This Week's Opponent

Buffalo (2-4) at #1 Youngstown State (5-0)
Saturday, October 11,1997 - 1:00 pm
Stambaugh Stadium (20,630) - Normal, IL

The University at Buffalo Bulls are going from the frying pan into the fire this week.

The Bulls, coming off a disheartening 55-0 loss at undefeated Connecticut, now must hit the road again to face the #1-ranked team in I-AA: the three-time national champion Youngstown State Penguins. A crowd of close to 20,000 is expected for Homecoming at YSU.

The Bulls have now lost three straight games for the first time since the 1995 season and have been shutout in two of the last three games. Youngstown State, meanwhile, is coming off a 31-0 whitewash of Indiana State and have allowed just 61 points on the season (12.2 per game). The Penguins have also defeated Slippery Rock (33-9), Boston University (24-7), Hofstra (27-22) and Division I-A Kent State (44-23).

This will be the second time in recent history that the Bulls have played Youngstown State while the Penguins were ranked No. 1. UB dropped a 38-12 decision at Stambaugh Stadium in 1993 as YSU went on to win the national title.

Bulls Lead The All-Time Series

Despite the phenomenal success of Youngstown State football in the '90's - YSU has won three national titles (1991, 1993, 1994) - the Bulls actually own a 4-3 series edge over the Penguins.

Youngstown State won last year's game by a 17-6 score at UB Stadium as the Bulls turned the ball over five times and threw for just 28 yards. Adrian Brown had 120 yards rushing to lead Youngstown State while Anthony Swan had 119 yards on 27 carries.

The last time the teams met in Stambaugh Stadium the Bulls shocked the Penguins by a 9-6 score in Craig Cirbus' first season. Gerald Carlson broke the tie with a fourth-quarter field goal as the UB defense held the Penguins without a touchdown in the game.

The Bulls won the first meeting between the two teams back in 1959 by a 16-7 score, but YSU has claimed three of the last four meetings.

Bulls Control Clock But Not Huskies

The Bulls proved that time of possession doesn't mean much if you can't get in the end zone on Saturday in a 55-0 loss at undefeated Connecticut.

The Bulls had the ball for over 41 minutes in the game, converted 14-of-26 third down conversions and had 437 yards of total offense. All of that, however, was meaningless as UB was 0-for-5 on fourth downs and three times were inside the UConn 10 only to come away with nothing.

The Huskies big-play offense and special teams, meanwhile, victimized UB all day. The Huskies averaged 9.1 yards per play - they ran only 49 plays to UB's 115 - and had a long punt and kickoff return that set up two scores. Connecticut also returned both of UB's turnovers for touchdowns as Louis Waggoner returned a Chad Salisbury pass 77 yards for a score and Jeff DeLucia picked up a Josh Roth fumble and returned it 74 yards. The Huskies scored 27 third quarter points to snuff out any hope of a UB rally after intermission.

The Bulls broke several school records in the loss - including plays from scrimmage (115), passing attempts (71), passes completed (37) and first downs by passing (22). Junior quarterback Chad Salisbury (Newell, PA/Frazier HS) threw 54 passes in the game, which ties him for second all-time for attempts in a game with Marty Barrett, who had 54 at Baldwin-Wallace in 1982.

Senior tailback Anthony Swan (Kingston, NY/Kingston HS) became the school's all-time leader in rushing attempts with 16 carries on the day. Swan now has 694 carries in his career eclipsing Alan Bell (1989-92) who had 682 rushing attempts.

Offensively for UB, Rychard Dykes (Syracuse, NY/Corcoran HS) had a career-best six catches for 46 yards to lead the way. Drew Haddad (Cleveland, OH/St. Ignatius), Kali Watkins (Rochester, NY/West Irondequoit HS) and Swan all added five catches for UB.

Ted McDuffie (Buffalo, NY/Grover Cleveland) led the defense with 10 tackles (eight solos) while freshman Travis Blount (Syracuse, NY/Corcoran HS) added a career-high six stops.

Youngstown's Tressel Achieves Milestone

Youngstown State head coach Jim Tressel is among the winningest Division I-AA coaches in the nation. Tressel, in his 12th year at YSU, celebrated his 100th victory on Saturday in the Penguins 31-0 win at Indiana State. Tressel's career record is now 100-44-2 and he has won three national championships. Tressel currently has the 7th best winning percentage in I-AA history (.691).

UB is coached by Craig Cirbus (Buffalo, '80), into his third season at the helm of the Bulls. Cirbus has a career record of 13-15 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.

Youngstown Showing Usual Characteristics

Youngstown State is off to a 5-0 start by displaying the same things that have won them three national titles: stellar defense, a strong running game and limited turnovers. The Penguins are giving up just 12.2 points per game, averaging 230.6 yards rushing per game and have turned the ball over just nine times in five games (1.8 per game).

