Buffalo College Football Preview 2024: Key Players, Game Schedule, Season Predictions

Buffalo College Football Preview 2024

Former Buffalo Bulls head coach Maurice Linguist turned his three-year run into a co-defensive coordinator gig at Alabama.

Lance Leipold went from taking UB to three straight bowl games - and a top 25 ranking in the 2020 final AP Poll - to doing the even more impossible and making Kansas a winner.

Now it’s up to Pete Lembo to come in and do his part to make Buffalo okay at college football. It can be done, and Lembo has proved he can succeed in tough spots.

Great as an FCS head coach at Lehigh and Elon, he took over Ball State in 2011 and won 25 games in his first three seasons. He left after two losing seasons to become an assistant at Maryland, and ever since he has been one of the best special teams coaches in college football. Now he gets his turn to be a head man again.

It’ll take some work.

Buffalo has a decent offensive front, but the skill parts have rise up. The starting 11 on defense should be good, but the depth is just okay. And it’s Lembo, so the special teams will be strong.

He has an interesting coaching staff, a team with enough good parts to put up some good fights, and almost ten years after coaching in the MAC, he’s getting another shot.

Buffalo Football Preview 2024: Offense

- Dave Patenaude is a longtime assistant and offensive coordinator at several spots. This is his seventh OC gig since 2008, and he has a ton of work to do with an attack that didn’t do much of anything down the field, struggled in the red zone, and couldn’t keep the chains moving.

For all of the problems, the line wasn’t bad in pass protection and was okay at times for the ground game. There’s little proven depth, but three starters are back starting with All-MAC guard Tyler Doty on one side and Trevor Brock on the other.

- The running backs are a tad green. Ron Cook and Mike Washington are gone after combining for close to 1,000 yards and eight scores. Third-leading rusher Jacqez Barksdale is a quick option who’ll get the first look with no developed depth in the mix, but …

- Likely starting QB CJ Ogbonna can run. Cole Snyder transferred to Eastern Michigan after throwing for over 5,000 yards over the last two years. Ogbonna hit just 8-of-21 passes in his limited time last season, but he’s big, and he’s dangerous on the move.

The receiving corps lost leading man Marlyn Johnson to Florida Atlantic and TE Cameron Ball to Mississippi State, but Nik McMillan is a decent inside receiver who should be a volume catcher, and Taj Johnson (Boston College) and JJ Jenkins (Columbia) are veteran transfers who’ll get every chance.

Buffalo Football Preview 2024: Defense

- The defense couldn’t stop the run, but it’s coming off a decent year. It finished fifth in the MAC overall, wasn’t bad in the MAC after getting roasted in non-conference play, and there’s hope for improvement with star of the show back.

- LB Shaun Dolac made 147 tackles 2002, hurt his leg early on in 2023 and missed most of the year, transferred to Utah State, came back to Buffalo, and now he should be one of the nation’s leading tacklers if he can stay healthy. Red Murdock stepped up and finished third on the team in tackles with 60 stops - the two in the 4-2-5 is good.

Samford transfer Kobe Stewart needs to be a key pass rusher at one end, CJ Bazile is back on the other side, and the interior has just enough experience to not be starting from scratch. The size isn’t there, but the rotation should be okay.

- The corners might be the team’s biggest strength. The combination of Charles McCartherens and Jayden Oliver is among the best in the MAC - McCartherens should be a conference all-star. Marcus Fuqua is a good-tackling safety who gets all over the field. Losing fellow safety Devin Grant to Syracuse hurts, but the transfer portal helped with the depth.

Key To The Buffalo Football Season

Be more consistent throwing the ball.
The offensive line should be okay and the running game won’t be horrible, but the downfield passes have to be there on a regular basis and the completion percentage has to go up.

The Bull quarterbacks completed just 54% of their passes last year with 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. UB hasn’t been great throwing it over the years - and wasn’t 2023 bad since 2016 - but it was too much of a struggle. The offense didn’t get to 200 passing yards in any of the last six games, so …

Buffalo Key Player

CJ Ogbonna, QB Sr.
The former SE Missouri State transfer is a dangerous runner who needs to show off as a bit more of a passer early on. If he’s not the answer it’s Old Dominion transfer Jack Shields - he can run, too. The best passer is Gunnar Gray, but he doesn’t have the dynamic upside of Ogbonna.

Buffalo Football Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss

Top Transfer In: Kobe Stewart, EDGE Jr.
A true edge rusher, the 6-3, 226-pound transfer from Samford made 80 tackles with 12 tackles for loss. He didn’t come up with any sacks, but he’ll apply the pressure as an immediate starter on one side.

Top Transfer Out: Devin Grant, S Jr.
The secondary should be fine - and might even be the team’s best unit - but Grant was a key part of last year’s version. He made 79 tackles, picked off five passes - took two for scores - and now he’ll be a statistical star at Syracuse.

Buffalo Key Game

at Northern Illinois, Sept 21
By the time the MAC season starts, Buffalo should be 2-1 if everything goes well. It should beat Lafayette and UMass, get whacked hard by Missouri. Starting out the conference campaign with a road win over Northern Illinois would be everything. And why?

Buffalo has lost 13 of its last 14 games against the Huskies after winning the matchup in 1968. Win this, and there’s a real chance at coming up with a winning season and a bowl appearance.

10 Best Buffalo Football Players

1. Shaun Dolac, LB Sr.
2. Tyler Doty, OG Sr.
3. Red Murdock, LB Soph.
4. Marcus Fuqua, S Sr.
5. Jayden Oliver, S Jr.
6. Charles McCartherens, CB Soph.
7. George Wolo, DT Sr.
8. Caelan Shepard, OT Sr.
9. JJ Jenkins, WR Sr.
10. Jacqez Barksdale, RB Sr.

Buffalo 2023 Fun Stats

- Passing Yards: Opponents 2,246, Buffalo 2,223

- 4th Down Conversions: Opponents 11-of-18 (61%), Buffalo 15-of-41 (37%)

- 2nd Quarter Scoring: Opponents 102, Buffalo 57

Buffalo Football 2024 Win Total Prediction: What to Expect This Season

Give this schedule to almost any Power Four team, and it’s a ten-win season without breathing hard.

Buffalo needs a little more work than that.

Missing Miami University, Bowling Green, and Central Michigan is a good deal, and getting Toledo in Amherst is a big help. But can the starting 22 come together fast enough to beat UMass? How about winning at UConn?

It’ll take an off day like Central Michigan had last year in a 37-13 loss to the Bulls, and hoping Akron and Kent State can be as bad as they were last season is a must, but it’ll still be a fight to get past four wins.

Set The Buffalo Win Total At … 4

Likely Wins: Lafayette

50/50 Games: at Akron, Ball State, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, at Northern Illinois, at Ohio, Toledo, at UConn, UMass, Western Michigan

Likely Losses: at Missouri

2024 Buffalo Football Schedule

Aug 29 Lafayette
Sept 7 at Missouri
Sept 14 UMass
Sept 21 at Northern Illinois
Sept 28 at UConn
Oct 5 OPEN DATE
Oct 12 Toledo
Oct 19 Western Michigan
Oct 26 at Ohio
Nov 2 at Akron
Nov 9 OPEN DATE
Nov 12 Ball State
Nov 20 at Eastern Michigan
Nov 26 Kent State

Missing: Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Miami University