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BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo went through many emotions this week after the news that head coach Craig Cirbus' contract would not be renewed. Late Saturday afternoon, however, the only emotion they felt was elation after claiming the first overtime victory in school history in a 20-17 Mid-American Conference win over Kent State at UB Stadium.

That the Bulls' did it once again in come-from-behind fashion was even more sweeter as Buffalo improved to 2-7 overall and 2-4 in the Mid-American Conference. Like UB's other win - an identical 20-17 win over Bowling Green - this one featured a comeback in the final two minutes and saw lady luck smile on the Bulls when it counted most.

First, senior kicker Scott Keller's (Amherst, NY/Amherst Central) 22-yard field goal on the final play of regulation was tipped by a Kent State player but still managed to find its way between the uprights to tie the game at 17-17. Then, after Keller kicked a 38-yard field goal to give the Bulls the lead in overtime, the normally reliable Dave Pavich had his 21-yard field goal hit the left upright and carom harmlessly to the ground to drop the Golden Flashes to 1-9 and 1-6 in the conference.

Both teams had plenty of chances to win in a game that see-sawed throughout the game and featured four lead changes and two ties. After the Bulls had taken a 17-14 lead in the third quarter on a 32-yard pass from quarterback Joe Freedy (Bethel Park, PA/Bethel Park) to Dahnel Singfield (Baltimore, MD/Dunbar), the Flashes struck back.

Kent took advantage of a Freedy interception, a rare mistake for the junior who completed 23-of-36 passes for a career-best 323 yards, early in the fourth quarter to take the lead. Redshirt freshman quarterback Jeff Valentino, who was a surprise starter for Zach Williams, converted on a third-down pass to Matt Curry from 18 yards out to give KSU a 17-14 lead with 14:49 remaining.

The Bulls missed one chance to tie the game with 7:02 remaining when Keller missed a 39-yard field goal to the right. However, the UB defense - which allowed just 119 yards after intermission - stopped Kent State two more times before getting the Bulls' offense the ball back once more with 2:14 remaining.

Freedy completed passes of 15 yards to sophomore Andre Forde (Penfield, NY/Penfield) and 26 yards to tailback Marquis Dwarte (Baltimore, MD/Perry Hall) to move the ball to the Kent State 16. The Bulls faced a fourth-and-one at the KSU eight-yard line with :52 left and a decision to make.

"I told the team I wasn't going to make the call, they were," said UB coach Craig Cirbus, who learned last weekend he wouldn't return for his seventh season next year. "The offense within a fraction of a nanosecond said 'We're going for it.' "

The Bulls converted with Albert Grundy (Springfield, PA/Springfield) gaining two yards to the five. Two plays later, the Bulls' nearly lost the game as Keller's 22-yard field goal was clearly batted by a Golden Flash hand but still fluttered over the goal post. Another Keller field goal gave UB the lead in overtime before Kent drove for what looked like the winning drive.

The Flashes got an 11-yard run by Chante Murphy to move to the UB 14 on their first play of overtime and looked to be in perfect position to score the game-winning touchdown when a facemask on the Bulls set them up first-and-goal at the four. However, the Bulls' defense rose to the occasion and sent Kent backwards to the five on three straight plays, including an attempted flea-flicker pass from tailback Mikal Lundy to Valentino on third and goal. That set the stage for Pavich, Kent's all-time percentage leader in field goals who hadn't missed a kick inside 30 yards in two seasons, but his 21-yarder clanged off the left upright.

One of the keys to the UB victory was the play of Freedy. The junior was pulled at halftime last week at Northern Illinois when he threw four first-half interceptions, but rebounded with the finest game of his career.

"Freedy had a good day," said Kent State coach Dean Pees. "He hurt us on third down and got the ball where he needed to."

"I got a lot of help out there," said Freedy. "Last week was a disaster, but I put that behind me and didn't let it factor in. It was a very emotional week. It was just different this week (with the news about Cirbus), but the coaching staff helped us to focus in and get done what we needed to do."

Freedy's favorite targets were Forde and Singfield with both setting career highs and becoming the first UB duo to go over 100 yards receiving in the same game since Drew Haddad and Kali Watkins performed the feat against Massachusetts (9/26/98). Forde had a career-best 10 receptions for 158 yards while Singfield had six catches for 115 yards and not only caught a touchdown pass but also found the endzone on flanker reverse in the second quarter.

The Bulls'defense, which gave up just 114 yards after intermission, had many heroes. Senior linebacker Chris Gray (Frewsburg, NY/Frewsburg) had nine tackles while redshirt freshman cornerback Mark Graham (Monroe, MI/Monroe) had a career-best eight tackles, a pass breakup and his second interception of the season in the end zone to stop a Kent State drive in the third quarter. Junior nose tackle Bob Dzvonick (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler) was a force in the middle with seven solo stops while senior linebacker Marcus Cole (Buffalo, NY/Turner-Carroll) had a pair of sacks.

"The events of this week were certainly in front of them," said Cirbus of his players. "I was worried that it would be a distraction to the players. They learned a lot in today's football game. It went back and forth and back and forth and they hung in there. They are a much more mature football team then we were earlier in the year. We are learning how to play football at this level and they graduated to another level today."

The Bulls travel to Akron next Saturday for a 7:00 pm kickoff with the Zips.