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2017 Buffalo

6–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Mid-American Conference), coached by Lance Leipold.

Schedule and results

Buffalo in 2017, game by game: lost at Minnesota 7–17; lost at Army 17–21; won vs. Colgate 33–10; won vs. Florida Atlantic 34–31; won at Kent State 27–13; lost vs. Western Michigan 68–71; lost vs. Northern Illinois 13–14; lost at Miami (OH) 14–24; lost at Akron 20–21; won vs. Bowling Green 38–28; won at Ball State 40–24; won vs. Ohio 31–24+23−10Lost 7–17 at Minnesota-10MinnesotaLost 17–21 at Army-4ArmyWon 33–10 vs. Colgate+23ColgateWon 34–31 vs. Florida Atlantic+3Florida AtlanticWon 27–13 at Kent State+14Kent StateLost 68–71 vs. Western Michigan-3Western MichiganLost 13–14 vs. Northern Illinois-1Northern Illino…Lost 14–24 at Miami (OH)-10Miami (OH)Lost 20–21 at Akron-1AkronWon 38–28 vs. Bowling Green+10Bowling GreenWon 40–24 at Ball State+16Ball StateWon 31–24 vs. Ohio+7Ohio
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31atMinnesotaL 7–⁠1718%
Sep 9atArmyL 17–⁠2124%
Sep 16vsColgateW 33–⁠1055%
Sep 23vsFlorida AtlanticW 34–⁠3157%
Sep 30atKent StateW 27–⁠1346%
Oct 7vsWestern MichiganL 68–⁠7129%
Oct 14vsNorthern IllinoisL 13–⁠1442%
Oct 21atMiami (OH)L 14–⁠2442%
Oct 28atAkronL 20–⁠2134%
Nov 7vsBowling GreenW 38–⁠2859%
Nov 16atBall StateW 40–⁠2457%
Nov 24vsOhioW 31–⁠2437%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Ohio 31–⁠24; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 15th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 54 on file).

Record
6–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
342–⁠298
Coach
Lance Leipold
Elo
1448 +87 this season
SP+ rating
-11.2 No. 105 of 128; offense No. 92, defense No. 100, special teams No. 120
SRS
−2.5 No. 77 of 130 in FBS
Returning
35% of last season’s EPA, No. 105 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 113 roster talent No. 117 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Andy Kotelnicki
Defensive coordinator
Brian Borland
Captains
Jamarl Eiland, Jarrett Franklin, Demone Harris, Khalil Hodge and James O’Hagan
Offense
Multiple pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense33rd of 130
  • Defense85th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted46th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted103rd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1541%1.2233rd of 130
Defense0.1446%1.0985th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.11 off
0.16 def		40% off
47% def		—46th off
103rd 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
Offense3.6own 3214% allowed
Defense3.2own 3213% caused

CORE rating -7.3, 96th of 130 (offense -1.2, defense 6.0).

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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsTyree Jackson QB2,096 yds
Passing touchdownsTyree Jackson QB12 TD
Rushing yardsEmmanuel Reed RB840 yds
Rushing touchdownsEmmanuel Reed RB9 TD
Receiving yardsAnthony Johnson WR1,356 yds
Receiving touchdownsAnthony Johnson WR14 TD
TacklesKhalil Hodge LB153 tkl
SacksDemone Harris DE5 sacks
InterceptionsRyan Williamson S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Rodney Scott WR★★★No. 572
Aapri Washington CB★★★No. 1137
Rick Squires ATH★★★No. 1706
Kyle Vantrease PRO★★★No. 1886
Tim Terry OLB★★★No. 2118

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.810
Running backs12.00.771
Receivers42.30.790
Offensive line12.00.753
Defensive line32.00.766
Linebackers32.30.784
Defensive backs42.50.792
Athletes and specialists42.30.786
Whole class212.30.783

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.

Roster 104

The 2017 roster

104 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Toledo7–⁠111–⁠3
Northern Illinois6–⁠28–⁠5
Central Michigan6–⁠28–⁠5
Akron6–⁠27–⁠7
Ohio5–⁠39–⁠4
Buffalo4–⁠46–⁠6
Western Michigan4–⁠46–⁠6
Miami (OH)4–⁠45–⁠7
Eastern Michigan3–⁠55–⁠7
Bowling Green2–⁠62–⁠10
Kent State1–⁠72–⁠10
Ball State0–⁠82–⁠10

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