THE TOLEDO GAME HALL OF FAME
There were too many stars and game-changers from Buffalo's 34-27 win over Toledo on Saturday to highlight just a few. Instead, we're building a museum.
Let’s start with this.
There’s not much else to say.
THE TOLEDO-BUFFALO GAME HALL OF FAME
Image from ubbulls.com
The basic facts, courtesy of UBBulls.com:
The University at Buffalo football team rallied from a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun Toledo, 34-27, in a battle of the Mid-American Conference's first place teams at UB Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Bulls scored 24 points in the fourth quarter to win their fifth straight game and improve to a perfect 4-0 in the MAC.
The Bulls trailed 27-10 early in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Cole Snyder sparked the comeback with a five-yard touchdown run with 13:13 left to cut the lead to 27-17. UB got the ball right back, marched 80 yards down the field and cut the lead to three points on a 32-yard connection from Snyder to Jamari Gassett with 9:35 left.
An interception by safety Marcus Fuqua gave the ball right back to the Bulls and, four plays later, Ron Cook scampered in from 30 yards out to give UB its first lead of the game, 31-27, with 8:06 remaining.
Fuqua intercepted his third pass of the day with a little over three minutes left to give the ball back to the Bulls and set up an Alex McNulty 42-yard field goal with just 47 seconds left to extend the UB lead to 34-27.
On the Toledo's last drive of the game, Caleb Offord sealed the win with the Bulls' fourth interception of the game. All told, Buffalo forced six Toledo turnovers, including a 72-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Jahmin Muse.
Cook finished the day with a career-high 118 yards rushing and a touchdown and added three receptions for 40 yards. Snyder, who struggled in the first half, found his groove in the second half and finished with 245 passing yards and a TD.
Linebacker Shaun Dolac had another stellar game for the Bulls, finishing with 12 tackles, three tackles for loss and two pass breakups. Cornerback Isaiah King, who was wearing no. 41 in memory of Solomon Jackson, had a career-high 11 tackles and an incredible sequence where he forced and recovered a fumble in the third quarter.
It was a tale of two halves as the Bulls scored 27 points on 299 yards of offense in the second half, while holding Toledo to just seven points on 186 yards of offense in the second half.
This win over the Rockets (5-3, 3-1) wasn’t simply because of Ron Cook’s courageous running, Marcus Fuqua’s trifecta of interceptions, Keyshawn Cobb’s offense-erasing tackles, Jahmin Muse’s…well, Jah did a little bit of everything.
It was the sum of a team that never gave up and stormed back to shock our little corner of the college football world.
Let’s embrace the moment and celebrate these guys.
Image from ubbulls.com
Resolved: We’re opening our own Hall of Fame, which will live in perpetuity (or until Substack goes under) at this site, dedicated solely to BUFFALO 34, TOLEDO 27 on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022.
We’re doing this alphabetically, so don’t read too much into who’s first and who’s last, etc. Instead of handing out jackets, our inductees get game-worn Buster the Bull helmets.
And now: the induction ceremony.
Brandon Bailey

Let’s give Buffalo’s first-year defensive coordinator his due: Brandon Bailey turned Dequan Finn into an average quarterback.
Image from sports-reference.com
Consider:
Finn’s overall offensive grade for the season, based on Pro Football Focus’ formula, was 76.2—good for 60th in the country. His overall grades as a passer and a rusher are 70.3 and 72.3, respectively.
His weekly grades against UB? Finn put up a 67.1 for the game, with a 65.5 score as a passer and a 58.3 as a rusher—significant drops from those season averages. He had better stats against #2 Ohio State (pictured above) than he did against the Bulls.
Finn was held to four explosive plays—one, a 29-yard run with under four minutes left in the game—was immediately followed by a Fuqua interception. The star quarterback was picked off four times total, and left the field on Saturday with a potentially devastating injury because he was forced to hang in and hurl a desperation pass on the final play of the game (his fourth INT).
Sounds like an accurate description of what Bailey said the Buffalo defense would be under his watch:
“The first thing you’re going to see is a unit that plays really fast and really violent with a ton of confidence,” Bailey told Peck. “I hope when you look at us, you have a hard time categorizing us. We’re going to be multiple, we’re going to show you different pictures and do different things. We’re going to pride ourselves on stopping the run. We’re not going to let people run the ball down our throat and create explosive plays that way in the run game. And when we make people one-dimensional, take away the run game, we’re going to take away the other things that they’re comfortable with.”
