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Bulls End Slide With Win Over Gardner-Webb |
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Written by Mike Smith
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Jesse Rack and Ike Nduka each scored two touchdowns and the Buffalo Bulls celebrated homecoming Saturday with a 40-3 victory over Gardner-Webb.
Buffalo (2-4, 0-2 MAC) scored all but seven of its points in the first half as it cruised past the Runnin’ Bulldogs, an FCS team that plays out of the Big South Conference. Gardner-Webb came into Saturday’s game with a 3-1 record. The only loss was to North Carolina State in G-Ws only other non-conference appearance.
Buffalo’s victory not only gave the Bulls a chance to celebrate homecoming, it allowed them to break a four-game slide that included two Mid-American conference losses.
“That was our best, overall, game we’ve played in a long time,” Buffalo head coach Turner Gill said. “The guys played with great intensity, the execution was excellent (and) I liked where our passion was.”
Nduka led the way with 131 yards (on 24 carries) as he posted his second 100-yard-plus game in as many starts. He had 172 yards in a loss to Central Michigan a week earlier.
Buffalo wasted little time in scoring as it capitalized on an early G-W turnover. Junior cornerback Sherrod Lott recovered a fumble as Tyson Petty returned a punt following the Bulls opening drive. It was the only lost fumble of the game for either team, but it opened the door for a hungry Bulls offense.
Starting at the Runnin’ Bulldogs 33-yard line, Buffalo moved in for a score in five plays. Nduka started the drive with a 25-yard run and finished it from one-yard out. The PAT kick was blocked.
Gardner-Webb came back with a nine-play, 38-yard drive to post its only score of the day – a 44-yard field goal by Ryan Gates with 6:52 remaining in the first quarter.
Buffalo took over from that point on, scoring on its next five drives. Three of the drives were at least 10 plays. Buffalo rushed the ball 47 times for 250 yards.
Zach Maynard, meanwhile, completed 16-of-20 passes, good for another 232 yards. The sophomore tossed three touchdowns and did not throw an interception.
Brett Hamlin had six receptions for 132 yards (and a TD) to lead Buffalo receivers. Naaman Roosevelt recorded five catches for 46 yards and Jesse Rack caught two touchdowns passes.
Gardner-Webb had 215 yards of offense, including just 51 yards rushing on 25 attempts. Quarterback Stan Doolittle accounted for all but five of the Bulldogs 159 passing yards as he completed 16-of-29 passes. He was not intercepted.
NOTES:
- Buffalo hosts Akron Saturday and travels to Western Michigan the following week.
- UB was five-for-five in the red zone in the first half, with all five scores being touchdowns.
-The Bulls went over 500 yards in offense for the second time this season. The first occasion was against Pittsburgh.
- Saturday was the first time Buffalo kept an opponent from scoring a touchdown since defeating Aug. 31, 2006 (a 9-3 Buffalo win).
- Naaman Roosevelt is now two catches shy of Drew Haddad’s (1996-1999) school record.
- Zach Maynard’s 16-for-20 performance gave him a career-best 80 percent one-game completion percentage.
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