The 2011 Buffalo Bulls football team represents the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, also commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university and a "University Center" in the State University of New York system. The university was founded by Millard Fillmore in 1846. UB has multiple campuses...

 in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season

2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season

The 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level, began on Thursday, September 1, 2011...

. The Bulls are led by second year head coach Jeff Quinn

Jeff Quinn (American football)

Jeff Quinn is a college football coach who is the head coach of the University at Buffalo football team. He is the 24th head coach in University at Buffalo football history...

 and play their home games at the University at Buffalo Stadium

University at Buffalo Stadium

University at Buffalo Stadium is a stadium in Amherst, New York. It is primarily used for football and track and field events, and is the home field of the Buffalo Bulls. It opened on September 4, 1993 with a game against the University of Maine...

. They are a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference

Mid-American Conference

The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...

.

Previous Season

2010

2010 Buffalo Bulls football team

The 2010 Buffalo Bulls football team represented the University at Buffalo in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulls, led by first year head coach Jeff Quinn, played their home games at the University at Buffalo Stadium and members of the east division of the Mid-American Conference...

 was a year of transitioning for the Bulls. Previous head coach, Turner Gill

Turner Gill

Turner Hillery Gill is an American football coach who most recently served as the head coach at Kansas from 2010-2011, and was one of 11 African-American head coaches in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision at the time of his hiring.-College:Gill graduated from Arlington Heights High...

, left for Kansas and was replaced by former Cincinnati coach, Jeff Quinn

Jeff Quinn

Jeff Quinn is a college football coach who is the head coach of the University at Buffalo football team. He is the 24th head coach in University at Buffalo football history...

. The Bulls started off well against Rhode Island with a dominating 31-0 win, but found themselves in a 3 game losing streak before winning against Bowling Green 28-26. The Bulls again found themselves in a 7 game losing streak from that point on. Despite a 2-10 overall record, Jeff Quinn

Jeff Quinn

Jeff Quinn is a college football coach who is the head coach of the University at Buffalo football team. He is the 24th head coach in University at Buffalo football history...

 managed to bring in talented recruits for the 2011 season.

Schedule

Pittsburgh

Recap:
The Panthers took the lead in the first quarter with a rushing touchdown by Graham. Buffalo's offense struggled to gain any yardage on the ground or in the air. Early in the 2nd quarter, Pittsburgh missed a 32 yard field goal. One Panther drive later, and Pittsburgh would miss a 47 yard field goal. Once the Bulls got the ball back, Peter Farning would kick a 40 yard field goal, putting Buffalo on the scoreboard. Both defenses remained strong throughout the first half of play. The Bulls would get the ball first in the third quarter. Chazz Anderson, Buffalo's starting QB, would drive for 49 yards before being intercepted by Pittsburgh's defense. Ray Graham

Ray Graham

Raymond E. Graham is an American football running back for the Pittsburgh Panthers.-Early years:Graham attended Elizabeth High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey.-College career:...

 of the Panther's would later punch in a rushing touchdown to go ahead 14-3. The next drive, Anderson lead a Buffalo drive that would take them to the end-zone. The score was then 14-10. Pittsburgh would soon answer back however, with a 5 yard rushing touchdown by Ray Graham. Going into the 4th quarter, Buffalo's running back, Branden Oliver, would punch in a 1 yard touchdown. The Bulls tried a 2-point conversion, but failed to make the score 21-16. Pittsburgh answered back yet again however with a quick 6 play, 60 yard drive that would end in a touchdown. The next drive, the Bulls would take 42 yards, but failed to convert on fourth down, forcing them to turnover. The next drive, Ray Graham would break lose for 75 yards, and later punch in a touchdown with a 1 yard gain. The end score was 35-16, Pittsburgh.

Stony Brook

Recap: After a 53 yard kick return by Buffalo's Terrell Jackson, Chazz Anderson would start the game off by throwing a 57 yard touchdown to Alex Dennison. Within 19 seconds, the Bulls would be up a score of 7-0. The rest of the first quarter would be scoreless for both teams. Within 2 minutes of the second quarter, Stony Brook would drive for 92 yards out of 10 plays, ending in a touchdown by Jordan Gush. Buffalo would take the ball back the next drive, and score a touchdown by Branden Oliver. The next drive for Buffalo also ended in a touchdown, with a 49 yard rush by Branden Oliver. The Bulls would go into halftime leading Stony Brook 21-7. Within 4 minutes of the 3rd quarter, Buffalo would score another touchdown. Chazz Anderson threw a pass to Devon Hughes, who would make his way to the end-zone with a 15 yard run. Buffalo would end the 3rd quarter with a 43 yard rushing touchdown by Branden Oliver, making it 35-7. In the fourth quarter, Stony Brook would drive for 50 yards, until Khalil Mack sacked Stony Brook's quarterback, Kyle Essington who would fumble the ball. Fred Branch, of the Buffalo Bulls, would recover the fumble to put away the game.