Bailey’s gang of 11 kept the score manageable and allowed the conditions for the comeback to occur—and then held on in those fragile moments when it could’ve come apart at the end.
Brandon Bailey, welcome to the Toledo Game Hall of Fame.
Keyshawn Cobb
Image from ubbulls.com
Keyshawn’s stat line—eight solo tackles, a forced fumble, two pass breakups and a hit on Finn—are very solid, but don’t tell the whole story of the defensive back’s performance on Saturday.
You may have forgotten about this early sequence:
Up 7-0 near the end of the first quarter, Toledo forced a Buffalo three-and-out and returned Anthony Venneri’s 49-yard punt to the Rockets’ 22-yard line all the way up to the Bulls’ 49.1 Toledo promptly drove to the edge of the red zone, and picked up a 3rd-and-two on a four-yard Jacquez Stewart run that was blunted when Cobb wrapped up the 5’10, 190-pound back from behind, picked him up, and deposited him on the turf. On the next play, Cobb knocked away a Finn pass intended for Mikel Barkley that probably would've been a touchdown, and on 3rd-and-12, he tracked down the elusive Devin Maddox in the flat and eliminated him after a one-yard game. The Rockets settled for a field goal, taking a 10-0 lead.
How does the game change if that drive ends in a touchdown?
Cobb was just getting started. After another Bulls three-and-out and another punting mishap—this time a 16-yard Venneri duck that set Toledo up at the UB 35-yard line—Cobb absolutely drilled Maddox again (look at this hit!), forcing a fumble that Jahmin Muse returned for a touchdown. Absolute game-saver.

In the third quarter, Keyshawn broke up a Finn pass intended for Micah Kelly on 2nd-and-15 that helped lead to the Toledo’s three-and-out with a 27-10 lead. On the subsequent drive, the Bulls’ comeback started with Cole Snyder’s touchdown run.
Cobb added two tackles and a hurry in the fourth quarter, including the pressure on the game’s final play that led to Offord’s game-sealing interception.
When big things happened for the UB defense on Saturday, #3 was there.
Keyshawn Cobb, welcome to the Toledo Game Hall of Fame.
Ron Cook, Jr.
Image from ubbulls.com
Eighteen runs for 118 yards and a touchdown. Three catches for 40 yards. Cook was responsible for nearly 40 percent of Buffalo’s offense on Saturday, including the 49-yard run at the start of the third quarter that proved, Rocky IV-style, that the Rockets’ defense could be hurt.
Cook’s fourth quarter: 11 touches, 92 total yards, and the go-ahead touchdown at the 8:06 mark on an epic 30-yard sideline sprint that gave the Bulls a 31-27 lead they would never relinquish.
Another sliding doors moment, courtesy of Cook: on the previous drive, on the play before Snyder hit Jamari Gassett for a 32-yard touchdown, the Bulls’ QB hit Ron on a 24-yard wheel route on which Cook absorbed a big hit from Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell. Or—more accurately—Mitchell absorbed a big hit from Cook.
What if Cook drops that ball? It would’ve been 3rd-and-10, and UB wasn’t exactly money (five of 16) on third down conversions Saturday. What if he fumbles? Who knows what chaos could’ve ensued?
Not for nothing, on his touchdown run a few moments later, Mitchell has a chance to come up and stuff Cook near the edge—and made a business decision, instead. Forty-two yards later, Cook sealed his MAC East Offensive Player of the Week award.
Ron Cook, Jr., welcome to the Toledo Game Hall of Fame.
Shaun Dolac
Image from ubbulls.com
After having a quiet (by his standards) game against UMass last week, Dolac led UB with 12 tackles (nine solo), including three tackles for loss, and two pass breakups—the second of which was tipped to Fuqua for the safety’s second interception. That INT was followed by the drive culminating in Cook’s go-ahead rushing touchdown.
When Buffalo was stopped on 4th-and-four late in the third quarter, down 27-10, the Rockets took over on their own 43. On first down, Dolac dropped Micah Kelly for an immediate five-yard loss. Two plays later, UT was punting, and the comeback was on.
Shaun Dolac, welcome to the Toledo Game Hall of Fame.
