Paul Peck's Bull Session: Western Michigan
11/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Each week, Voice of Bulls Football Paul Peck will preview the upcoming game.
Buffalo (2-8, 1-5 MAC) at Western Michigan (10-0, 6-0 MAC)
The eyes of the college football world are on Kalamazoo, MI Saturday…and while the focus is on the Broncos, those eyes will also get a look at the UB Bulls. Western Michigan is one of college football's great stories. They're the only undefeated team other than Alabama. They've reached #14 in AP Top 25, the highest ranked MAC team in eight years. They're in position to be the Group of Five team in the Cotton Bowl. ESPN's College Gameday is live in Kalamazoo, only the second time that popular show has come to a MAC team's campus. Head Coach P.J. Fleck's motto is "Row the Boat." The Broncos' rising tide is raising all the boats of the MAC.
Fleck has turned the program around, and provided a blue print for other MAC teams to find success. The last time UB played at Waldo Stadium in 2013, a 33-0 Bulls win, it was part of WMU's 1-11 first season under Fleck. Since then, the Broncos have won 26 games and 17 of their last 19. They've showed the MAC that good support, good recruiting, good coaching and good players can put your program on the national map.
Bull Session Trivia: The Bulls have one win over a ranked team in school history. Can you name the team they beat, and what that team was ranked? Bonus question: What's the highest ranked team the Bulls have ever played?
Bullseye on: Buffalo Offense
Tyree Jackson is listed as questionable for this game, after hurting his leg against Miami. While he gutted it out and stayed in the game, the injury severely limited his ability to run and lessened the effectiveness of the Bulls read-option running game. If he can't play, Jackson will likely be disappointed because Kalamazoo is only an hour-and-a-half from Tyree's hometown of North Shores, MI…Backup QB Grant Rohach played the final three series, and led the Bulls to a pair of touchdowns. Rohach showed the passing and running ability that earned him the season-opening spot at QB. His action included a 20 yard run and a 25 yard pass to TE Tyler Mabry. Head Coach Lance Leipold has been impressed with how Rohach has handled himself during a difficult season for the senior. "He could have mentally checked out after the Albany game," Leipold said, "but he's a man of character, he's a great teammate."…Jordan Johnson is seven yards away from passing O.D. Underwood for 6th on UB's all-time rushing list. He is 116 yards away from his first 1,000 yard season. Johnson is 5th in the MAC in rushing, and his 100 yard performance against Miami was the 6th 100 yard game of his career…Mason Schreck's first catch will be the 100th of his career. Against Miami, Schreck had a career-high 10 catches. In the 2013 game at Western Michigan, redshirt freshman Schreck had a touchdown catch from Joe Licata…Malcolm Robinson also played in that game, and had his first career catch…Slow starts continue to plague the Bulls offense. Opponents have scored first in every game this season, and the Bulls have been outscored 81-10 in the first quarter…While the Broncos offense has the stars and gets most of the attention, the defense has been very good all season long. It's easy to play defense when the offense scores 44 points a game, but the defense is only giving up 19…They have forced 19 turnovers, part of WMU's +15 turnover margin, which leads the nation…Cornerback Darius Phillips has three interceptions, and all three he's returned for touchdowns…Linebacker Robert Spillane is the team's leading tackler, and the MAC's 7th leading tackler…Fellow linebacker Asantay Brown is the second-leading tackler. He is Tyree Jackson's cousin, and caught many of Tyree's passes at Mona Shores High School…Defensive end Keion Adams is the top defensive lineman. His 12 tackles for loss are 2nd in the MAC. His 5.5 sacks are 7th…The Broncos defense has given up some yards on the ground. Kent State's Nick Holley ran for 141 yards in the Broncos last game. WMU has allowed four 100-yard rushers this season.
