2018 Buffalo Bulls football team

The 2018 Buffalo Bulls football team represented the University at Buffalo in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulls were led by fourth-year head coach Lance Leipold and played their home games at the University at Buffalo Stadium as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 10–4, 7–1 in MAC play to be champions of the East Division. They represented the East Division in the MAC Championship Game where they lost to West Division champion Northern Illinois. They were invited to the Dollar General Bowl where they lost to Troy. Their 10 wins are the most in program history with the previous best being eight wins set in 2008.

2018 Buffalo Bulls football
MAC East Division champion
Dollar General Bowl, L 32–42 vs. Troy
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionEast Division
Record10–4 (7–1 MAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorAndy Kotelnicki (4th season)
Offensive schemeMultiple pro-style
Defensive coordinatorBrian Borland (4th season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumUniversity at Buffalo Stadium
Uniform
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
Buffalo x   7 1     10 4  
Miami (OH)   6 2     6 6  
Ohio   6 2     9 4  
Akron   2 6     4 8  
Bowling Green   2 6     3 9  
Kent State   1 7     2 10  
West Division
Northern Illinois x$   6 2     8 6  
Western Michigan   5 3     7 6  
Eastern Michigan   5 3     7 6  
Toledo   5 3     7 6  
Ball State   3 5     4 8  
Central Michigan   0 8     1 11  
Championship: Northern Illinois 30, Buffalo 29
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions

Preseason

edit

Award watch lists

edit

Listed in the order that they were released

Award Player Position Year
Rimington Trophy[1] James O'Hagan C SR
Chuck Bednarik Award[2] Khalil Hodge LB SR
Maxwell Award[3] Anthony Johnson WR SR
Davey O'Brien Award[4] Tyree Jackson QB JR
Doak Walker Award[5] Emmanuel Reed RB JR
Fred Biletnikoff Award[6] Anthony Johnson WR SR
John Mackey Award[7] Tyler Mabry TE JR
Butkus Award[8] Khalil Hodge LB SR
Bronko Nagurski Trophy[9] Khalil Hodge LB SR
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award[10] Tyree Jackson QB JR

Preseason media poll

edit

The MAC released their preseason media poll on July 24, 2018, with the Bulls predicted to finish in second place in the East Division.[11]

East Division
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Ohio 140 (21)
2 Buffalo 112 (1)
3 Miami 95 (2)
4 Akron 74
5 Bowling Green 58
6 Kent State 25

Schedule

edit
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 16:00 p.m.Delaware State*ESPN3W 48–1017,959
September 83:30 p.m.at Temple*ESPN3W 36–2925,511
September 156:00 p.m.Eastern Michigan
  • UB Stadium
  • Amherst, NY
ESPN+W 35–2818,384
September 2212:00 p.m.at Rutgers*BTNW 42–1334,574
September 2912:00 p.m.Army*
  • UB Stadium
  • Amherst, NY
CBSSNL 13–4223,671
October 612:00 p.m.at Central MichiganCBSSNW 34–2414,044
October 1312:00 p.m.Akron 
  • UB Stadium
  • Amherst, NY
CBSSNW 24–619,506
October 2012:00 p.m.at ToledoESPN+/WGRZW 31–1718,114
October 308:00 p.m.Miami (OH)
  • UB Stadium
  • Amherst, NY
ESPN2W 51–4215,682
November 67:30 p.m.Kent State
  • UB Stadium
  • Amherst, NY
ESPNUW 48–1415,078
November 147:00 p.m.at OhioESPN2L 17–5213,839
November 2312:00 p.m.at Bowling GreenESPNUW 44–1410,518
November 307:00 p.m.vs. Northern IllinoisESPN2L 29–3010,255
December 226:00 p.m.vs. Troy*ESPNL 32–4231,818
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Source:[12]

Game summaries

edit

Delaware State

edit
1 2 3 4 Total
Hornets 0 3 0 7 10
Bulls 20 14 14 0 48

At Temple

edit
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulls 6 6 10 14 36
Owls 0 7 7 15 29