The Front Four
Image from ubbulls.com
Why choose one? These guys, as a unit, got the job done.
Yes, the Rockets ran for 198 yards and two touchdowns. And yes, Finn threw for 240 yards.
Consider, however, that Toledo has the 35th-ranked rushing unit in the nation, averaging nearly 194 yards per game. Allowing 198 yards is very reasonable. Finn’s 240 passing yards were 35 over his season average, which is due in large part to the fact he couldn’t break off his typical array of explosive runs.
The Rockets’ PFF run-blocking grades were as bad as they’ve been all season—worse than the numbers put up in a 77-21 loss to Ohio State. Individually, the right side of the Bulls’ defensive line worked Toledo:
Image from PFF.com
That’s not great.
Here’s the most important number: Toledo was held to 27 points. For the fifth straight game, UB did not allow a fourth-quarter score. That starts up front.
C.J. Bazile (1.5 tackles for loss), Daishon Folsom (two tackles, one for a loss), Damian Jackson (three tackles), Kameron Olds (one tackle), and Daymond Wiliams (three tackles)—welcome, gentlemen, to the Toledo Game Hall of Fame.
Marcus Fuqua
Image from ubbulls.com
Marcus Fuqua (pictured above, left) is tied for first in Division 1 football in interceptions (five) and tied for second in interceptions per game (.6). Steadily improving throughout the season, he’s reached elite pass coverage levels in the past two weeks and earned MAC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Monday. He picked off three passes, including two in the fourth quarter, against the Rockets. That’ll get you a plaque with your name on it.

Fuqua’s 79.9 coverage rating on Saturday tied him for 34th in the country among defensive backs. He had four tackles and a quarterback hurry.
Like fellow safeties Keyshawn Cobb and Jahmin Muse, Fuqua turned up wherever the action was on defense.
He has the receipts to prove it.
Marcus Fuqua, we welcome you to the Toledo Game Hall of Fame.
Jamari Gassett
Image from ubbulls.com
When Jamari Gassett starts revving up the invisible motorcycle, something good just happened. Gassett scored his second touchdown of the season at 9:35 of the fourth quarter, the second of three scores Buffalo rolled out in a 5:07 span that completely flipped the game.
Jamari had four catches on five targets for 69 yards—throw away the Maryland game (three catches on seven targets) and Snyder’s only missed a connection with Gassett on three of 28 targets over the past seven games.
This young man gets open.
When his number is called this season, #18 delivers—and he did it again against Toledo, at a huge moment in the season, and frankly made it look easy.
Jamari Gassett, welcome to the Toledo Game Hall of Fame.
Isaiah King

Jacquez Stewart broke loose for a 48-yard run on the Rockets’ first possession of the second half, and while it looked as though Jahmin Muse would angle the sophomore running back out of bounds, Toledo was going to have a first down deep in the red zone with a 20-10 lead.
Then—like a bolt out of the blue—defensive back Isaiah King was punching the ball loose with a closed-fist swat from behind and stealing the ball off Stewart’s thigh an instant before hitting the ground.
Just like that, the game’s momentum came tumbling back in the Bulls’ favor.
King—starting in place of star cornerback Elijah Blades, who missed the game with an undisclosed injury—wore the honorary Solomon Jackson #41, the highest on-field honor a UB player can earn. With Buffalo since 2017, this former starter-turned-reserve stepped into the moment and thrived, collecting 10 solo tackles—second on the team—and providing a memorable moment that, in time, will become a legend.
Isaiah King, welcome to the Toledo Game Hall of Fame.
Shane Montgomery
Image from ubbulls.com
The Bulls first-half offense was terrible. Cole Snyder was seven-for-18 (four-for-11 in the second quarter) for 66 passing yards and had been brutally sacked twice. The QB was missing his go-to targets, receivers Quian Williams and Justin Marshall—often badly—and was struggling with his run-pass option decisions. UB ran for 20 net yards and went three-and-out on three drives. If not for a defensive touchdown, Buffalo would’ve went into the locker room down 20-0 at halftime.
Montgomery, to his credit, switched up the game plan. With a more effective run-pass mix—and faster-developing plays that took pressure off the offensive line, worked in his tight ends as blockers, and prevented Snyder from getting murdered by Toledo lineman Jamal Hines—the Bulls kicked a field goal on the first drive of the third quarter.
