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2023 Buffalo

3–⁠9 (3–⁠5 Mid-American Conference), coached by Maurice Linguist.

Schedule and results

Buffalo in 2023, game by game: lost at No. 19 Wisconsin 17–38; lost vs. Fordham 37–40; lost vs. Liberty 27–55; lost at Louisiana 38–45; won at Akron 13–10; won vs. Central Michigan 37–13; lost vs. Bowling Green 14–24; won at Kent State 24–6; lost at Toledo 13–31; lost vs. Ohio 10–20; lost at Miami (OH) 10–23; lost vs. Eastern Michigan 11–24+24−28Lost 17–38 at No. 19 Wisconsin-21No. 19 WisconsinLost 37–40 vs. Fordham-3FordhamLost 27–55 vs. Liberty-28LibertyLost 38–45 at Louisiana-7LouisianaWon 13–10 at Akron+3AkronWon 37–13 vs. Central Michigan+24Central MichiganLost 14–24 vs. Bowling Green-10Bowling GreenWon 24–6 at Kent State+18Kent StateLost 13–31 at Toledo-18ToledoLost 10–20 vs. Ohio-10OhioLost 10–23 at Miami (OH)-13Miami (OH)Lost 11–24 vs. Eastern Michigan-13Eastern Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2at19WisconsinL 17–⁠3832%
Sep 9vsFordhamL 37–⁠4075%
Sep 16vsLibertyL 27–⁠5543%
Sep 23atLouisianaL 38–⁠4525%
Sep 30atAkronW 13–⁠1050%
Oct 7vsCentral MichiganW 37–⁠1349%
Oct 14vsBowling GreenL 14–⁠2463%
Oct 21atKent StateW 24–⁠649%
Oct 31atToledoL 13–⁠3123%
Nov 7vsOhioL 10–⁠2044%
Nov 15atMiami (OH)L 10–⁠2321%
Nov 21vsEastern MichiganL 11–⁠2455%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Eastern Michigan 24–⁠11; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 24th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 54 on file).

Record
3–⁠9
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 7th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
251–⁠329
Coach
Maurice Linguist
Elo
1375 −106 this season
SP+ rating
-15.2 No. 119 of 133; offense No. 125, defense No. 87, special teams No. 92
SRS
−15.4 No. 124 of 133 in FBS
Returning
57% of last season’s EPA, No. 57 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 84 roster talent No. 127 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
D.J. Mangas
Defensive coordinator
Robert Wright
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense130th of 133
  • Defense29th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted136th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted49th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0937%1.15130th of 133
Defense0.0439%1.2429th of 133
Opponent-adjusted-0.06 off
0.08 def		36% off
41% def		—136th off
49th 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 3017% allowed
Defense3.6own 3317% caused

CORE rating -14.1, 114th of 133 (offense -16.8, defense -2.8).

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 yardsCole Snyder QB2,109 yds
Passing touchdownsCole Snyder QB13 TD
Rushing yardsRon Cook Jr. RB609 yds
Rushing touchdownsRon Cook Jr. RB6 TD
Receiving yardsMarlyn Johnson WR495 yds
Receiving touchdownsMarlyn Johnson WR4 TD
TacklesJoe Andreessen LB82 tkl
SacksMax Michel DE4 sacks
InterceptionsDevin Grant DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Jevell Fugerson WR★★★No. 1168
Dion Crawford LB★★★No. 1403
Jamari Ford RB★★★No. 1772
Devon Rainey ATH★★★No. 1789
Lamar Sperling RB★★★No. 1862

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.780
Running backs23.00.836
Receivers13.00.859
Defensive line22.50.811
Linebackers13.00.850
Defensive backs13.00.806
Athletes and specialists42.80.811
Whole class122.80.819

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 108

The 2023 roster

108 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 58 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 9

The 2023 portal
Demetrius Harris S★★★from Cornell
Zion Carter TE★★★from Dartmouth
D’Andre Greeley CB★★★from Colorado State
Joe Andreessen LB★★★from Bryant
C.J. Ogbonna QB★★★from Southeast Missouri State
Jyaire Stevens DE★★★from Lafayette
Nick Beans OL★★★from Notre Dame College
Jacob Orlando TE★★★from Massachusetts
Darrell Harding Jr. WR★★from Duke

Transfers out 13

Keyshawn Cobb S★★★to West Virginia
Jackson Paradis RB★★★to Massachusetts
Ali Fisher WR★★★no new school on file
Anton Ricumstrict DE★★★no new school on file
Brian Plummer QB★★★no new school on file
Casey Case QB★★★no new school on file
Jamari Gassett WR★★★to Florida A&M
Jibrahn Claude S★★★no new school on file
Khamran Laborn WR★★★no new school on file
Jack Hasz OL★★to UNLV
Janik Ogunlade OL★★no new school on file
Matt Myers QB★★no new school on file

And 1 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2023 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Toledo8–⁠011–⁠3
Miami (OH)7–⁠111–⁠3
Ohio6–⁠210–⁠3
Bowling Green5–⁠37–⁠6
Northern Illinois5–⁠37–⁠6
Eastern Michigan4–⁠46–⁠7
Central Michigan3–⁠55–⁠7
Western Michigan3–⁠54–⁠8
Ball State3–⁠54–⁠8
Buffalo3–⁠53–⁠9
Akron1–⁠72–⁠10
Kent State0–⁠81–⁠11

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