UB FOOTBALL NEWS: KVT IS NOW THE ENEMY, COACH MO IN DEMAND, TRANSFER PORTAL ACTION
UB FOOTBALL NEWS: KVT IS NOW THE ENEMY, COACH MO IN DEMAND, TRANSFER PORTAL ACTION
Plus: UB men's basketball waxes St.Bonaventure; UB women's hoops look to get right against Niagara
Image from ubbulls.com
Here’s what’s happened with University at Buffalo football since last we wrote a mere two days ago:
Image from goeagles.com
AN OLD FRIEND TURNS BOWL GAME RIVAL. The Bulls (6-6 overall, 5-3 in the Mid-American Conference) accepted an invitation to the ninth annual Camellia Bowl on Dec. 27 at noon in Montgomery, Alabama. UB will face the Sun Belt Conference’s Georgia Southern (6-6, 3-5) and the big story will be, of course, Eagles quarterback Kyle Vantrease.
The former Buffalo starter—arguably the most successful signal caller in the history of the program—transferred to head coach Clay Helton’s program after the 2021 season and promptly put up monster numbers inconceivable during his Bulls’ tenure. Vantrease threw for 3,891 yards, fifth most in the FBS, 25 touchdowns and, well, 15 interceptions (leading the nation).
He was 3rd-team All-SBC and cemented his legend in Statesboro for his last-second heroics in wins over Nebraska, Ball State, James Madison (in which he set the school’s single-game record with 578 passing yards), and Appalachian State, a 51-48 double-overtime barn burner in which Kyle’s 25-yard touchdown pass ended the game and made GSU bowl-eligible.
There’s a hint of salt under the radar. See former Bull Mason Hoose’s tweet:
While this wasn’t exactly a viral explosion, those eight likes came from former UB football players Rowan McGwin, Trevor Bycznski, Cole Burniston, Jake Fuzak, Evan Gantley, Antonio Nunn, Evan Finegan, and Taylor Riggins. Interesting.
Image from ubbulls.com
CLOCK IS TICKING ON COACH MO’S TENURE? Buffalo head coach Maurice Linguist was mentioned as a candidate for the Cincinnati job—in fact, according to The Athletic’s Justin Williams, he may have been the candidate for the job, at least until the Bearcats introduced former Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield this morning.
Given that Williams’ list of “potential candidates” did not even include Satterfield, it’s tough to say how legit the rumors were.
The deeper truth, however, should not be ignored: Linguist’s days at UB are numbered.
There aren’t many high-profile head coaching jobs remaining (would it be a step up to go to Tulsa or North Texas?), but would Coach Mo jump for the fatter recruiting territory and bigger paycheck? There’s a lot more money to be had for Linguist, certainly more than the $675,000 he’s making now, which may be the lowest in the FBS.
Charlotte—little, inconsequential Charlotte—just hired Biff Poggi for $1 million. An estimated $500,000 of Poggi’s salary comes from athletic department donations. The Bulls’ lack of donor depth really hurts, and don’t think Linguist doesn’t feel this every day.
The possibility of a high-profile assistant position isn’t out of the question, either. Kent State head coach Sean Lewis took the offensive coordinator job with Deion Sanders at Colorado today. What would Coach Linguist—briefly the co-defensive coordinator at Michigan before grabbing the UB job—earn on the open market? And does he kick himself for missing out on the past two seasons’ ride to the CFP with the Wolverines?
Image from ubbulls.com
WE SAW THESE GOODBYES COMING: The transfer portal is wide open and UB is already shedding players. No surprise that quarterbacks Matt Myers and Casey Case announced their intentions to move on—frankly, the bigger surprise is that it took this long. Also on the way out is tight end Trevor Borland, who graded 143rd out of 457 Division 1 TEs, according to Pro Football Focus. He’s a true old-school tight end, rated the 55th-best blocking TE in the nation, who took 75 percent of his 463 offensive snaps next to the tackle. More transfers to come, to be sure.12
UB Men’s Basketball Races Past St. Bonaventure, Faces St. John Fisher Wednesday
Image from ubbulls.com
The UB men’s basketball team avenged last season’s ugly loss to Big 4 rival St. Bonaventure—a similar narrative to last week’s win over Canisius—with a resounding 83-66 win over the visiting Bonnies on Saturday at Alumni Arena.
That’s three in a row for the Bulls (4-4) after dropping four straight. While lingering at #222 in ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, UB’s jumped up to #165 in the KenPom.com power rankings. Buffalo is seventh in adjusted tempo—which is to say the Bulls play fast—and still has a long way to go before reaching peak form.
UB is last in the MAC in three-point percentage (28%), 10th in rebounding (28.2 per game), ninth in assists (12.3 per game), and commit nearly 20 fouls while turning the ball over more than15 times per game. Imagine what they’ll be like when, you know, they’ve played together for more than a month!