Ball State

Recap: The game started out well for the Bulls, who scored a touchdown in their first drive. That first touchdown however would be their last until the second half. The Buffalo offense and defense would be completely exposed as the Cardinals score 21 unanswered points in the first half. Within 7 minutes of the third drive, Buffalo would score their second touchdown with a run by Branden Oliver, The PAT however was blocked by Ball State's defense. The score would remain 21-13 going into the fourth quarter. Within 2 minutes of the fourth quarter, Buffalo would score their third touchdown, but fail on their 2-point conversion. 1 drive later, and the Bulls would get the ball back and score their fourth touchdown, giving them a lead of 25-21 with 6 minutes left on the clock. This is when Ball State quarterback Keith Wenning took over the game. Buffalo's defense could not stop the Ball State juggernaut, even when they had a 4th down and 7, and a 4th down and 17. The Cardinals would eventually score their last touchdown with only 29 seconds on the clock. In the last 29 seconds of the game, Buffalo would get 2 first downs, but it wouldn't be enough to get a field goal. Ball State would win the game 28-25.

Connecticut

Recap: As expected, both Buffalo's offense and Connecticut's offense would not click early in the game. The Bulls would take more first downs in the first quarter, but would not be able to complete their drives to end in scores.The Bulls would take the lead in the second quarter with a field goal by Peter Fardon. Connecticut would answer back quickly though with a field goal of their own and a touchdown later in the quarter. The Bulls and Huskies would go into halftime with a score of 3-10, Huskies leading. The third quarter was again hampered by strong defensive plays on both sides of the ball. Khalil Mack and Steven Means paired together to create impressive plays and sacks behind Connecticut's line of scrimmage. Buffalo's offense however, would not click together to overcome Connecticut's strong defense, which was one of the best in the FBS. Connecticut would take another touchdown score in the fourth quarter to put away the game. The Huskies would win the game 17-3. The overall series record between the Bulls and Huskies is 4-15 with Connecticut leading.

Tennessee

Recap: Going into the game as 30 point underdogs, Buffalo was weaker in every category than the Tennessee Volunteers. Tyler Bray threw for 342 yards against the Bulls, while Chazz Anderson of Buffalo only threw for 99 yards. Anderson though, would break for a 68 yard run to the end zone in the first quarter. The Vol's however would never look back, and would score 38 unanswered points. In the fourth quarter, Buffalo would score a field goal to make the score 38-10, but the Vol's would again answer back with a field goal of their own.

Ohio

Recap: Buffalo came into the game as 8 point underdogs. After losing three straight games, the team knew they had to come back to their home field with a bang. Early in the first quarter, Bo Oliver rushed into the end zone from 12 yards out to give the Bulls a 7-0 lead. On the next drive for Ohio, Harden rushed 13 yards into the end zone to tie the score at seven. Oliver would answer back however with another rushing touchdown from 1 yard out. Halfway through the second quarter, Chazz Anderson would find Alex Neutz to complete a 36 yard touchdown pass to push the Bulls advantage to 21-7. Ohio however, would score another touchdown with 5 minutes remaining in the half. Buffalo would answer back quickly though with a field goal to make the score 24-14. One drive later, and Ohio would score a field goal themselves to make the score 24-17 going into halftime. Within 3 minutes of the 3rd quarter, Ohio's Tyler Tettleton threw a 9 yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 24. A few drives later, and Ohio's LaVon Brazill burst for a 67-yard run that put the Bobcats up 31-24. Buffalo would answer right back however as Anderson completed a 90-yard touchdown pass to Ed Young that tied the score at 31 with 7:17 remaining in the third quarter. The Bobcats however would take the lead again with a 46-yard field goal by Matt Weller. With 5:45 remaining in the contest, Oliver rushed for his third touchdown, this time from one-yard out to give Buffalo a 38-34 lead. The next drive, Weller would make another field goal to inch the Bobcats closer 38-37. The Bulls defense however sealed the victory when Richie Smith sacked Tettleton on fourth down with less than two minutes remaining. The Bulls won 38-37.

Temple

Recap: Buffalo came into the game as 21 point underdogs. The offense and defense had a tough time against a Temple team that was made up of mostly seniors. Buffalo would fall go behind 24 points to nothing into the half. The second half was just as devastating as the first half for the Bulls. Temple ran the ball multiple times to earn scores, and eventually would win the game 34-0.

Northern Illinois

Recap: The Bulls started off well with good defense, holding the Huskies to only 3 points in the first quarter. The Huskies however would fight in the second quarter, scoring 14 points with rushing touchdowns. In the third quarter, the Huskies would take a 31-10 lead against the Bulls. The Huskies defense however would shut down in the fourth quarter. The Bulls drove for over 300 yards to score 3 touchdowns. Within the last 15 seconds of the game, Buffalo would score their third touchdown to make the score 31-30. Peter Fardon, the Bulls kicker, would miss the point after to lose the game. This comeback would have been one of the greatest ever played by the Bulls. Senior quarterback, Chazz Anderson, would have an all-time record-breaking afternoon. He completed a school-record 35 passes (on 53 attempts, the fourth highest-total in school history) for a Division I-A record 404 yards, the eighth best total in school history.

Miami (OH)

Recap:

Eastern Michigan

Recap:

Akron

Recap: Brandon "Bo" Oliver rushed for 235 yards to not only lead the Bulls to their second conference win of the season, but also broke the single-game rushing yardage in UB history. Chazz Anderson threw for 19/25 with 155 yards on the day. Anderson threw 2 touchdowns, while Oliver ran for the other 2 touchdowns. Freshman, Patrick Clarke, nailed 3 field goals and 6 PAT's. At the beginning of the game, John Syty returned the first kickoff for 93 yards.

Bowling Green

Recap:

Roster

References