CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2009 Buffalo

5–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Mid-American Conference), coached by Turner Gill.

Schedule and results

Buffalo in 2009, game by game: won at UTEP 23–17; lost vs. Pittsburgh 27–54; lost at UCF 17–23; lost at Temple 13–37; lost vs. Central Michigan 13–20; won vs. Gardner-Webb 40–3; won vs. Akron 21–17; lost at Western Michigan 31–34; lost vs. Bowling Green 29–30; lost vs. Ohio 24–27; won at Miami (OH) 42–17; won at Kent State 9–6+37−27Won 23–17 at UTEP+6UTEPLost 27–54 vs. Pittsburgh-27PittsburghLost 17–23 at UCF-6UCFLost 13–37 at Temple-24TempleLost 13–20 vs. Central Michigan-7Central MichiganWon 40–3 vs. Gardner-Webb+37Gardner-WebbWon 21–17 vs. Akron+4AkronLost 31–34 at Western Michigan-3Western MichiganLost 29–30 vs. Bowling Green-1Bowling GreenLost 24–27 vs. Ohio-3OhioWon 42–17 at Miami (OH)+25Miami (OH)Won 9–6 at Kent State+3Kent State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5atUTEPW 23–⁠1749%
Sep 12vsPittsburghL 27–⁠5449%
Sep 19atUCFL 17–⁠2348%
Sep 26atTempleL 13–⁠3748%
Oct 3vsCentral MichiganL 13–⁠2044%
Oct 10vsGardner-WebbW 40–⁠371%
Oct 17vsAkronW 21–⁠1769%
Oct 24atWestern MichiganL 31–⁠3438%
Nov 3vsBowling GreenL 29–⁠3055%
Nov 10vsOhioL 24–⁠2752%
Nov 18atMiami (OH)W 42–⁠1764%
Nov 27atKent StateW 9–⁠646%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Kent State 9–⁠6; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 14th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 54 on file).

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 8th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
289–⁠285
Coach
Turner Gill
Elo
1452 −46 this season
SP+ rating
-11.6 No. 97 of 120; offense No. 91, defense No. 88, special teams No. 106
SRS
−7.4 No. 90 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 108
Defensive coordinator
Fred Reed
Captains
Mike Newton, Naaman Roosevelt, James Starks, Davonte Shannon and Andrew West

How good, play by play

  • Offense81st of 120
  • Defense51st of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted92nd of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted69th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0241%0.9081st of 120
Defense0.0445%0.8151st of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.02 off
0.05 def		40% off
45% def		—92nd off
69th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 284% allowed
Defense-0.3own 372% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsZach Maynard QB2,694 yds
Passing touchdownsZach Maynard QB18 TD
Rushing yardsIke Nduka RB598 yds
Rushing touchdownsIke Nduka RB6 TD
Receiving yardsNaaman Roosevelt WR954 yds
Receiving touchdownsNaaman Roosevelt WR9 TD
InterceptionsDavonte Shannon DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Matt Hornbuckle DT★★★No. 1496
Jeremy Johnson OT★★★No. 1496
Albert Sparks DT★★★No. 1530
Carlos Lammons CB★★No. 1702
Darius Willis ILB★★No. 1714

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.700
Running backs22.00.725
Receivers52.00.742
Offensive line32.30.767
Defensive line32.70.775
Linebackers22.00.745
Defensive backs42.00.742
Whole class202.10.747

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2010

The 2010 draft
Rd 6James Starks RBGreen Bay Packers

Roster 93

The 2009 roster

93 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 26 have a stat line. See the roster

2009 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Central Michigan8–⁠012–⁠223
Temple7–⁠19–⁠4
Ohio7–⁠19–⁠5
Bowling Green6–⁠27–⁠6
Northern Illinois5–⁠37–⁠6
Kent State4–⁠45–⁠7
Western Michigan4–⁠45–⁠7
Toledo3–⁠55–⁠7
Buffalo3–⁠55–⁠7
Akron2–⁠63–⁠9
Ball State2–⁠62–⁠10
Miami (OH)1–⁠71–⁠11
Eastern Michigan0–⁠80–⁠12

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.