Anyhow—St. Bonaventure. From UBBulls.com:
In the win, sophomore guard Curtis Jones finished with a career-high 32 points with Zid Powell adding 23 points. Powell was perfect on his 12 free throw attempts. Buffalo finished 18-for-21 (.857) from the charity stripe. Jones finished 13-of-22 (.590) from the floor while drilling 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. Jones had five of the Bull's seven three-pointers on the day.
Jonnivius Smith had several monstrous dunks. Smith tied his career-high 10 points adding six rebounds in the victory. Isaiah Adams nearly had a double-double, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Buffalo has now had at least one 20-point scorer in the last five games with C. Jones finishing with 20 or more in four straight.
"Collectively, our guys really locked in and had a good week of practice, I think that was really important in terms of improvement," stated Head Coach Jim Whitesell. "Zid Powell really struggled in the first half, but we use the term 'stay with it' a lot, and he was the epitome of it, he didn't get over emotional he just came back in when it was his turn in the second half and played outstanding."
Image from ubbulls.com
It’s early, and tough to say how the season will go, especially with nine new players on a 13-man roster. Regardless, there’s a sense of joy with the current squad that was missing from last year’s bunch—no offense to those guys, but their minds seemed to be elsewhere for much of the season. It showed whenever they were challenged, finishing 1-7 against the top four teams in the MAC and washing out of the conference tournament in the first round.
The 2022-23 team, to paraphrase ESPN+ color commentator Matt Mattia, is going to win some games they shouldn’t and lose some games they shouldn’t but they’ll never be boring. Believe that. Oh, and Curtis Jones is the reigning MAC Player of the Week.
Up next for these burgeoning Bulls: a Tuesday night meeting with D3 St. John Fisher, a rival in the sense the Cardinals hail from the Rochester suburb of Pittsford. Some news you can use heading into this glorified scrimmage:
In Buffalo's last two contests, they've held opponents to 11-for-51 (.216) from beyond the arc. The Bulls currently lead the MAC in three-point percentage defense at .290.
The Bulls are 24th in the nation in fastbreak points, averaging 16.33 per game. This mark is the best in the MAC. Zid Powell and Curtis Jones are tied for third in the MAC with 2.12 steals per game. Malique Jacobs of Kent State leads the MAC, averaging 4.00 per game.
Zid Powell was perfect from the free throw line in his 12 attempts against the Bonnies. He's just the fourth Bull to be perfect with at least 12 free throw attempts. Javon McCrea (15-of-15 vs. Kent State, 1/16/13), Auraum Nuiriankh (12-of-12 vs. Central Michigan, 1/30/13), and Blake Hamilton (15-of-15 at Eastern Michigan, 1/7/17) are the only other Bulls with this feat.
All-time, UB is 3-0 against St. John Fisher. Last year, the Bulls defeated the Cardinals in their mid-December clash, 100-58.
Game time is 6 p.m. at Alumni Arena.
UB Women Look to Right the Ship Against Niagara
Image from ubbulls.com
It’s already a grind for the UB women’s basketball team.
A two-point loss to crosstown rival Canisius. A two-point loss to Division 2 Mercyhurst. Double-digit losses to Drexel and Rhode Island. It ain’t easy flipping a roster, as head coach Becky Burke knew coming into this season.
There is, however, light at the end of this tunnel, and it may be shining down from the Gallagher Center. Buffalo (1-4) hits the road to face non-conference foe Niagara (1-6) on Wednesday (6 p.m., ESPN+) , the first of seven opponents in 10 games with sub-.500 records.
The Bulls are led by fifth-year guard Zakiyah Winfield (pictured above), averaging 12.6 points, nine rebounds, and four assists per game. Backcourt mates Jazmine Young adds 11 points per game and Re’Shawna Stone scores at a 9.8 ppg clip while grabbing 5.4 boards per contest.
The Purple Eagles’ twin tandem of Cheektowaga natives Aaliyah and Angel Parker average 17.3 and 14.4 points per game, respectively. Aaliyah also leads the team with 7.8 rebounds and two assists per contest. Saige Glover, a 6’0 forward from Columbus, Ohio, averages five points and five boards. Guard Maddy Yelle scores over seven points per contest.
Horns up! Let’s see if Burke’s bunch can start rolling off a few wins.
Cornerback Logic Hudgens also announced that he is in the portal. Logic appeared in the first two games of the 2022 season for UB and then mysteriously disappeared. His 2022 appearances have been retconned off the UB website. What the heck happened?
Latest transfers, as of Dec. 6, now include defensive back Jibrahn Claude, who appeared in a total of 12 plays over four games; Janik Ogunlade, a redshirt o-lineman this season; and, the most critical loss of the bunch, receiver Jamari Gassett. The sophomore burner posted 347 receiving yards on 28 receptions with two touchdowns. Not a total surprise to see him go—a national college football writer told me during the season Gassett would make $20K in the portal—but disappointing, for sure. Almost as disappointing as the Bulls’ inability to truly tap into his potential over two seasons in Blue and White.