2018 Buffalo Bulls football team

2018 Buffalo Bulls football
2018 Buffalo Bulls football
MAC East Division champion
MAC Championship, L 29–30 vs. Northern Illinois
Dollar General Bowl, L 32–42 vs. Troy
Conference	Mid-American Conference
	East Division
Record	10–4 (7–1 MAC)
Head coach	Lance Leipold (4th season);
Offensive coordinator	Andy Kotelnicki (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Brian Borland (4th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	University at Buffalo Stadium
Uniform
	Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

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 Mid-American Conference football standings
v t e
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

Award watch lists

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

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]

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

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	6:00 p.m.	Delaware State*	UB Stadium Amherst, NY	ESPN3	W 48–10	17,959
September 8	3:30 p.m.	at Temple*	Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, PA	ESPN3	W 36–29	25,511
September 15	6:00 p.m.	Eastern Michigan	UB Stadium Amherst, NY	ESPN+	W 35–28	18,384
September 22	12:00 p.m.	at Rutgers*	High Point Solutions Stadium Piscataway, NJ	BTN	W 42–13	34,574
September 29	12:00 p.m.	Army*	UB Stadium Amherst, NY	CBSSN	L 13–42	23,671
October 6	12:00 p.m.	at Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	CBSSN	W 34–24	14,044
October 13	12:00 p.m.	Akron	UB Stadium Amherst, NY	CBSSN	W 24–6	19,506
October 20	12:00 p.m.	at Toledo	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	ESPN+/WGRZ	W 31–17	18,114
October 30	8:00 p.m.	Miami (OH)	UB Stadium Amherst, NY	ESPN2	W 51–42	15,682
November 6	7:30 p.m.	Kent State	UB Stadium Amherst, NY	ESPNU	W 48–14	15,078
November 14	7:00 p.m.	at Ohio	Peden Stadium Athens, OH	ESPN2	L 17–52	13,839
November 23	12:00 p.m.	at Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, OH	ESPNU	W 44–14	10,518
November 30	7:00 p.m.	vs. Northern Illinois	Ford Field Detroit, MI (MAC Championship Game)	ESPN2	L 29–30	10,255
December 22	6:00 p.m.	vs. Troy*	Ladd–Peebles Stadium Mobile, AL (Dollar General Bowl)	ESPN	L 32–42	31,818
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Source:^[12]

Game summaries

Delaware State

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

At Temple

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

Eastern Michigan

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

At Rutgers

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

Army

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

At Central Michigan

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

Akron

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

At Toledo

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

Miami (OH)

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

Kent State

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

At Ohio

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

At Bowling Green

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

Vs. Northern Illinois (MAC Championship game)

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

Vs. Troy (Dollar General Bowl)

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

Roster

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

Lance Leipold

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

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

[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.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]