Paul Peck's Bull Session: San Diego State
12/19/2013 12:00:00 AM | Football
Each week, Voice of Bulls Football Paul Peck previews the upcoming game.
Buffalo (8-4, 6-2 MAC) vs. San Diego State (7-5, 6-2 MWC) in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
From the moment they boarded the larger-than-normal wide-body plane, through every fun bowl event and every practice, the smiles on the faces of the Bulls players have told the story of their trip to Boise, Idaho. They are having fun, and playing this extra game means so much to this team. The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl is the first postseason game for the entire roster, and they are clearly excited and fortunate to end their season with one more game. It is especially true for the 21 seniors. For players like Khalil Mack, Branden Oliver and Alex Neutz, adding this to their legacy cements their place as the greatest senior class in UB history. But as Jeff Quinn has emphasized, they didn't travel 2,200 miles to just have fun and show up. They want to win. To do that, they'll have to beat an Aztecs team that looks and plays a lot like them.
Bullseye on: Buffalo Offense
Quinn felt like the Bulls offensive line wasn't physical enough against Bowling Green, and that's why they struggled to run the ball. The O-line faces the same challenge in this game. Quinn has already stated how physical SDSU is on defense, and any evaluation of the Bulls offense will start with their ability to create holes for the run game and protect for the pass. The Aztecs allow 133 yards per game on the ground, which is 2nd in the Mountain West Conference and 22nd in the NCAA. Twice this season they gave up less than 40 yards rushing total, while letting only four backs go over 100 yards in a game. Branden Oliver is looking to end his incredible career with another big game, and as always, the focus of the Buffalo offense will be to get Bo going. Oliver is just 65 yards away from becoming the 13th player in MAC history to top 4,000 yards. With two touchdowns, Oliver will break James Starks' UB record for career TD's. The Aztecs play a 3-3-5 defense, using that fifth defensive back as a linebacker/safety and tackler. This is nearly the same style of defense that the Bulls play, which should mean that UB will be prepared for what is normally an unusual look. That hybrid safety/linebacker for San Diego State is Nat Berhe, a 1st team Mountain West performer. He led the team with 94 tackles, and is the Aztecs best player on defense. The Aztecs are not great at sacking the quarterback or taking the ball away. They had 22 sacks in 12 games, and just 16 takeways. That plays into a Buffalo offense that does not make mistakes. Joe Licata has thrown just three interceptions in his last 259 passes, and the Bulls have fumbled only five times all season. Licata moved up to finish 3rd in the MAC in passing yards, averaging 219 per game. Alex Neutz and Fred Lee will face a pair of cornerbacks who are active. King Holder and J.J. Whittaker combined for 19 passes defended. Neutz is 53 yards from his second straight 1000 yard season. Only Drew Hadded has done that in UB history. Lee has 33 catches in the last six games. One area of real struggle for the Aztecs is red zone defense as teams have scored 35 TD on 39 trips inside the 20. That's dead last in the NCAA. The Bulls finished second in the MAC in red zone offense.
Bullseye on: Buffalo Defense
See if this sounds familiar. A 1,000 yard running back, an efficient quarterback who doesn't make mistakes, one standout big play receiver and another reliable consistent receiver. All backed by a big, physical offensive line. It could describe the UB offense, but in this case, those descriptions apply to the San Diego State offense. Just another reason why this blue turf, Boise bowl bonanza is a bevy of familiarity. The Aztecs offense has been steady and productive, averaging 28 points per game and topping 30 points five times. The running back is Adam Muema, who totaled 1,015 yards and scored 12 touchdowns. He's a tough, between the tackles runner. The quarterback is Quinn Kaehler. He threw 17 TD and just nine INT's after taking over as the starter in the third game. The former walk-on won seven of his ten starts. WR Ezell Ruffin caught 63 passes for 1,061 yards, good for 4th in the conference. The other WR, Colin Lockett, had 49 catches and he's caught a TD in each of his last four games. The Aztecs use a fullback, Chad Young. That's unusual in today's college football, and only the second time this season that a UB opponents base offense featured a fullback. Young is a good runner and receiver and a punishing blocker. Muema's backup at RB, freshman Donnel Pumphrey ran for 750 yards and eight TD's. He had three straight games of 100 yards rushing, the first Aztec freshman to do that since Marshall Faulk. The offensive line is big and solid, but is facing a big question mark. Left tackle Bryce Quigley has battled an injury his status is still uncertain. That could have a big impact on how the Aztecs try to block Khalil Mack. No one seems to be enjoying the bowl week attention more than #46. He has been bouncing around the hotel and practice fields all week in Boise. Mack's first tackle for loss on Saturday will give him sole possession of the NCAA record. Right now, the MAC Defensive Player of the Year is tied with Jason Babin (Western Michigan 2000-03) at 75. Mack's ability to move around on the defense will be a big factor in finding the right matchup and providing confusion for the SDSU offense. Adam Redden picked up right where he was against Bowling Green. Coming back from a knee injury, the Redden had six tackles and three TFL's. The Bulls set a school record with 36 sacks this season. Much like their struggles on defense, the Aztecs offense has trouble in the red zone. They've scored just 27 TD on 46 trips, ranking 117th in the NCAA. The UB red zone defense was second in the MAC.
Bullseye on: The 4th Quarter
With two teams this even, it figures to be a close game into the final 15 minutes. Even if it's not, and the Bulls have a good lead, they'll still need to be careful. San Diego State will not quit, and there are a lot of facts to back that up. They overcame a final period deficit to win five times, the most in the NCAA. Three times they came back from 14 points down. They played eight games decided by seven points or less, and won six of them. They played four overtime games, and won three. Only three other teams (including the 2008 Bulls) have played four OT games in one season. Shoot, their whole season has been a big comeback. They started 0-3, and rallied to finish 7-5. That makes them one of just 19 teams in the last 33 years to start that poorly and still make a bowl game. So if the Bulls, who have outscored opponents 188-103 in the second half, hold a lead late they better hold on.
Join me, color analyst Jim Kubiak, sideline reporter Scott Wilson and host Brad Riter for the broadcast on the Bulls Football Network. Our special bowl pregame show starts at 4:30pm. You can hear it in Buffalo on 97 Rock (pregame) and Sportsradio 1270 The Fan (game broadcast) (www.sportsradio1270.com), in Rochester on SPorts 1280 WHTK (www.whtk.com) and in New York City on Bloomberg Radio 1130 AM (www.bloomberg.com/radio).