After some tentative success on the next two possessions, UB exploded for three straight touchdown drives and a late field goal, including 10 points off of turnovers, to take the game.
Montgomery fed Ron Cook in the fourth quarter, accepted the fact that Justin Marshall and Quian Williams weren’t going to be given a big play, worked both Gassett and tight end Robbie Mangas (pictured above) into critical situations as both pass catchers and run blockers (Mangas’ seal on the edge sprung Cook for the deciding TD run), and generally showed a degree of flexibility sometimes missing in the 0-3 start this season.
We’ve criticized Shane Montgomery in the past. This weekend, he deserves a tip of our cap.
Shane Montgomery, welcome to the Toledo Game Hall of Fame.
Jahmin Muse
Image from ubbulls.com
Jahmin Muse played every defensive snap in Saturday’s game, including 60 at free safety and 16 in the box. He scored a touchdown on Keyshawn Cobb’s forced fumble, made nine tackles (including 1.5 tackles for loss), and sacked Dequan Finn.
That sack ended the fourth-quarter Toledo drive that led to Jonathan Batzke’s 91-yard punt, and, 2:10 later, Snyder’s touchdown pass to Gassett.
Muse—a fifth-year player and Boston College transfer—is having the best season of his career. His two best games been Buffalo’s two biggest games to date: the 38-7 win over Bowling Green two weeks ago, and Saturday’s Toledo victory.
He’s tied for 10th in Division 1 in forced fumbles, and he’s been the steady anchor around which the secondary has gelled this season.
Without Muse—an excellent pass-rusher and run-stuffer who takes snaps on the d-line, hits like a linebacker, and has the coverage smarts of the safety he officially is—it’s hard to see how the Bulls contain Finn, and even harder to see how they’re winners of five straight.
Jahmin Muse, welcome to the Toledo Game Hall of Fame.
Caleb Offord
Image from ubbulls.com
Cornerback Caleb Offord’s game-sealing interception was a stroke of poetic justice for the Notre Dame transfer.
Offord saw limited snaps on Weeks 1 and 2, and when he took the bulk of the work at left corner in Week 3 against Coastal Carolina, he was targeted six times and gave up a touchdown.
He’s been targeted more than any other Buffalo cornerback this season (31 times in seven games)—one of the down sides to playing opposite Elijah Blades, I suppose—and was firmly in Dequan Finn’s scope on Saturday.
Offord was targeted nine times, the 19th-most targets of any d-back in the nation this weekend (tied, interestingly enough, with the Rockets’ Quinyon Mitchell).
He didn’t break. On the contrary, he toughened up.
Offord posted the lowest completion percentage of any member of the Bulls’ secondary (33%, or three receptions on balls targeted towards him). He broke up a pass and, of course, he snared Finn’s desperation heave on the final play of the game to put this one to bed.
Offord left South Bend to revive a stalled college career, and piece by piece—partly by necessity, with injuries to Blades and Jayden Oliver, but mainly by performance—he’s making it work.
Before kickoff, no one would have said Caleb Offord was the best CB on a field expected to feature Blades and Mitchell.
At the end of the day, Offord was the last player with the ball in his hands.
Caleb Offord, welcome to the Toledo Game Hall of Fame.
Toledo Game Hall of Fame Honorable Mentions
Image from ubbulls.com
Not everyone can make the Hall of Fame! There are some players, however, who deserve some credit for the W, even if they will not be forever enshrined in glory.
Robbie Mangas. The tight end out of Dartmouth made a 23-yard catch at the end of the third quarter with the Bulls down 27-10 to get the touchdown train moving towards the end zone. That drive ended in a Cole Snyder TD run on which Mangas and his fellow tight end Trevor Borland perfectly blocked a lane for Snyder to scamper through. Mangas also set the edge for Cook’s touchdown run. The guy literally cleared the path to victory.
Cole Snyder. Overcoming an absolutely brutal first half and a not-much-better third quarter, Snyder once again shone when the heat was turned up to a boil. Similar to his performance against Miami, the young quarterback—it’s easy to forget, with his Big 10 pedigree, that he last started football games at Southwestern High School before jumping into the fire this season—got it together when the stakes were highest. Snyder threw for 179 yards and a touchdown in the second half, ran for another, and unlike his highly-praised Toledo counterpart, he didn’t throw a single interception (he did fumble, but he still beat Finn in the turnover category, 4-1). To paraphrase Terrell Owens, that’s our quarterback.
