BUFFALO, NY - Senior tailback Eric Flowers bulldozed his way to 219 yards on 42 carries and scored four touchdowns to lead visiting Central Michigan to a 38-19 win over Buffalo in a Mid-American Conference battle on Saturday afternoon at UB Stadium before 16,128 Homecoming Day fans.

The win improved Central Michigan to 2-4 and 2-1 in the MAC while the host Bulls fell to 0-5 and 0-4 in the league.

Flowers, who has been limited in past weeks by a sprained ankle, got healthy against the Bulls' defense that wilted as the game went on. The Chippewas held the ball for over 36 minutes in the game behind an offensive attack that rushed for 394 yards on the ground.

Central Michigan took a 14-0 lead to halftime as Flowers scored on runs of six and nine yards, the first score coming on a 4th-and-one play. The Bulls played a solid first half but were hurt by two drives inside the Chippewa 20 that ended without points. Buffalo's first possession of the game ended when Josh Roth (Conewango Valley, NY/Pine Valley) was stopped on fourth-and-inches at the Central Michigan 19. Later in the half, sophomore tailback Derrick Gordon (Brooklyn, NY/August Martin) fumbled at the CMU 10-yard line, ending a 66-yard drive.

Momentum swung to the Chippewas late in the first half. One play after Paul Savich missed a 25-yard field goal, UB quarterback Joe Freedy (Bethel Park, PA/Bethel Park) was intercepted by Wayne Dudley who brought the ball to the Buffalo 13. Three players later, Flowers burst in from nine yards out setting off a string of 24 unanswered points by Central Michigan.

The Bulls battled back in the fourth quarter as Gordon, getting his first start since breaking his foot nearly a year ago, scored three touchdowns in the final stanza from 24, 6, and two yards out. Gordon became UB's first 100-yard rusher of the season with 124 yards on 19 carries. The Bulls got another great performance from flanker Drew Haddad (Westlake, OH/St. Ignatius) who finished with seven catches for 102 yards. It was the fourth straight game Haddad has had over 100 yards receiving and the 14th in his career. In addition, Haddad moved into second place in career all-purpose yardage in school history, passing Anthony Swan. Haddad now has 3,932 yards of all all-purpose yardage in his career.

"We came out on that first drive and come down the field and get so close, but we don't punch it in," said Haddad afterwards. "We just have to get the job done sooner. It's obvious we have the personnel, we just have to do it."

Defensively, linebacker Chris Shelly (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler) led the Bulls with 13 tackles, including one for loss. Linebacker Brandon Jordan (Huntington Beach, CA/Edison), cornerback Carlos Spencer (Buffalo, NY/South Park) and free safety Craig Rohlfs (Cincinnati, OH/Moeller) all had 10 tackles each.

"We were closer early, but there was a fourth down here and a missed opportunity there," said head coach Craig Cirbus, "this team needs those successes early. We knew that Flowers was a great back. This conference is so talented with its line and running backs and we knew that. We just couldn't stop them, they were just too powerful."

The Bulls hit the road next week when they travel to Western Michigan for a 6:00 pm kickoff.