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The Buffalo Bulls impressed in their 36-29 victory at the Temple Owls as they went on the road to knock off a very good team from the American. There are a number of takeaways from the game that can be made as UB gets ready for an Eastern Michigan Eagles team that also had an upset of their own with a win on the road against the Purdue Boilermakers.
Anthony Johnson and Tyree Jackson are the real deal
Johnson proved why he is considered as the best WR in the MAC as he tallied six catches for 76 yards including a scintillating 29-yard touchdown late in the game to put the Bulls ahead for good. Meanwhile, Jackson made some plays in the passing game with 275 yards in the air and three touchdowns. The duo will be a tough tandem to stop in MAC play.
Making your Mark(s)
UB got a huge lift in the running game as Kevin Marks went off for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Marks brought a dimension to the offense that makes Buffalo a very dangerous team going forward. We’ll see if he can sustain that production in MAC play.
Ultimate opportunists
The defense made the plays that allowed their offense to be productive as it recorded two interceptions, two sacks, and a fumble recovery. In these types of games, you need to create breaks for your offense and the defense did just that. If the Bulls can maintain its level of play on this side of the ball, they’ll be a hard team to beat in the MAC East.
Get off the field
The defense also held Temple to 3-14 on third down, which proved to be big in the game as Buffalo dominated time of possession with 35:42. However, the Owls converted each of its attempts on fourth down to sustain drives so they weren’t getting as many timely stops as they would have liked. It’ll be interesting to see how other offenses fair in this category against UB.
Special Bulls
Temple managed to have more explosive plays in the return game, but the field position gained by UB proved to be invaluable in the upset. Evan Finegan pinned the Owls inside the 20-yard line on a punt while Adam Mitcheson recorded a pair of touchbacks in the contest. This phase allowed the upset to happen and could be a unit that makes the difference in MAC games.