This Week's Opponent

Buffalo (2-6) vs. Hofstra (5-2)
- HOMECOMING -
Saturday, October 25,1997 - 1:30 pm
UB Stadium (16,500) - Buffalo, NY

Bulls Looking To Break Losing Skid

The University at Buffalo Bulls look to end a five-game losing streak on Saturday when they take on the red-hot Hofstra Flying Dutchmen at UB Stadium to cap Homecoming Weekend at UB.

The Bulls fell to 2-6 on the season with a heartbreaking 26-20 loss to Massachusetts on Saturday afternoon at UB Stadium. The Bulls are seeking to avoid losing six in a row, the longest such streak since UB lost from week four to week 10 in the 1995 season.

Hofstra, meanwhile, comes into Buffalo on a three-game winning streak and a 5-2 record overall. The Flying Dutchmen have employed an explosive offense throughout the season, racking up 211 points through seven games (30.14 ppg). The game matches two explosive passing offenses: Hofstra quarterback Giovanni Carmazzi is second in the nation in total offense per game (322.0) while UB's Chad Salisbury ranks seventh (287.71).

Teams Meet For The Tenth Straight Year

The Bulls and Dutchmen will meet for the 10th straight season on Saturday, the longest current streak of any opponent on the UB schedule. Hofstra leads the series, 6-3.

The Bulls and Flying Dutchmen have split the last two meetings in tight battles. UB rallied from a 10-0 deficit to win 14-10 last year at Hofstra as Jamie Gasparre (Yonkers, NY/Hackley) had two touchdown catches, including a school-record 91-yard TD hookup with Mark Taylor.

Hofstra claimed the last meeting at UB Stadium by a 34-21 score back in 1994 and also topped UB, 17-14, at Hofstra Stadium in 1995.

Minutemen Hang On To Defeat Bulls

The University of Massachusetts gave up a school-record 459 yards passing on Saturday afternoon but came up with two key fourth-quarter interceptions to defeat the University at Buffalo, 26-20, at UB Stadium.

Tehran Hunter returned an interception 100 yards - matching the school record - with 9:26 left in the fourth quarter and Bryan Mooney intercepted a Chad Salisbury (Newell, PA/Frazier HS) pass with 1:46 left in regulation as UMass (2-5) held off the Bulls (2-6).

The Bulls had pulled to within 26-20 when Salisbury - who completed 30-of-51 - hit split end Drew Haddad (Cleveland, OH/St. Ignatius) with an 11-yard TD pass with 6:04 left. Haddad was one of three UB players to go over 100 yards receiving in the game with a career-high 11 catches for 147 yards. Salisbury's passing yardage was the second-highest total in UB football history and marked the third time he had gone over 400 yards passing this season.

However, after Salisbury had marched UB to the Minutemen 47 yard-line, Mooney made the game-saving interception at the UMass 31-yard line and the visitors were able to run out the clock to win their third straight over the Bulls.

The 459 yards passing by the Bulls were the most the Minutemen have given up in their 114-year football history. Kali Watkins (Rochester, NY/West Irondequoit) added nine catches for 128 yards and Jamie Gasparre had six catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns (48 and 63 yards) for Buffalo.

Ted McDuffie (Buffalo, NY/Grover Cleveland) had 12 tackles and a fumble recovery and Londell Young (Brooklyn, NY/Boys & Girls HS) added 11 stops and a forced fumble for the Bulls. Dan Poulsen (N. Tonawanda, NY/N. Tonawanda) had two sacks for UB.

Gardi Has Hofstra Rolling Again

Hofstra is coached by former New York Jets assistant Joe Gardi, now into his seventh season as head coach of the Flying Dutchmen. Gardi's career record of 58-23-2 ranks him second in terms of winning percentage in the school's history.

He led Hofstra to a 10-2 record in 1995 and their first NCAA Division I-AA playoff berth.

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 from his alma mater earlier this year. Before coming back to UB he was on legendary coach Joe Paterno's staff at Penn State for 11 years.

Dutchmen Have Been Potent Offensively

The Bulls' defense, which has struggled with youth and inconsistency throughout the season, get no breaks this week when they face one of the most potent offenses in Division I-AA football.

The Hofstra offense is led by junior quarterback Giovanni Carmazzi, who has played every snap this year for the Dutchmen. Carmazzi is having an All-American year, ranking eighth in quarterback efficiency (160.8) and second in total offense per game (322.0). Carmazzi has completed 183-of-257 passes (71.2%) with 17 touchdowns and only six interceptions.

Carmazzi's favorite target is Bryan Kish who leads the nation with 60 catches (8.57 per game) for 762 yards and five touchdowns, while Wayne Yearwood has 46 catches for 612 yards and eight scores. Running back Paul Que has added 398 yards on 81 carries (4.9 per carry). Offensive tackle DeMingo Graham is a pro prospect.

