Ohio begins its journey to Detroit for the Mid-American Conference Championship on Saturday when it travels to Buffalo for both its first conference and division game of the season.
The Bobcats (1-3, 0-0 MAC) are coming off a bye week, which was much needed to evaluate key issues and allow some position groups to recover from injuries suffered in the non-conference schedule.
Their lone win of the season came against Rhode Island in Week 1. After that, they lost three consecutive games by an average of 10.6 points.
While it is Ohio’s first MAC game of the year, the Bulls have already begun conference play after they lost at Miami last week.
Here’s a closer look at the Bulls.
All-time series: Ohio leads 15-10. The first meeting between the two programs was in 1949, where Buffalo defeated Ohio 20-7 in Athens. More recently, the Bobcats defeated the Bulls last season in a 52-17 thrashing toward the end of the season.
The Buffalo report: The Bulls (2-3, 0-1 MAC) are led by fifth-year head coach Lance Leipold. Last season was undoubtedly Leipold’s best while at Buffalo when he led the Bulls to a 10-4 record, a MAC East Division title and appearances in the MAC Championship and the Dollar General Bowl.
A big factor in Buffalo’s success was largely in part to the dynamic offensive playmakers with All-MAC quarterback Tyree Jackson, wide receiver Anthony Johnson and running back Jaret Patterson.
Patterson is the lone returner from that trio of skill players, and when the Buffalo’s offense has hummed this season, it’s done it in dominating fashion. In its two victories, it’s won by an average of 17 points but has only outgained an opposing team once in the pair of victories.
In total, the Buffalo offense averages 366.6 total yards per game.
Defensively, the Bulls have shown it can handle competition that isn’t as great as them, but when it comes to more even-keeled teams, it struggles.
In their conference opener against Miami, a 34-20 loss, the RedHawks scored 31 unanswered points after the Bulls had taken an early 14-3 lead. One of the 31 unanswered was an interception taken back for a touchdown, but Miami seemingly had little trouble capitalizing on Buffalo’s offensive stumbles.
In total, the Buffalo defense has on average allowed 310.4 yards per game.
How Ohio wins: Defensive coordinator Ron Collins said there were three main things the Bobcats needed to do in order for them to have a solid chance at winning their first MAC game of the season.
Stop the running game, no explosive plays and don’t let them score.
While the last one is the most difficult of the three (Ohio hasn’t shut out a conference opponent since 2015 when it defeated Kent State 27-0), the first two have more intrigue. The Bobcats’ run defense has been suspect this season — it has allowed an average of 208.5 yards per game and 464 total yards per game.
Offensively, with a running back room seemingly healthy – both Julian Ross and O’Shaan Allison practiced this week — Ohio looks as healthy as it has since Week 1. If just one of the Bobcats’ two running backs is ruled healthy for the game, it gives them a much better chance of reestablishing their ground game.
Stats to know: 10. Ohio hasn’t won at Buffalo in 10 years where it left UB Stadium with a 27-24 victory.
8. In the last eight seasons, the Bobcats have won their first road conference game of the season. The last time they lost their first road conference game was in 2008 to Buffalo. Overall, Ohio is 10-4 in its away conference openers under coach Frank Solich.
Players to watch: Running backs Patterson (No. 26) and Kevin Marks (No. 5)
Patterson and Marks rank second and fourth in the MAC for rushing yards, respectively. Patterson has run for 546 yards on 101 attempts and has scored four touchdowns. Marks has run for 420 yards on 87 attempts and has scored two touchdowns.
