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Drew Willy

UB (0-4) is coming off a tough defeat at the hands of Western Michigan last Saturday by the score of 31-21. Freshman quarterback Drew Willy (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) completed 30-of-38 pass attempts, including 20-of-21 in the second half, for 288 yards and had two touchdown passes. UB head coach Jim Hofher said of Willy, “He did a really fine job for us under tough circumstances.”

The Bulls will hope to keep their offense rolling against the Zips. In its last two games, Buffalo has outgained its opponents in total offense. The Bulls gained 360 yards and 349 yards, respectively, against Western Michigan and Rutgers. In addition, the Bulls have thrown for over 200 yards in each of the last two games.

The Bulls enter this game as the top ranked pass defense in the conference, keeping opposing offenses to just 151.25 yards per game through the air. As a result, UB is ranked eighth in the nation in that category. One of the leaders on UB’s defense is senior DE Aaron Sanders (Clarence, NY/St. Joseph’s) who leads the team with 6.5 tackles for loss and three sacks to go along with his 24 tackles. The Bulls will look to continue their defensive prowess against Akron.

Akron (2-2) lost to MAC foe Central Michigan last Saturday by a score of 31-17. The Zips led at half by a margin of 17-7 but gave up 24 unanswered points in the second half. Akron’s two victories came against Middle Tennessee State and Northern Illinois, both by margins of 10 points or less. The Zips’ offense is led by junior quarterback Luke Getsy who averages 316.5 passing yards per game. Wideout Domenik Hixon leads Akron with an average of 122.5 yards receiving per game, which ranks him third in the nation. Hixon is also tops in the nation in all-purpose yards posting 223.3 yards per game, including punt returns. Akron is coached by J.D. Brookhart who is in his second season with the Zips and boasts an 8-7 career record with the team.

UB head coach Jim Hofher talked about the match up against Akron. “It’s going to take tremendous effort from our entire defense to do the job against a team that has had good running and passing efficiency.”

Kickoff is slated for 1:30 pm on Saturday afternoon. Tickets are available at the UB ticket office or by calling 716-645-6666. The game can be heard on WGR 550 AM in Buffalo, WHTK 1280 AM in Rochester or on the web at www.buffalobulls.com.