This Week's Opponent

Buffalo (2-5) vs. Massachusetts (1-5)
Saturday, October 18,1997 - 1:30 pm
UB Stadium (16,500) - Buffalo, NY

Two Teams Looking To Get Back on Track

Two teams desperate to get in the win column - the University at Buffalo Bulls and Massachusetts Minutemen - will meet on Saturday at UB Stadium.

The Bulls have lost four straight games and are coming off a disappointing 52-17 loss at No. 1 ranked Youngstown State, a game they led 14-3 at one point. UB has struggled on both sides of the ball, giving up 187 points (46.8 ppg) during their four-game skid and managing just 17 points in the last two games. The Bulls hope to get back to form by returning to UB Stadium where they have averaged 32.3 points per game.

The Minutemen, meanwhile, haven't had it any easier. UMass is coming off a 49-27 loss at Villanova - ranked No. 3 in the country - on Saturday, a game they trailed 35-0 at halftime and 49-14 before tallying two touchdowns in the final 1:04.

Bulls Lead The All-Time Series

The Bulls will be looking to break a two-game losing streak to the Minutement on Saturday, including a 41-20 loss in Amherst, MA last season, but still lead the all-time series by a 4-3 count.

The Minutemen have had great success running the ball against UB in their victories in 1995 and '96. Massachusetts completed just one pass in a 33-9 win over the Bulls on Homecoming Day at UB Stadium two seasons ago and ran for 321 yards and five touchdowns in the win last year.

The Minutemen also won the first game of the series, 24-22, back in 1964. However, UB then ran off four straight victories in the 60's before the teams reunited in 1995.

Penguins Too Much For 'Baby' Bulls

The Bulls didn't have enough experience or defense to deal with the No. 1 Youngstgown State Penguins on Saturday.

The Bulls trailed just 24-17 late in the third quarter but had their spirits broken by a long Penguin touchdown drive as Youngstown went on to a 52-17 win before a Stambaugh Stadium record crowd of 20,519.

The Bulls got off to a great start using touchdown runs by Josh Roth (Conewango Valley, NY/Pine Valley) and Anthony Swan (Kingston, NY/Kingston) to build a 14-3 lead after the first quarter. Youngstown, however, showed why they are 5-0 and ranked No. 1 by responding with three straight touchdowns to take a 24-14 lead. UB rallied, however before halftime when linebacker Dan Curcione (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) - who had nine tackles on the game - interepted a Demond Tidwell pass to set up a 29-yard field goal by freshman Scott Keller (Amherst, NY/Amherst Central) to cut the lead to 24-17 at halftime.

However, a 16- play, 83-yard drive by the Penguins late in the third quarter to take the lead 31-17, seemed to sap the energy from the Bulls and YSU went on to score 21 fourth-quarter points to make the game appear to be a blowout.

Split end Drew Haddad (Cleveland, OH/St. Ignatius) had another strong game with seven catches for 112 yards to lead the offense. Quarterback Chad Salisbury (Newell, PA/Frazier HS) completed 16-of-34 passes for 197 yards in the game.

Defensively, free safety Ted McDuffie (Buffalo, NY/Grover Cleveland) again paced the Bulls with 11 tackles and a fumble recovery. Londell Young (Brooklyn, NY/Boys & Girls HS) added 10 tackles for the Bulls. Steve Blake (Rochester, NY/East HS) had six tackles, a pass breakup and an interception.

Minutemen Also Looking For Answers

Massachusetts can certainly empathize with the Bulls' recent losses to strong football teams.

The Minutemen are 1-5 on the season in the always rugged Atlantic 10 - formerly the Yankee Conference - and are coming off a 49-27 loss at No. 3 Villanova last Saturday. The Minutemen fell behind 35-0 at halftime as Villanova's quarterbacks threw for seven touchdowns and 403 yards against the Minutemen's secondary.

UMass gave senior Anthony Catterton the start at quarterback over sophomore Jeff Smith - who started against UB last season. Ironically, Catterton started against the Bulls two seasons ago in the Minutemen's 33-9 win at UB Stadium. The senior responded by completed 11-of-20 passes for 134 yards versus Villanova. He is expected to get the nod this week.

The UMass offense is led by tailback Marcel Shipp who is averaged 5.2 yards per carry and has scored twice. The defense is paced by two All-American candidates, free safety Bryan Mooney has made 84 tackles while inside linebacker Khari Samuel 76 stops - including 10 for losses and has added 1.5 sacks.

Hodges Has Long Association With UMass

Massachusetts head coach Mike Hodges (Maine, '67) is into his sixth season as head coach of the Minutemen and his 20th season on the UMass coaching staff.

Hodges spent 14 seasons as an assistant, including defesive coordinator for six seasons when UMass appeared in in the I-AA playoffs twice. Hodges has a career record of 33-27 and was named the New England Division I Coach of the Year following the 1992 season.