Bullseye on: Buffalo Defense
This will be the biggest test of the season for the Bulls defense. This is by far the best offense UB will face this season. In QB Zach Terrell, RB Jarvion Franklin and WR Corey Davis, Western Michigan features three of the best players in the MAC and among the top players in the country….Terrell has thrown for 23 touchdowns and just 1 interception. He completes 70% of his passes. He is under consideration for the Heisman Trophy. I'm not sure any Bulls fan would have expected that the last time they saw Terrell. He made his first career start against UB in 2013. In that game, he was intercepted twice and harassed by Khalil Mack. Saturday will be Terrell's 43rd career start. He's in the MAC's all-time top 10 in passing yards, touchdowns and completion percentage…46 of Terrell's 86 career TD passes have gone to Davis. That's second all-time for a QB-WR combination. The six-foot-three Davis is among the best receivers to ever play in the MAC. His next TD catch will set the conference's record for TD catches. Davis already owns the yardage mark. He is just 191 yards from the FBS record for career yards. Davis's stats this season (62 catches-1029 yards-14 TD) lead the MAC. He is incredibly athletic, and has made a number of highlight-reel one-handed catches. Nearly every NFL Draft preview has him listed as a first or second round pick….Franklin was the MAC's Player of the Year as a freshman. His junior year has been just as good. He's run for 1152 yards and 10 TD. Franklin's on a streak of six straight 100 yard games. The 6-0, 228 pound junior is the MAC's 2nd leading rusher…Backup Jamauri Bogan did not play last game due to an ankle injury, but he's a speedy and shifty alternative who is 8th in the conference in rushing…The Broncos offensive line has used the same five starters all season long. They average 309 pounds. Right tackle Taylor Moton is an Outland Trophy candidate…The Broncos offense leads the nation in red zone scoring, converting an amazing 46 of 48 trips into scores, including 38 touchdowns…WMU's offense is outscoring opponents 115-52 in the first quarter…Brandon Crawford's play against Miami was one of the most amazing I have ever seen. Crawford literally yanked the ball out of QB Gus Ragland's hands, and ran it in for his second career touchdown. On the play, the senior defensive end was credited with a sack, forced fumble, fumble recovery and touchdown. Crawford has 6.5 tackles for loss over the last 4 games, and now 10.5 on the season…Boise Ross did not play against Miami, and Leipold says his status for a matchup with Davis will be determined by how much Ross can "fight through" his leg injury…Tatum Slack made his second start in the last three games, and could start again this week…Leipold singled out Cameron Lewis for how well he's played this season. With Ross' injury, the sophomore has become the Bulls #1 cornerback….A good first few series for the Bulls defense could be huge. This season, opponents have scored on eight of their ten first possessions.
Bullseye on: Uniform Watch
While the national trend started with Oregon and their Nike connection, Western Michigan was one of the first MAC teams to embrace the uniform combination trend. Now, every college football team has various looks, and the Bulls are part of that trend. In 10 games, the Bulls have not worn the same uniform combination twice. With 3 jerseys (Blue, Black, White), 2 pants (Black, White), 3 helmets (Black, Blue, White), 4 facemasks (Black, White, Blue, Chrome) and 6 different helmet logos, there are thousands of UB uniform combinations. The decisions on what to wear each week are made by Head Coach Lance Leipold, in consultation with Assistant AD for Equipment Megan Prunty. You'll have to wait until kickoff to see if there's another new combination in store for the national TV audience watching against the Broncos.
Bull Session Trivia Answer: At the 2008 MAC Championship, the Bulls beat the 12th ranked Ball State Cardinals in a huge upset and the biggest win in UB school history. Until Saturday's game against Western Michigan, it's the highest ranked MAC team the Bulls have ever played. Bonus question answer: The Ohio State Buckeyes in 2013 and the Auburn Tigers in 2006 were ranked #2 when they faced the Bulls.
Please join me, color analyst Jim Kubiak, sideline reporter Scott Wilson, game host Brad Riter and postgame host Bob Gaughan for the broadcast on the Bulls Football Network. Our pregame show starts at 2:30pm. You can hear it in Buffalo on ESPN 1520 (www.espn1520.com). A link to the online broadcast is also available at http://www.ubbulls.com/video/test-live2.
