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2019 Buffalo

8–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Mid-American Conference), coached by Lance Leipold.

Schedule and results

Buffalo in 2019, game by game: won vs. Robert Morris 38–10; lost at No. 15 Penn State 13–45; lost at Liberty 17–35; won vs. Temple 38–22; lost at Miami (OH) 20–34; lost vs. Ohio 20–21; won at Akron 21–0; won vs. Central Michigan 43–20; won at Eastern Michigan 43–14; lost at Kent State 27–30; won vs. Toledo 49–30; won vs. Bowling Green 49–7; won vs. Charlotte 31–9+42−32Won 38–10 vs. Robert Morris+28Robert MorrisLost 13–45 at No. 15 Penn State-32No. 15 Penn StateLost 17–35 at Liberty-18LibertyWon 38–22 vs. Temple+16TempleLost 20–34 at Miami (OH)-14Miami (OH)Lost 20–21 vs. Ohio-1OhioWon 21–0 at Akron+21AkronWon 43–20 vs. Central Michigan+23Central MichiganWon 43–14 at Eastern Michigan+29Eastern MichiganLost 27–30 at Kent State-3Kent StateWon 49–30 vs. Toledo+19ToledoWon 49–7 vs. Bowling Green+42Bowling GreenWon 31–9 vs. Charlotte+22Charlotte
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29vsRobert MorrisW 38–⁠1093%
Sep 7at15Penn StateL 13–⁠4528%
Sep 14atLibertyL 17–⁠3561%
Sep 21vsTempleW 38–⁠2245%
Sep 28atMiami (OH)L 20–⁠3449%
Oct 5vsOhioL 20–⁠2154%
Oct 19atAkronW 21–⁠073%
Oct 26vsCentral MichiganW 43–⁠2064%
Nov 2atEastern MichiganW 43–⁠1451%
Nov 14atKent StateL 27–⁠3068%
Nov 20vsToledoW 49–⁠3066%
Nov 29vsBowling GreenW 49–⁠785%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffvsCharlotteBahamas BowlW 31–⁠963%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Charlotte 31–⁠9 in the Bahamas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 54 on file).

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
409–⁠277
Coach
Lance Leipold
Elo
1580 +48 this season
SP+ rating
-2.0 No. 71 of 130; offense No. 85, defense No. 43, special teams No. 126
SRS
−0.6 No. 63 of 130 in FBS
Returning
17% of last season’s EPA, No. 126 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 106 roster talent No. 126 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Andy Kotelnicki
Defensive coordinator
Brian Borland
Captains
Kayode Awosika, Ledarius Mack, Matt Otwinowski, James Patterson and Jaret Patterson
Offense
Multiple pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense47th of 130
  • Defense13th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted76th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted29th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1445%1.1147th of 130
Defense-0.0239%1.2413th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.09 off
0.03 def		43% off
41% def		—76th off
29th 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
Offense4.0own 3015% allowed
Defense3.1own 3221% caused

CORE rating 2.2, 50th of 130 (offense -2.7, defense -4.9).

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 yardsKyle Vantrease QB1,193 yds
Passing touchdownsKyle Vantrease QB8 TD
Rushing yardsJaret Patterson RB1,799 yds
Rushing touchdownsJaret Patterson RB19 TD
Receiving yardsAntonio Nunn WR687 yds
Receiving touchdownsAntonio Nunn WR6 TD
TacklesJoey Banks S87 tkl
SacksMalcolm Koonce DE9 sacks
InterceptionsJoey Banks S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Logic Hudgens CB★★★No. 1250
Trevor Wilson WR★★★No. 1250
Marlyn Johnson WR★★★No. 1492
Tyrece Woods DT★★★No. 1716
Rich Miller ILB★★★No. 1739

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

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.825
Running backs12.00.789
Receivers52.80.815
Offensive line32.00.781
Defensive line42.30.796
Linebackers33.00.828
Defensive backs42.30.804
Athletes and specialists32.30.785
Whole class242.50.803

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 115

The 2019 roster

115 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 62 have a stat line. See the roster

2019 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Central Michigan6–⁠28–⁠6
Miami (OH)6–⁠28–⁠6
Buffalo5–⁠38–⁠5
Western Michigan5–⁠37–⁠6
Kent State5–⁠37–⁠6
Ohio5–⁠37–⁠6
Ball State4–⁠45–⁠7
Northern Illinois4–⁠45–⁠7
Toledo3–⁠56–⁠6
Eastern Michigan3–⁠56–⁠7
Bowling Green2–⁠63–⁠9
Akron0–⁠80–⁠12

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