Quian Williams. A fairly quiet game for the receiver—five catches, 37 yards—but three came on the aforementioned Snyder rushing TD drive, including a 10-yard connection on a critical 3rd-and-six. Never forget what this guy brings to the offense.
James Patterson. Eleven tackles and a quarterback hit. Just another day at the office for Big Game James.
Alex McNulty. McNulty missed a 57-yard field goal attempt on the first drive of the game. He was money for the rest of the contest, kicking a life-giving FG on the first drive of the third quarter and knocking through insurance points late in the fourth. He also had four touchbacks on seven kickoffs, preventing Rockets’ burner Jacquez Stewart from changing the game or flipping the field with a big return.
Coach Mo. This guy just makes you believe, whether you’re a player in the locker room, a fan in the stands, or watching on ESPN+. The fact he was able to hold his team together, keep everyone calm, and shepherd them not only through the comeback but to manage the lead in crunch time is yet another testament to Maurice Linguist.
Dequan Finn Update
Image from utrockets.com
We are Dequan Finn fans.
While we love to see UB win, no one wants to see a massive talent like Dequan get hurt. He was, however, absolutely (cleanly) drilled by George Wolo at the end of Saturday’s contest, leading to a scary postgame scene in which both concerned teams gathered around him until he was led from the field.
The latest news from Kyle Rowland of The Toledo Blade:
On the final play of Saturday’s game, he was sacked awkwardly between two Buffalo players and was down on the field for several minutes before getting assistance to the locker room, where he was ushered into a room with an X-ray machine. It appeared that his throwing shoulder was injured.
There was no update on Finn’s condition. If he’s out, even for one game, it could significantly impact Toledo’s place in the MAC West standings.
Let’s hope he’s OK.
State of the MAC, Week 8
Image from record-courier.com
Did you enjoy the thrills of the Toledo game? Great—we get to do it again on Nov. 1 (a Tuesday!) when the Bulls face Ohio (5-3, 3-1) in Athens for the top spot in the East Division.
After five straight wins, UB is a single MACtion loss away from falling into second place. Cruel fate!
Here’s what went down around the conference this weekend:
Bowling Green 34, Central Michigan. The Falcons (4-4, 3-1) are for real, apparently! The Chippewas (2-6, 1-3) are not. Looks like BGSU will be bowl-eligible this season and CMU, last season’s Sun Bowl champs, will be at home in Mount Pleasant. Bowling Green QB Matt McDonald threw for 253 yard and two touchdowns in the win.
Eastern Michigan 20, Ball State 16. A very consequential win for the Eagles (5-3, 2-2) with a win over West Division rival BSU (4-4, 2-2), setting up a huge home game against Toledo at the Factory this weekend. A win, and EMU soars into first place in the West.
Ohio 24, Northern Illinois 17. Both the Huskies (2-6, 1-3) and the Bobcats (5-3, 3-1) are having the seasons they were expected to have in 2021. NIU kept the powerhouse OU offense in check—QB Kurtis Rourke threw for just 200 yards—but the ‘Cats did enough to get the win and set up a huge game with Buffalo.
Western Michigan 16, Miami 10. Sean Tyler (110 rushing yards) finally had a breakout game for WMU (3-5, 2-2), and a moribund offense was all that was needed to beat the nosediving RedHawks (3-5, 5-3).
Kent State 33, Akron 27. Is Akron (1-7, 0-4) getting better or is KSU (3-5, 2-2) getting worse? Tough to believe with all the talent the Golden Flashes have on their roster that they couldn’t quite put away the lowly Zips until the final whistle. Regardless, Sean Lewis’ bunch took home the historic Wagon Wheel trophy and looked sharp doing it in powder blue uniforms (pictured above) and retro white helmets. Despite two losses, Kent State is still within striking distance of the East Division’s top spot, especially with a Week 5 win over Ohio in its pocket and games against Bowling Green and Buffalo still on its schedule.
Alright—I think it’s time for all of us to take a little breather. Next newsletter will come out before the big Ohio game. See you on Twitter in the meantime. Horns up.
Punting—and punt coverage—was an adventure on Saturday, and this 29-yard Adam Mitchell return was the first chapter.