Bulls Looking to Continue Success Against Ohio

Bobcats in search of first win at UB Stadium

Kareem Byrom

BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo football team will host Ohio University on Saturday afternoon at UB Stadium. UB is looking for its first victory while Ohio is looking to earn their fourth win during its campaign. This will be the 12th meeting all-time between the schools, with Ohio leading the series, 7-4. UB has won both meetings at UB Stadium since joining the Mid-American Conference in 1999 - a 44-0 win in 2001 and a 26-17 victory in 2003.

UB (0-7, 0-4 MAC) is coming off a hard-fought defeat against MAC foe Toledo by the score of 38-15. UB held the lead late in the first half, 12-10, but failed to hold it in the second half. The Bulls’ defense was strong again in the game against the Rockets. They were led by sophomore free safety Kareem Byrom (New Brunswick, NJ/New Brunswick) who had a career-best 12 tackles and his second interception of the season. Also, senior linebacker Bryan Cummings (Cincinnati, OH/Madeira) added eight tackles and an interception.

UB has had nine true freshmen contributing this season, which is more than any other school in the MAC. Two of those freshmen are the starting quarterback and the starting fullback. Freshman quarterback Drew Willy (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) will once again get the starting nod. Willy has totaled 855 yards passing and three touchdowns this season. Over the last three games, freshman running back Philip Warren (Brunswick, ME/Brunswick/Kent School) has rushed for 174 yards on 35 carries and one rushing TD. Buffalo has averaged 289.3 yards of total offense in its last four games, a great improvement from its first two games.

Ohio (3-4, 2-2 MAC) defeated Ball State, 38-21, last weekend. The Bobcats are a run-heavy offense, averaging 184.9 yards per game on the ground while only throwing for an average of 123 yards through the air. Ohio’s rushing attack is led by running back Kalvin McRae who has 713 yards on 128 carries for 3 TDs.

At the helm of the Bobcats football program is former Nebraska head coach Frank Solich. Solich is ranked seventh in win percentage for active Division I-A head coaches (.726) and sports a 61-23 overall record. Solich talked about the match up against the Bulls.

“They are playing hard and they are flying around on the football field,” Solich said. “You can see them encouraging one another in terms of their enthusiasm, the way they're working at things and the hitting. They had something like 360 yards of offense against Toledo.

“They're a physical team that will hit you,” Solich added. “They're experienced on defense. They can put points on the board, and it's obvious they get yardage. In my mind, they're a dangerous football team.”

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.

10/28/2005