Eastern Michigan

edit
1 2 3 4 Total
Eagles 0 21 0 7 28
Bulls 14 14 0 7 35

At Rutgers

edit
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulls 14 21 0 7 42
Scarlet Knights 3 3 0 7 13

Army

edit
1 2 3 4 Total
Black Knights 7 14 7 14 42
Bulls 7 0 6 0 13

At Central Michigan

edit
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulls 7 10 7 10 34
Chippewas 3 0 14 7 24

Akron

edit
1 2 3 4 Total
Zips 3 3 0 0 6
Bulls 7 3 7 7 24

At Toledo

edit
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulls 0 7 10 14 31
Rockets 7 10 0 0 17

Miami (OH)

edit
1 2 3 4 Total
RedHawks 14 7 21 0 42
Bulls 14 14 14 9 51

Kent State

edit
1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Flashes 0 0 0 14 14
Bulls 21 13 14 0 48

At Ohio

edit
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulls 7 3 0 7 17
Bobcats 14 17 14 7 52

At Bowling Green

edit
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulls 13 21 7 3 44
Falcons 7 0 0 7 14

Vs. Northern Illinois (MAC Championship game)

edit
1 2 3 4 Total
Huskies 0 10 7 13 30
Bulls 7 15 7 0 29

Vs. Troy (Dollar General Bowl)