The running game is a two-headed monster with junior Jake Andreadis and sophomore Adrian Brown sharing the load. Andreadis has 398 yards on the season with Brown racking up 321. Quarterback Demond Tidwell has completed 60% of his passes (51-of-88) for 721 yards. His favorite target is Willis Marshall who has 19 catches for 248 yards while tight end Tim Tyrell has 12 catches for 226 yards and three TD's.

The defense is as stingy as ever with an six players with 20 or more tackles. Anthony Pannunzio leads the way with 23 tackles and four pass breakups while Trey Tuck (22 tackles), Pete Davila (21), Dwyte Smiley (21), Tom Paolucci (20) and Kawonza Swan (20) are right behind him. Jarritt Goode has three sacks and seven tackles for loss and the YSU defense has sacked the quarterback 15 times on the season (3.0 per game).

McDuffie Seeing Plenty Of Action At Safety

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 49 and has been in double figures in each of the last two games, including 10 stops at Connecticut on Saturday. The former Grover Cleveland star is second on the team in solo tackles (26) and total tackles (49) and leads the team with two interceptions and four pass breakups.

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

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

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

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

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

9.5...the number of sacks senior noseguard Keith Hansen would need to tie Rich Dadabo and Vince Canosa for the all-time career lead.

5...the number of tackles Hansen 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.

29...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.

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

Bulls get everybody in the act:

The Bulls had 10 players catch passes on Saturday in the loss at Connecticut, including three players making their first collegiate receptions.

Doug Goeckel (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South), Gabe Kogler (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg Central) and John Opfer (North Ridgeville, OH/N. Ridgeville HS) all had their first receptions on Saturday. Goeckel had three catches for 39 yards, Kogler had two for 16 yards and Opfer had an 11-yard catch. Both Goeckel and Kogler were All-Western New York selections in 1995.

Notably, however, the Bulls had a school-record 37 completions in the game but threw for only 322 yards - just 8.7 yards per catch.

Masucci has strong game:

One of the few bright spots for the Bulls in Saturday's loss was the play of true freshman punter Mike Masucci (Syracuse, NY/Christian Brothers Academy).

Masucci had six kicks for a 44.0 average and the longest punt of his career (56 yards) in the first half. For the season Masucci is now averaging 36.5 yards per punt and has placed two kicks inside the 20.

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 201 passes through six games (33.5 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 114 passes (19.0 per game) which would also barely eclipse Barrett's record of 207 completions in 1983.

Salisbury has also thrown for 1,395 yards through six games (232.5 per game). He would need to average 222.0 yards per game in the final five games to break Barrett's school record of 2,504 yards in 1983.

Young turning the ball over:

Senior linebacker Londell Young (Brooklyn, NY/Boys & Girls HS) has been Mr. Turnover for the Bulls this season.

While the Bulls have forced just 11 turnovers through six games, Young has been involved in one way or another in five of them, including his fumble recovery in the UB end zone versus Connecticut. Young has two fumbles recoveries, a pass interception and two forced fumbles on the season.

In the Red Zone:

The Bulls were inside the Connecticut 20 on three occasions and did not score - failing on fourth down each time.

For the season UB has converted 14-of-22 opportunities inside the 20 (63.6%) into points - with 11 touchdowns and three field goals. The Bulls' touchdown percentage inside the 20 is 50.0%.

Career firsts/bests:

Sophomore flanker Rychard Dykes (Syracuse, NY/Corcoran) had a career-best six catches for 46 yards.

Redshirt freshman Doug Goeckel (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) had his first collegiate receptions with three catches for 39 yards.

Redshirt freshman tight end Gabe Kogler (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg Central) had his first two career receptions (for 16 yards).

Split end John Opfer (North Ridgeville, OH/N. Ridgeville HS) had his first career reception for 11 yards.

Redshirt freshman Travis Blount (Syracuse, NY/Corcoran HS) had six tackles (four solos) in the game.

Doesn't add up:

The Bulls have excelled in many areas where football games are supposed to be decided and yet still are 2-4 on the season.

The Bulls are converting 43.2% of their third down opportunities (to 36.6% for opponents) and have held the ball nearly 17 minutes longer than their opponents this season. The primary suspect for UB's record is the running game on both sides of the ball. UB is averaging just 2.4 yards per carry and 95.8 yards rushing per game while opponents are averaging 4.2 yards per carry and 183.2 yards per game.

Injury report:

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

Jamie Gasparre, FL - Right shoulder separation (from previous week)
Enrico Pierre, FL - Sprained ankle (previous week)
Rychard Dykes, FL - Dislocated left shoulder
Steven Blake, CB - Left shoulder

10/07/1997