad (Cleveland, OH/St. Ignatius) had four catches for 43 yards.

Senior linebacker Londell Young (Brooklyn, NY/Boys & Girls HS) made 12 tackles, free safety Ted McDuffie (Buffalo, NY/Grover Cleveland) had 10 tackles and outside linebacker Josh Trexler (Elmira, NY/Elmira Free Academy) had five tackles and a forced fumble for the Bulls.

"The players aren't ready to adjust to this because it's a big, tough loss and we've never been on this side of a loss," said Cirbus, "but I'm confident we have the character on this team to respond to this."

Both Coaches Back at Alma Maters

UB head coach Craig Cirbus (Buffalo, '80) has turned around his alma mater's football fortunes in his three seasons after spending 11 years on Joe Paterno's staff at Penn State.

Cirbus has a 13-13 career record at UB and was named the 1996 NCAA I-AA Independent Coach of the Year. He needs just three more wins to become the sixth winningest coach in Bulls' football history. Prior to his arrival, the Bulls hadn't had a winning season since 1996.

West Chester University coach Rick Daniels is the second-winningest coach in Golden Ram football history with a 54-35-1 record in his tenth season as head coach. Daniels is a 1975 graduate of West Chester and in 1992 was named the Kodak Region I Coach of the Year as well as the PSAC East Coach of the Year. He previously served as an assistant for eight years with the Golden Rams.

Golden Rams Looking For First Win

West Chester comes into the game this weekend in search of their first win of the season, although their schedule has certainly not helped them.

The Rams have lost to Top 10 ranked Villanova, traditional powerhouse Delaware and perennial Division II playoff contender New Haven so far this season. The Golden Rams are led offensively by running back Thomas Fulton, who has 178 yards rushing and 113 yards receiving so far this season. Quarterback Mike Mitros has completed 32-of-70 passes for 387 yards with three touchdowns and only one interception. The Golden Rams have no receiver with more than seven catches on the season, but have nine different players who have caught passes. Bill Lowe leads the team in scroing with two touchdowns.

West Chester has struggled defensively, giving up 124 points in three games (41.3 ppg), including 42.9% on third-down conversions. The defense is led by All-PSAC middle linebacker Ben Tonon who has 21 tackles, including 16 solos and 2.5 sacks. Strong safety Brian Nitcher has 17 tackles, while OLB Marcellus Simmons has 15 stops, including four for losses.

Turnovers Still Plaguing the Bulls

The Bulls, who finished 10th in the nation in turnover margin last season, have struggled this season in that area.

After coming out -3 in the loss to Ohio University, the Bulls are now -4 on the season through four games. The only game the Bulls have won the turnover battle was in a 40-30 win over Delaware State.

Here are some numbers to look for in the coming weeks:

299...the number of yards Anthony Swan needs to pass Alan Bell ('92) on the all-time rushing chart.

18...the number of carries Swan needs to break the school record.

7...the number of touchdowns Swan needs to become the all-time leader in touchdowns scored by rushing.

26...the number of tackles senior defensive tackle Hardy Mitchell needs to reach 150 in his career.

10...the number of sacks senior noseguard Keith Hansen would need to tie Rich Dadabo and Vince Canosa for the all-time career lead.

11...the number of tackles Hansen needs to reach 150 in his career.

5...the number of touchdown catches Jamie Gasparre needs to tie Chris D'Amico for the all-time career record. Gasparre tied the school record with 10 last season.

3...the number of wins Craig Cirbus needs to move into fifth-place all-time on the UB coaching list.

Swan gets first 100-yard game of season:

Senior tailback Anthony Swan (Kingston, NY/Kingston HS) got the 13th 100-yard game of his career last Saturday at Ohio University and is on the verge of breaking the school record for rushing attempts in a career.

Swan had 107 yards on a season-high 28 carries at Ohio and now needs just 18 carries this weekend to become the school's leader in rushing attempts. He had gone four games since hitting the century mark in the game, dating back to the 104-yard performance he had against New Haven on November 9, 1996.

Shutout:

The Bulls were shutout for the first time during the Craig Cirbus era last Saturday. It was the first time UB was held off the scoreboard since a season-ending 48-0 loss at Central Florida in 1994.

Offensive line performs well:

Despite the lopsided loss to Ohio, the Bulls offensive line performed well against the top-ranked defense in the Mid-American Conference.

The Bulls' first-team offensive line allowed only one sack in the game - starter Chad Salisbury still has not been sacked this season - and helped tailback Anthony Swan to his first 100-yard game of the season.

Young has another strong game:

Senior linebacker Londell Young (Brooklyn, NY/Boys & Girls HS) had another strong game against Ohio University and continues to lead the Bulls in tackles for the season.

Young had 12 tackles - including seven solo stops - against Ohio and now has 42 tackles (10.5 per game) on the season with one sack, a fumble recovery, two passes broken up and a forced fumble.

In the Red Zone:

The Bulls were inside the Ohio 20 just once on Saturday but did not convert any points as kicker Scott Keller (Amherst, NY/Amherst Central) missed a 35-yard field goal - his first miss of the season.

For the season UB has converted an impressive 12-of-14 opportunities inside the 20 (85.7%) into points - with nine touchdowns and three field goals. The Bulls' touchdown percentage inside the 20 is 64.3%.

Bulls win battles, lose war:

Despite the lopsided loss to Ohio, the Bulls certainly weren't dominated by the Bobcats - in fact UB had nearly 60 more yards in total offense than Top 20-ranked Kansas State had against Ohio the week before.

UB also held a slight time of possession edge (30:35-29:25) for the game, which marked the first time this season that the Bulls had the ball longer than the opponent and lost.

Career firsts/bests:

Sophomore Enrico Pierre (Montreal, Que./Vieux-Montreal) had a career-high three catches for 47 yards in the game against Ohio.

True freshman, Brad Detwiler (North Canton, OH/N. Canton HS) got his first career start and made a career-high four tackles - including three solos - in the game.

True freshman Brandon Nishnick (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeul) had a career-best four tackles.

Bulls bounce back:

The Bulls are 5-6 under Craig Cirbus after suffering a loss, including 3-1 over the past two seasons.

Stello earning time on offensive line:

True freshman Josh Stello (Coraopolis, PA/Moon HS) has seen significant action the past two weeks on the offensive line.

Stello has gotten quite a bit of work at right guard the past two weeks and helped the Bulls run for 133 yards (without sacks) on Saturday.

Haddad continues to play well:

Sophomore wide receiver Drew Haddad (Cleveland, OH/St. Ignatius) shook off ankle and knee injuries suffered at Illinois State to make four catches for 43 yards in front of more than 50 friends and families at Ohio University.

Haddad leads the Bulls in receptions (18), receiving yards (279) and yards per catch (15.5) through four games. He is third on the team in all-purpose yardage (295).

Injury report:

UB listed the following players on the injury report after the Ohio game.

Jeff Lawrence, FS - sprained left ankle
Tory Smith, CB - sprained right ankle

09/24/1997