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2021 Buffalo

4–⁠8 (2–⁠6 Mid-American Conference), coached by Maurice Linguist.

Schedule and results

Buffalo in 2021, game by game: won vs. Wagner 69–7; lost at Nebraska 3–28; lost vs. No. 16 Coastal Carolina 25–28; won at Old Dominion 35–34; lost vs. Western Michigan 17–24; lost at Kent State 38–48; won vs. Ohio 27–26; won at Akron 45–10; lost vs. Bowling Green 44–56; lost at Miami (OH) 18–45; lost vs. Northern Illinois 27–33; lost at Ball State 3–20+62−27Won 69–7 vs. Wagner+62WagnerLost 3–28 at Nebraska-25NebraskaLost 25–28 vs. No. 16 Coastal Carolina-3No. 16 Coastal CarolinaWon 35–34 at Old Dominion+1Old DominionLost 17–24 vs. Western Michigan-7Western MichiganLost 38–48 at Kent State-10Kent StateWon 27–26 vs. Ohio+1OhioWon 45–10 at Akron+35AkronLost 44–56 vs. Bowling Green-12Bowling GreenLost 18–45 at Miami (OH)-27Miami (OH)Lost 27–33 vs. Northern Illinois-6Northern Illino…Lost 3–20 at Ball State-17Ball State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsWagnerW 69–⁠793%
Sep 11atNebraskaL 3–⁠2858%
Sep 18vs16Coastal CarolinaL 25–⁠2849%
Sep 25atOld DominionW 35–⁠3469%
Oct 2vsWestern MichiganL 17–⁠2457%
Oct 9atKent StateL 38–⁠4847%
Oct 16vsOhioW 27–⁠2666%
Oct 23atAkronW 45–⁠1067%
Oct 30vsBowling GreenL 44–⁠5685%
Nov 9atMiami (OH)L 18–⁠4536%
Nov 17vsNorthern IllinoisL 27–⁠3358%
Nov 23atBall StateL 3–⁠2031%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ball State 20–⁠3; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 10th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 20th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 54 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 10th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
351–⁠359
Coach
Maurice Linguist
Elo
1405 −176 this season
SP+ rating
-9.5 No. 103 of 130; offense No. 89, defense No. 105
SRS
−12.3 No. 110 of 130 in FBS
Returning
48% of last season’s EPA, No. 110 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 98 roster talent No. 124 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Shane Montgomery
Defensive coordinator
Joe Cauthen
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense85th of 130
  • Defense117th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted110th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted119th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0943%1.1485th of 130
Defense0.2844%1.52117th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.06 off
0.25 def		40% off
44% def		—110th off
119th 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
Offense4.1own 2813% allowed
Defense3.4own 3118% caused

CORE rating -12.8, 106th of 130 (offense -2.0, defense 10.9).

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 QB1,861 yds
Passing touchdownsKyle Vantrease QB8 TD
Rushing yardsDylan McDuffie RB1,049 yds
Rushing touchdownsDylan McDuffie RB11 TD
Receiving yardsQuian Williams WR835 yds
Receiving touchdownsDominic Johnson WR2 TD
TacklesJames Patterson LB114 tkl
SacksDaymond Williams DT6.5 sacks
InterceptionsJames Patterson LB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Quillen Howze ATH★★★No. 1073
Jamari Gassett WR★★★No. 1157
Floyd Dozier DL★★★No. 1519
Aljay Henderson RB★★★No. 1527
Jibrahn Claude S★★★No. 1589

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.819
Running backs22.50.817
Receivers33.00.832
Offensive line33.00.809
Defensive line23.00.836
Linebackers13.00.817
Defensive backs23.00.832
Athletes and specialists23.00.835
Whole class162.90.825

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 120

The 2021 roster

120 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 3

The 2021 portal
Josh Rogers DL★★★from Texas A&M
Quian Williams WR★★from Eastern Michigan
Ja’Marcus Ingram CBfrom Texas Tech

Transfers out 17

Mike Novitsky OL★★★to Kansas
Jacob Gall OL★★★to Baylor
Eddie Wilson DL★★★to Kansas
Michael Ford Jr OL★★★to Kansas
Rich Miller LB★★★to Kansas
Roy Baker CB★★★to Eastern Kentucky
Trevor Wilson WR★★★to Kansas
Tyrece Woods Jr. LB★★★no new school on file
Tyrone Hill CB★★★to Washington State
Anthony Laudicina OT★★no new school on file
Frendy Darelus DE★★no new school on file
Jelani Foster WR★★to Rhode Island

And 5 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2021 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Central Michigan6–⁠29–⁠4
Northern Illinois6–⁠29–⁠5
Kent State6–⁠27–⁠7
Toledo5–⁠37–⁠6
Miami (OH)5–⁠37–⁠6
Western Michigan4–⁠48–⁠5
Eastern Michigan4–⁠47–⁠6
Ball State4–⁠46–⁠7
Ohio3–⁠53–⁠9
Buffalo2–⁠64–⁠8
Bowling Green2–⁠64–⁠8
Akron1–⁠72–⁠10

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