 BUFFALO 51, AKRON 10
- Check and check.
The Bulls used a 93-yard kickoff return on the game's first play by Brandon Murie and a Buffalo Division I-A record 235 yards rushing by Oliver to dominate the Zips, 51-10, on Saturday in a Mid-American Conference contest at UB Stadium. The 51 points were the most Buffalo has scored in a MAC game and the most since UB hung 60 points on Central Connecticut State in 1992.
The heroes were abundant for Buffalo, but none stood taller than the 5-8, 200-pound Oliver, the sophomore from Miami, FL who continued his sensational season with a record-breaking effort. Oliver had 29 carries for 235 yards, scored two touchdowns and added 38 yards receiving for a total of 273 all-purpose yards.
The 235 yards rushing were the most by a Bull since moving to Division I-A in 1999, surpassing current Green Bay Packer James Starks' 231 yards vs. Toledo in 2007. His 273 yards of all-purpose offense (including 38 receiving) are second to Drew Haddad in school history (276 vs. Cornell in 1998). Oliver's 235 rushing yards are second most in school history to only Alan Bell's 266 yards in 1991.
After Murie's rousing 93-yard kickoff return to start the game, Oliver scored the game's first touchdown from one yard out, and the Bulls were off and running.
The other offensive hero for Buffalo was wideout Fred Lee. The sophomore had a career-high six receptions for 52 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His second touchdown came on an acrobatic 10-yard catch to put the Bulls up 14-0.
The Buffalo defense also forced two turnovers, with the biggest coming with Buffalo holding a 14-3 edge in the second quarter. Najja Johnson stepped in front of an Akron pass near his goal line and returned it 31 yards. The Bulls then got one of three Patrick Clarke field goals – he hit from 41, 49 and 26 yards in the game – to go ahead 17-3 and were never threatened thereafter.
The Bulls defense had one of their finest performances of the season, limiting Akron to 239 yards of total offense. Khalil Mack was a force once again, racking up five solo tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss, a forced fumble, a pass breakup and a blocked punt. The Bulls front seven dominated the line of scrimmage as defensive end Colby Way led the unit with six tackles, including two tackles for loss.
Quarterback Chazz Anderson completed 19-of-25 passes for 155 yards, throwing for a pair of touchdowns and running for another. He now has accounted for 17 total touchdowns on the season. Of note was the play of the UB tight ends – Alex Dennison, Jimmy Gordon, and Aaron Connacher, who contributed six catches on the day for 40 yards.
The Bulls accounted for a season-high 331 yards rushing in the game. Junior Jeffvon Gill came off the bench to rush for 49 yards on 13 carries, while Murie added two for 15 yards.
"I couldn't be more proud of our entire football program, our coaches and our players to put on the kind of performance we saw today," said Head Coach Jeff Quinn. "I couldn't be more proud of the way they hung in there all year and to be able to have this kind of game. We put it all together, all three phases of the game … I knew right from that point our kids were ready to play. To put 50 points on an East Divisional rival team says a lot about our kids and now what we have to do is to have that same energy and same mindset to carry over to next Friday and Bowling Green."
Oliver goes into next week's season finale against Bowling Green just 65 yards behind Starks single-season record of 1,333 yards.
"Bo inspires us; its exciting just when you call his number and he's got the ball in his hands," said Quinn. "You just don't know what's going to happen, that's how exciting he is."
Kickoff for Bowling Green is set for 12 pm at UB Stadium.
Courtesy of Buffalo Athletics
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