UB is coached by Craig Cirbus (Buffalo, '80), into his third season at the helm of the Bulls. Cirbus has a career record of 13-16 and was named the 1996 NCAA I-AA Independent Coach of the Year after leading the Bulls to an 8-3 record, their best mark in a decade.

Cirbus was an offensive linemen for the Bulls from 1977-79 and received a Distinguished Alumni Award earlier this year. Before coming back to UB he was on legnedary coach Joe Paterno's staff at Penn State for 11 years.

Haddad Continues To Put Up Big Numbers

Sophomore split end Drew Haddad (Cleveland, OH/St. Ignatius) continued his tremendous season with several highlight-reel catches against Youngstown State. Haddad had seven catches for 112 yards in the game, marking the third time that he has been over the century mark this season.

Haddad now has 39 catches for 584 yards (15.0 yards per catch) on the season. He ranks among the leaders in the nation in both receptions per game (5.6) and yards per game (83.4), despite missing most of the Delaware State game and not catching a ball that game.

Haddad is on pace to break the single-season reception record at UB. Chaz Ahmed had 59 catches in 1990 and Haddad needs to average five grabs per game to tie the record. Haddad would need to average 110.5 yards per game to tie Doc Smith's record of 996 yards receiving in a single season (1992).

McDuffie making stops:

Senior Ted McDuffie (Buffalo, NY/Grover Cleveland) has been extremely busy in his first season at UB after transferring from Temple.

McDuffie is second on the team in tackles with 60 and has been in double figures in each of the last three games, including 11 stops at Youngstown State on Saturday. The former Grover Cleveland star is second on the team in solo tackles (27) and total tackles (60) and leads the team with two interceptions and five pass breakups.

McDuffie was a three-year letterman at Temple before transferring to UB for his final year of eligibility.

Hansen reaches milestone:

Senior nose guard Keith Hansen (Depew, NY/Cheektowaga, NY) hit the 150-tackle mark for his career on Saturday at Youngstown State with five tackles (three solos). Hansen also had a tackle for loss and a pass breakup in the game.

Here are some numbers to look for in the coming weeks:

138...the number of yards Anthony Swan needs to pass Alan Bell ('92) on the all-time rushing chart.

6...the number of touchdowns Swan needs to become the all-time leader in touchdowns scored by rushing.

11...the number of tackles senior defensive tackle Hardy Mitchell needs to reach 150 in his career.

4...the number of touchdown catches Jamie Gasparre needs to tie Chris D'Amico for the all-time career record. Gasparre tied the school record with 10 last season.

27...the number of catches Gasparre needs for 100 in his career.

3...the number of wins Craig Cirbus needs to move into fifth-place all-time on the UB coaching list.

20...the number of catches Kali Watkins needs for 100 in his career.

UConn revisited:

It's official. The Bulls set the NCAA Division I-AA record for plays in a game in their loss at Connecticut two weeks ago.

The Bulls ran 115 plays in the game, breaking the record of 113. UB also became the first team in NCAA history to run over 100 plays, gain over 400 yards and not score.

Amherst, Amherst everywhere:

The name Amherst has a lot of meaning to Massachusetts and Buffalo.

Both teams play their home games in Amherst - the Minutemen in Amherst, MA and the Bulls in Amherst, NY where UB's North Campus is located. In addition, the Bulls have three key members of their team - offensive guard Tom Brown, kicker Scott Keller and backup quarterback Erik Rusin - that hail from Amherst, NY and attended Amherst Central School.

Salisbury on pace to break records:

Bulls' quarterback Chad Salisbury (Newell, PA/Frazier HS) is on pace to smash several UB passing records.

Salisbury has already thrown 235 passes through seven games (33.6 per game), which is on pace to break Marty Barrett's all-time school record of 366 set in 1983. The junior quarterback has also completed 130 passes (18.6 per game) which would also barely eclipse Barrett's record of 207 completions in 1983.

Salisbury has also thrown for 1,592 yards through six games (227.4 per game). He would need to average 228.0 yards per game in the final four games to tie Barrett's school record of 2,504 yards in 1983.

In the Red Zone:

The Bulls were 3-of-4 in the Red Zone (inside the opponents 20) against Youngstown State with two touchdowns and a field goal.

For the season UB has converted 17-of-26 opportunities inside the 20 (65.3%) into points - with 13 touchdowns and four field goals. The Bulls' touchdown percentage inside the 20 is 50.0%.

Career firsts/bests:

True freshman Tory Smith (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow East) got his first career start and responded with a career-high eight tackles against Youngstown.

True freshman Brad Detwiler (North Canton, OH/N. Canton) had a career-high seven tackles in his home state against Youngstown.

Redshirt freshman tight end Eric Pipkins (Pittsburgh, PA/Valley HS) had his first career fumble recovery in the first half against Youngstown.

Injury report:

UB listed the following players on the injury list after the UConn game.

Enrico Pierre, FL - Sprained ankle (previous week)
Josh Roth, FB - Sprained ankle
Steven Blake, CB - Left shoulder

10/14/1997