Bulls Fall To Rutgers In Opener

No. 16 Scarlet Knights post a 38-3 win over Buffalo in season opener

Drew Willy

PISCATAWAY, NJ - The University at Buffalo fell in its season opener to nationally-ranked Rutgers, 38-3, at Rutgers Stadium on Thursday night.

The Scarlet Knights, ranked 16th in the country coming into the season, threw a balanced offense at the Bulls as Heisman Trophy candidate Ray Rice rushed for 184 yards and quarterback Mike Teel threw for a career-best 328 yards to lead Rutgers.

The homestanding Scarlet Knights started quickly, utilizing a 56-yard return on the opening kickoff to gain possession at Buffalo’s 43-yard line. From there it took just three plays before Rice raced 34 yards for a touchdown to give Rutgers a 7-0 lead just 1:21 into the game.

Despite a productive first quarter by junior quarterback Drew Willy (Randolph, NJ/Randolph), who connected on 5-of-7 passes for 50 yards, the Bulls could not dent the scoreboard. Flanker Brett Hamlin (Jupiter, FL/William T. Dwyer) back in the lineup after redshirting last season, had three of those catches for 33 yards. However, despite three trips into Rutgers territory, the Bulls could not get any points on the board.

The Scarlet Knights rode a huge first half by Teel to take a 28-0 lead to intermission. Teel completed 12-of-16 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns in the first two quarters of play.

Kareem Byrom

The Bulls came out in the second half and played a solid third quarter, twice driving inside the Rutgers 30-yard line before scoring for the first time on a field goal by freshman kicker A.J. Principe (Columbus, OH/St. Francis DeSales). Principe connected on a 35-yard field with 3:19 remaining in the third to cut the Rutgers lead to 28-3. The Bulls other deep foray into Rutgers territory ended when Willy’s fourth down pass from the RU 12-yard line fell incomplete.

However, that was as close as the Bulls would get, as Rutgers would add a touchdown and a field goal to complete the scoring.

Willy finished the game completing 19 of 32 passes for 165 yards without an interception. The Bulls’ running game was led by sophomore Mario Henry (Erie, PA/Strong Vincent) who had eight carries for 49 yards (6.1 per carry) in his first action at tailback.

Defensively, the Bulls were led by senior linebacker Kareem Byrom (New Brunswick, NJ/New Brunswick) and junior college transfer Adekunle Akingba (Brooklyn, NY/Sheepshead Bay), who each racked up 10 tackles. Byrom also had a forced fumble and a tackle for loss.

BULL-etins: The following Bulls made their first career starts: cornerback Domonic Cook (Buffalo, NY/St. Joseph’s), offensive guard Peter Bittner (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville North), tight end Aaron Connacher (Jamestown, NY/Jamestown), strong safety Adekunle Akingba, linebacker Larry Hutchinson (Seattle, WA/Franklin) and defensive end Chris Callahan (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas)...linebacker Kareem Byrom was credited with the fifth forced fumble of his career in the second quarter. Last season Byrom led the Bulls with four forced fumbles, a figure that ranked second in the Mid-American Conference. On the same play, linebacker Ollice Ervin recorded his second career fumble recovery...flanker Brett Hamlin had a solid return after missing 10 games – and redshirting – last season. Hamlin led the Bulls with four catches for 54 yards. Hamlin had led Buffalo as a true freshman in receiving with 38 receptions for 371 yards...while it was their first collegiate games, three Bulls players returned to the stadium they played in just a few weeks ago. Aaron Connacher, Marcus Rivers (Lackawanna, NY/Lackawanna) and Domonic Cook represented New York State in the Governor’s Bowl (New York vs. New Jersey) at Rutgers Stadium in July...senior punter Ben Woods (Hermitage, PA/Hickory) had an outstanding night. Of his seven punts only one was returned, three kicks were downed or fair caught inside the 20 while he averaged 44 yards per kick...quarterback Drew Willy completed passes to nine different receivers in the game...three receivers made their first career catches – Aaron Connacher, Mario Henry and Brandon Thermilus (Flower Mound, TX/Marcus)...the game marked the fourth straight non-conference road game that the Bulls have played against a Top 25 opponent after playing at nationally-ranked Auburn, Boston College and Wisconsin last year...the Bulls travel to Philadelphia on Saturday, September 8 for a Mid-American Conference battle versus Temple. Buffalo defeated the Owls in overtime last season.

08/30/2007