AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) — As the sun went down at UB Stadium, the MACtion picked up.
On the verge of a third consecutive hard-luck loss at home, the Buffalo Bulls rallied for a 31-30 overtime victory against Eastern Michigan on Saturday to remain unbeaten in two Mid-American Conference games and 3-3 overall going into a midseason bye week.
UB receiver Victor Snow scored his third touchdown of the game on a 9-yard run after Jack Howes kicked a career-long 50-yard field goal at the end of regulation, and the Bulls won when Kobe Stewart recovered a fumbled shovel pass on Eastern Michigan’s 2-point attempt following an overtime touchdown.
Ta’Quan Roberson returned from missing one game with an ankle injury to pass for 272 yards and three touchdowns, including a 75-yarder to Snow, who finished with six receptions for 136 yards. Al-Jay Henderson had 81 yards rushing, and freshman quarterback Jason Wright came off the bunch to run for 18 yards on a drive that ended with Roberson throwing a 7-yard scoring pass to Patrick Clacks III.
This was UB’s second time coming from behind to win a MAC game this season, after Snow caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Roberson in the closing minutes of 31-28 victory last month at Kent State.
Snow, the Rochester-area native who writes the word THREAT on his eyeblack tape, caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Roberson to tie the score at 21 at the end of the third quarter. But on UB’s next possession, Roberson lost a fumble deep in UB territory that led to an Eastern Michigan field goal.
UB linebacker Red Murdock led the Bulls with 17 tackles and forced a fumble near the goal line that kept the Eagles from scoring a touchdown with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. It was the 15th forced fumble of Murdock’s career, putting him in second place on the NCAA’s all-time list behind UB great Khalil Mack.
Howes missed a 39-yard field goal attempt with 5:30 remaining, but UB’s defense stiffened late and Roberson drove the Bulls 60 yards in the final minute with no timeouts to give Howes a chance at redemption.
Eastern Michigan rushed for 227 yards against a UB defense that was weakened early on when safety Jalen McNair was ejected for a targeting foul, and linebacker Dion Crawford left the game with a groin injury.
The momentous bounces late in the game resembled the wild midweek matchups MAC football teams have become known for. Last season, that included UB’s 37-20 win at Eastern Michigan when the teams traded long touchdowns in the fourth quarter before Shaun Dolac returned an interception for a score, one week after UB came back from down two touchdowns in the final six minutes to beat Ball State 51-48 in overtime.
UB will play at UMass on Oct. 18 following its bye week and its next home game is Oct. 25 against Akron. The first MACtion game is Nov. 19 at Miami.
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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here.
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