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NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - The University at Buffalo found out again Saturday night that mistake-prone football just won't cut it against talented BIG EAST teams.

The Bulls (0-2) turned the ball over four times and saw several special teams mistakes lead to a 59-0 defeat at the hands of unbeaten Rutgers (2-0) on Saturday night at Rutgers Stadium before 26,511 fans.

The Bulls saw nearly a carbon copy of their start at Syracuse. On their first drive, quarterback Joe Freedy (Bethel Park, PA/Bethel Park) was sacked and fumbled with Rutgers' Tom Petko recovering at the Buffalo 27.

Rutgers converted on the opportunity when quarterback Mike McMahon scrambled for 17 yards to the Buffalo two-yard line. One play later Jason Ohene put the Scarlet Knights up, 7-0, with a two-yard burst over the right side.

Rutgers increased the lead to 10-0 with 4:30 left in the first quarter when Jason Barone hit a 31-yard field goal after the Bulls held the Scarlet Knights inside the ten-yard line.

After the Bulls went three downs and out, Sean Carty of Rutgers set the Knights up first-and-goal at the UB eight-yard line after a 47-yard punt return. The Knights took advantage when McMahon hit Walter King on a slant pattern for the touchdown to make it 17-0 Rutgers.

The Bulls' stopped Rutgers again inside their 10-yard line after punter Dallas Pelz (Holland, NY/St. Francis) was dropped for a 31-yard loss when a snap went over his head with the Knights taking over at the Buffalo four. The Knights went for it on fourth down at the UB three but were stopped on downs when Antoine Lovelace was dropped for no gain.

The Bulls had another crippling turnover late in the first half. After moving out from their own eight-yard line to near midfield, Freedy had a pass intercepted by Shahib White who returned the ball to the Buffalo 20. McMahon then hit flanker David Stringer with a 20-yard strike for the score to make it 24-0 with less than three minutes left in the first half and the rout was on.

Rutgers would go on to post the shutout behind a dominating defensive effort that held the Bulls to -7 yards rushing for the game. Despite a sizable time advantage with the ball (33:02 to 26:30), Buffalo never got any ground game going and had to rely solely on the passing game.

Freedy finished the game 24-of-45 for a career-high 223 yards but was sacked four times and pressured throughout the game. Freedy's favorite targets were freshman split end Zeke McKine (Hollywood, FL/McArthur), senior tight end Brandon Shaughnessy (Stafford, NY/LeRoy) and sophomore tailback Bam McDonald (Rochester, NY/Rush-Henrietta). McKine caught four passes for 58 yards, McDonald four for 27 yards and Shaughnessy set career marks with four catches for 46 yards.

The defense was paced by senior Chris Gray (Frewsburg, NY/Frewsburg) and freshman Lamar Wilcher (Ossining, NY/Ossining). Gray had nine tackles, including one for loss, while Wilcher had seven solo stops, including one for loss. Sophomore Mike Lambert (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt) had four tackles and a fumble recovery while senior Carlos Spencer (Buffalo, NY/South Park) had four solo stops and a forced fumble.

The Bulls will host Connecticut on Saturday night in their home opener at 7:00 pm at UB Stadium.