BUFFALO, NY - After two straight home games - including an impressive come-from-behind 26-17 win over Ohio last week -Buffalo hits the road to face the two-time defending Mid-American Conference West champion Toledo Rockets at the Glass Bowl. This is the first meeting between the two schools since 1970 - and it means that UB will have now faced every MAC team since joining the conference in 1999.

Buffalo is 0-4 when playing away from home this season, having lost MAC road contests to Central Florida and Miami. The Bulls are looking to win back-to-back games for the first time since consecutively defeating Ohio and Army during the 2001 season. UB is also looking to pick up its first-ever MAC road win.

Toledo meanwhile, is attempting to bounce back from a 38-14 loss at Ball State last week. The Rockets currently sit one game behind Bowling Green for the MAC West Division lead. Toledo has not lost back-to-back regular season games since 1999. They have been strong at home this season though, posting a 3-0 mark, including a 35-31 win over nationally-ranked Pittsburgh.

"We understand where we are now - there is no room for error if we want to have a chance to win the West Division," said Toledo head coach Tom Amstutz during Monday's MAC teleconference. "It's just a matter of refocusing. It's a tough thing to get done, but we'll take a run at it."

This will be the sixth meeting between the two schools, but the first since 1970. The Rockets - who hold a 3-2 series edge - have never played host to UB before.

Toledo's quarterback, Bruce Gradkowski, has thrown 16 touchdown passes as compared to four interceptions during the 2003 campaign. Positioned behind him in the backfield is sophomore running back Trinity Dawson, who leads the Rockets with 595 yards rushing.

Coach Jim Hofher

"Toledo is an excellent, highly-talented football team," said Bulls' head coach Jim Hofher on Tuesday during UB's weekly press conference. "We've got to play physical and be opportunistic - we've got to make plays. That's how you can be in any game against anybody."

The game will serve as a homecoming of sorts for Bulls' All-MAC candidate Mark Graham (Monroe, MI/Monroe). The senior UB free safety - who received MAC East Defensive Player of the Week recognition last week - grew up only a short distance away from the Glass City.

Mark Graham

"I'm really excited about this personally, because I grew up 20 minutes away from Toledo," said Graham. "It will be especially exciting because things are finally starting to click right now for us defensively."

Graham - who had a career-high 15-tackle game against Ohio - also recovered his team-best third fumble of the season. He also leads Buffalo with both 78 total tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss. His average of 8.7 tackles per game ranks 24th in the MAC.

Sophomore Bulls' running back Dave Dawson (Camp Hill, PA/Bishop McDevitt) recorded his third 100-yard game of the season and fourth of his career in last week's victory. His career total of four has him tied for fifth on UB's all-time list for career 100-yard rushing games.

Dave Dawson

One of the primary reasons for Dawson's success has been his ability to break off long runs. He recorded his fourth 50-plus yard gain of the season with a 50-yard burst in the fourth quarter last week. He has four of the longest 10 runs in the MAC this season. On average, he has a 50-plus yard run every 25.3 times he carries the ball.

"Dave has made some long runs on a variety of different plays," Hofher said. "Some have been options, some have been handoffs. He's got a lot of the things good backs need to have - vision, acceleration and toughness. That is what contributes in many ways to him having more long runs than anybody else on our team and maybe more than anybody else in the conference."

UB senior kicker Dallas Pelz (Holland, NY/St. Francis) will be looking to move atop UB's all-time field goals made list this Saturday. With a four-field goal effort last week, Pelz moved into a tie with Gerald Carlson (1993-96) atop that list with 28 field goals.

Dallas Pelz

Pelz - who just earned MAC East Special Teams Player of the Week honors - now has 121 career points, which moves him into ninth-place all-time on UB's career scoring list (fourth-place amongst kickers).

In last week's victory, the Bulls outscored Ohio, 16-0, in the fourth quarter. On the season, UB has outscored its opponents, 48-24, in the final 15 minutes - a testament to the Bulls' conditioning program.

"For us to win again, we have to do the same thing," said Hofher. "We have to prepare well, play really hard together and outplay the opponent."

Another key to Saturday's game may lie in what occurs on third downs. This season, UB has converted on just 34-of-139 third downs (24.5%) - the lowest percentage in the MAC. Toledo however, ranks dead last in the MAC, allowing its opponents to convert on 57-of-124 third downs (46.0%). In their loss to Ball State last week, the Rockets allowed Ball State to convert 12-of-15 third downs (80.0%).

"I think (Buffalo is) showing steady improvement," Amstutz said. "They're a real tough and physical team. I know this - we're going to respect anybody we play because we sure learned a lesson and got slapped in the face (last week versus Ball State). Football is a humbling game and we're going to have to get off the ground and see what we can do."