edit
1 2 3 4 Total
Trojans 7 7 7 21 42
Bulls 7 10 7 8 32

Roster

edit
2018 Buffalo Bulls football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 1 Antonio Nunn So
QB 3 Tyree Jackson Jr
RB 5 Kevin Marks   Fr
QB 7 Kyle Vantrease So
WR 8 K. J. Osborn Jr
QB 9 Dominic Johnson So
WR 10 Isaiah King   Jr
QB 10 Matt Myers Fr
RB 11 Theo Anderson So
QB 12 Kolston Brewster Fr
WR 13 Tito Overton So
WR 15 George Rushing GS
WR 17 Charlie Jones   Fr
WR 18 Joshua Gaddy Sr
WR 19 Shemar Hayes   Fr
RB 24 Johnathan Hawkins Jr
RB 26 Jaret Patterson Fr
WR 27 Steven Shoemaker   Fr
RB 29 Emmanuel Reed Jr
WR 30 Josh Griffen   Fr
TE 36 Cole Burniston Fr
WR 38 Ayorinde Idowu Fr
RB 38 Dylan McDuffie Fr
RB 43 Solomon Brown Fr
TE 44 Jake Molinich Fr
WR 47 Ameer Clark Fr
OL 58 Matt Klenk Fr
OL 59 Matt Klenk Fr
OL 60 Trevor Cahill Fr
OL 61 Will Terry Fr
OL 62 Mike Novitsky Fr
OL 63 Austin Kunick Jr
OL 64 Michael Kenefick Jr
OL 65 Tomas Jack-Kurdyla Jr
OL 66 Jacob Gall   Fr
OL 67 Evin Ksiezarczyk Jr
OL 69 Gabe Wallace Fr
OL 70 Tyler Leroux Fr
OL 71 Dan Kubik   Fr
OL 72 Paul Nosworthy Jr
OL 73 Kayode Awosika So
OL 74 Dan Fedor Fr
OL 75 Trey Derouen GS
OL 76 Jacquis Webb Sr
OL 77 James O'Hagan Sr
OL 79 Jack Klenk So
TE 80 Matt McCarthy   Fr
TE 81 Tyler Mabry Jr
WR 82 Rodney Scott III   Fr
WR 83 Anthony Johnson Sr
TE 84 Andrew Gray Sr
TE 85 Julien Bourassa   Fr
WR 86 LeMaro Smith Jr. Fr
WR 87 Jovany Ruiz So
WR 88 Dajuan Hudson Jr
TE 89 Zac Lefebvre So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
S 2 Ashton White GS
CB 3 Aapri Washington   Fr
LB 4 Khalil Hodge Sr
LB 5 Tim Terry Jr.   Fr
S 6 Jeremiah Dadeboe Jr
S 7 Dawun Hylton   Fr
S 8 Corey Gross Jr. Fr
CB 9 Tatum Slack Sr
CB 12 Devon Russell Sr
LB 13 Sean Colgan So
CB 14 Brandon Williams Sr
LB 16 Max Mitchell Fr
LB 18 Roy Baker So
LB 20 James Patterson Fr
LB 21 Justin Mulbah   So
S 22 Joey Banks Jr
LB 23 Jake Zimmer Fr
LB 25 Jordan Collier Sr
S 28 Dev Lamour Jr
CB 30 Wankeith Akin Jr.   Fr
LB 31 Kadofi Wright So
S 32 Owen Chambers Fr
S 33 Tyrone Hill So
LB 34 Ja'Varius Harrison So
CB 35 Ali Abas So
S 37 Nick Gallo Jr
CB 39 Cameron Lewis Sr
LB 42 Matt Otwinowski Jr
S 45 Evan Gantley   Fr
LB 48 Fabian Weitz Fr
DE 49 Taylor Riggins So
DE 50 Malcolm Koonce So
DE 51 Jaylin Nolden   Fr
DE 52 Ledarius Mack Jr
DE 53 Eric Black   Fr
DT 54 DeShondrick Foxworth Jr
DE 55 Kennedy Emesibe Sr
LB 56 Nico Ruggiero Jr
DE 60 Brian Boyne Jr
DT 68 Christian Gonzalez Jr
DL 90 Justin Brandon Sr
DT 91 Eddie Wilson Fr
DE 92 Chuck Harris Sr
DT 93 Chibueze Onwuka So
DE 94 Myles Nicholas Sr
DT 95 Jake Khoury Sr
DT 96 Eric Vesosky Fr
DT 97 Atunaisa Vainikolo Jr
DT 98 Wesley Scott Sr
DE 99 Frendy Darelus   Fr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 11 Alex McNulty Fr
K 14 Michael Cummings Jr
K 19 Adam Mitcheson Sr
P 40 Evan Finegan   Fr
LS 57 Jeremiah Riordan So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Rob Ianello (Associate head coach / recruiting coordinator / wide receivers)
  • Brian Borland (defensive coordinator / safeties)
  • Andy Kotelnicki (offensive coordinator / running backs)
  • Daryl Agpalsa (offensive line)
  • Alan Hensell (tight ends)
  • Chris Simpson (linebackers)
  • Tim Edwards (defensive tackles)
  • Jim Zebrowski (Quarterbacks / Co-offensive coordinator / passing game coordinator)
  • Roc Bellantoni (defensive ends / special teams coordinator)
  • Taiwo Onatalu (Cornerbacks / co-special teams coordinator)
  • Ryan Wilson (graduate assistant)
  • Daniel Allen (graduate assistant)
  • James Daniels (graduate assistant)
  • Issac Reed (graduate assistant)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

Roster
Last update: December 4, 2018

References

edit
  1. ^ "Rimington Trophy Press Release". May 30, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  2. ^ "2018 Bednarik Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  3. ^ "2018 Maxwell Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  4. ^ "Davey O'Brien Award Watch List includes 26 players". July 17, 2018. Archived from the original on July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  5. ^ "2018 Doak Walker Award Candidates". July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  6. ^ "2018 Biletnikoff Award Watch List". July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  7. ^ "2018 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List Released" (PDF). July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  8. ^ "Butkus Award - 2018 Collegiate Watchlist". The Butkus Award. July 23, 2018. Archived from the original on August 18, 2008. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  9. ^ "2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  10. ^ "Watch List for 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award ® Presented by A. O. Smith Announced". August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  11. ^ "NIU & Ohio Picked as Divisional Winners in 2018 MAC Football Media Preseason Poll".
  12. ^ 2018 Buffalo Bulls football schedule. FBSchedules.com. Retrieved April 7, 2018.