The Hofstra defense is paced by strong safety Lance Schulters, who has made 80 tackles and two interceptions. Linebacker Casey Mahoney has added 55 tackles while James Emanuel has 54 stops. Kicker Dave Ettinger is also an All-American candidate.passes for 459 yards and three touchdowns.

Bulls' Passing Game Puts Up Big Numbers

The UB passing game continues to put up remarkable numbers this season and that continued on Saturday versus Massachusetts.

The Bulls' trio of talented wideouts - Jamie Gasparre, Drew Haddad and Kali Watkins - accomplished what is believed to be a first in UB football history as all three receivers went over 100-yards receiving in the game.

Gasparre had six catches for 144 yards and a pair of touchdowns, Haddad had a career-high 11 grabs for 147 yards and Watkins had nine catches for 128 yards. Among the three they combined for 26 of quarterback Chad Salisbury's 30 pass completions.

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 72 and has been in double figures in each of the last four games, including 12 stops - eight of them solos - versus Massachusetts on Saturday. The former Grover Cleveland star is second on the team in solo tackles (35) and leads the team in interceptions with two. He also had his first fumble recovery of the season on Saturday.

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

Hansen close to another milestone:

Senior nose guard Keith Hansen (Depew, NY/Cheektowaga, NY) hit one milestone two weeks ago when he hit the 150-tackle mark in his career and is close to another.

Hansen currently has 38 tackles for loss in his career which has him in second place just two behind all-time leader Craig Guest (40). Hansen passed Vince Canosa (1992-95) on Saturday with a tackle for loss.

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

130...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.

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

2...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. Gasparre had two against UMass and has 17 in less than two seasons at UB.

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

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

Haddad, Salisbury bearing down on records:

Quarterback Chad Salisbury (Newell, PA/Frazier HS) and his favorite target Drew Haddad (Cleveland, OH/St. Ignatius) are both nearing school records this season.

Salisbury, despite missing the entire Delaware State game, has now passed for 2,051 yards on the season while completing 160-of-286 passes (55.9%). After passing for 459 yards versus UMass on Saturday, Salisbury now owns the second, third and fourth highest single-game passing totals in UB football history.

The New Mexico State transfer threw for 459 yards versus UMass, 445 yards at Illinois State and 418 yards versus West Chester. The school record still stands at 490 by Cliff Scott a New Haven in 1992. Salisbury is now seventh in the nation in total offense per game (287.71 ypg) and 45th in passing efficiency (121.6).

Here are the records Salisbury is nearing:

Yards passing in a season: Needs 454 to break Marty Barrett's record of 2,504 yards in 1983.

Completions in a season: Needs 48 to break Barrett's 1983 record of 207.

Attempts in a season: Needs 81 to break the record of 366 by Barrett in 1983.

Touchdown passes in a season: Needs 7 to break Barrett's record of 18 in 1983.

Haddad, meanwhile, continues to move up in the single-season record book as well as the NCAA statistics. The sophomore is now 16th in the nation in receptions per game (6.25) and 22nd in the country in yards receiving per game (91.38 yards per game).

Here are the records Haddad is nearing:

Receptions in a season: Haddad is currently fourth with 50 catches and needs just 10 to pass Chaz Ahmed's school record total of 59 in 1990.

Yardage in a season: Haddad is currently eighth with 731 yards and needs 266 yards to break Doc Smith's record of 996 yards in 1992.

In the Red Zone:

The Bulls were 2-of-4 in the Red Zone (inside the opponents 20) against Massachusetts with two touchdowns.

For the season UB has converted 19-of-30 opportunities inside the 20 (63.3%) into points - with 15 touchdowns and four field goals. The Bulls' touchdown percentage inside the 20 is 50.0%.

Fourth down struggles:

The Bulls broke an 0-for-9 streak on fourth downs when they converted their only fourth down attempt on Saturday.

For the season the Bulls are 10-of-28 (35.7%) on fourth downs as opposed to a respectable 42.0% on third down conversions. Last year when the Bulls went 8-3 on the season, they converted 12-of-26 fourth downs (46.2%).

Career firsts/bests:

Sophomore Drew Haddad had a career-high 11 catches and 147 yards vs. UMass.

Sophomore fullback Dan Shefferly (Grosse Pointe Woods, MI/Grosse Point Woods) had a career-high 13 carries for 43 yards in his most extensive action of the season.

Junior defensive end Dan Poulsen (N. Tonawanda, NY/N. Tonawanda HS) had a career-high two sacks to raise his season total to a team-high three sacks.

10/21/1997