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2012 Buffalo

4–⁠8 (3–⁠5 Mid-American Conference), coached by Jeff Quinn.

Schedule and results

Buffalo in 2012, game by game: lost at No. 6 Georgia 23–45; won vs. Morgan State 56–34; lost vs. Kent State 7–23; lost at UConn 17–24; lost at Ohio 31–38; lost at Northern Illinois 3–45; lost vs. Pittsburgh 6–20; lost vs. Toledo 20–25; won vs. Miami (OH) 27–24; won vs. Western Michigan 29–24; won at Massachusetts 29–19; lost vs. Bowling Green 7–21+22−42Lost 23–45 at No. 6 Georgia-22No. 6 GeorgiaWon 56–34 vs. Morgan State+22Morgan StateLost 7–23 vs. Kent State-16Kent StateLost 17–24 at UConn-7UConnLost 31–38 at Ohio-7OhioLost 3–45 at Northern Illinois-42Northern Illino…Lost 6–20 vs. Pittsburgh-14PittsburghLost 20–25 vs. Toledo-5ToledoWon 27–24 vs. Miami (OH)+3Miami (OH)Won 29–24 vs. Western Michigan+5Western MichiganWon 29–19 at Massachusetts+10MassachusettsLost 7–21 vs. Bowling Green-14Bowling Green
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1at6GeorgiaL 23–⁠4514%
Sep 8vsMorgan StateW 56–⁠3471%
Sep 19vsKent StateL 7–⁠2348%
Sep 29atUConnL 17–⁠2422%
Oct 6atOhioL 31–⁠3813%
Oct 13atNorthern IllinoisL 3–⁠4510%
Oct 20vsPittsburghL 6–⁠2035%
Oct 27vsToledoL 20–⁠2516%
Nov 3vsMiami (OH)W 27–⁠2437%
Nov 10vsWestern MichiganW 29–⁠2439%
Nov 17atMassachusettsW 29–⁠1955%
Nov 23vsBowling GreenL 7–⁠2128%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Bowling Green 21–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 26th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 54 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 8th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
255–⁠342
Coach
Jeff Quinn
Elo
1342 −12 this season
SP+ rating
-16.3 No. 110 of 124; offense No. 121, defense No. 72, special teams No. 99
SRS
−13.5 No. 110 of 124 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 117
Offensive coordinator
Alex Wood
Defensive coordinator
Lou Tepper
Captains
Khalil Mack, Steven Means, Alex Neutz and Branden Oliver
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense111th of 124
  • Defense19th of 124
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted118th of 124
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted24th of 124
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0235%0.99111th of 124
Defense-0.0037%1.0419th of 124
Opponent-adjusted0.01 off
0.02 def		36% off
39% def		—118th off
24th 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 275% allowed
Defense0.1own 361% 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 yardsAlex Zordich QB1,254 yds
Passing touchdownsAlex Zordich QB9 TD
Rushing yardsBranden Oliver RB821 yds
Rushing touchdownsBranden Oliver RB5 TD
Receiving yardsAlex Neutz WR1,015 yds
Receiving touchdownsAlex Neutz WR11 TD
InterceptionsNajja Johnson DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2012 class

Robert Riche OT★★★No. 1169
Brandon Berry S★★★No. 1501
Marcus McGill WR★★★No. 1501
Collin Michael PRO★★★No. 1621
Corey Madlock DT★★No. 1883

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

The 2012 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks32.30.783
Receivers22.50.781
Offensive line32.30.782
Defensive line32.00.754
Linebackers12.00.733
Defensive backs42.30.765
Athletes and specialists22.00.748
Whole class182.20.767

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 2013

The 2013 draft
Rd 5Steven Means OLBTampa Bay Buccaneers

Roster 103

The 2012 roster

103 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2012 line; 29 have a stat line. See the roster

2012 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Northern Illinois8–⁠012–⁠222
Kent State8–⁠011–⁠3
Toledo6–⁠29–⁠4
Ball State6–⁠29–⁠4
Bowling Green6–⁠28–⁠5
Ohio4–⁠49–⁠4
Central Michigan4–⁠47–⁠6
Miami (OH)3–⁠54–⁠8
Buffalo3–⁠54–⁠8
Western Michigan2–⁠64–⁠8
Eastern Michigan1–⁠72–⁠10
Massachusetts1–⁠71–⁠11
Akron0–⁠81–⁠11

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