# 2023 Buffalo Bulls football team

The 2023 Buffalo Bulls football team represented the University at Buffalo in the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulls were led by third-year coach Maurice Linguist and played their home games at the University at Buffalo Stadium as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 3–9 and 3–5 in conference play
The Buffalo Bulls football team drew an average home attendance of 13,142 in 2023.

## Preseason
### Preseason polls
#### Coaches Poll

On July 20, the MAC announced the preseason coaches poll. Buffalo was picked to finish third in the East. They received one vote to win conference.
East :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Ohio | 63 (9) |
| 2 | Miami | 52 (2) |
| 3 | Buffalo | 51 (1) |
| 4 | Bowling Green | 35 |
| 5 | Akron | 26 |
| 6 | Kent State | 19 |
West :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Toledo | 66 (11) |
| 2 | Eastern Michigan | 55 (1) |
| 3 | Northern Illinois | 38 |
| 4 | Central Michigan | 37 |
| 5 | Ball State | 27 |
| 6 | Western Michigan | 23 |
Coaches poll (MAC Championship) :
| Rank | Team | Votes |
| 1 | Toledo | 7 |
| 2 | Ohio | 4 |
| 3 | Buffalo | 1 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 19 Wisconsin* | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | FS1 | L 17–38 | 76,224 |
| September 9 | 6:00 p.m. | Fordham* | UB StadiumBuffalo, NY | ESPN+ | L 37–40 | 15,854 |
| September 16 | 12:00 p.m. | Liberty* | UB StadiumBuffalo, NY | CBSSN | L 27–55 | 13,020 |
| September 23 | 7:30 p.m. | at Louisiana* | Cajun FieldLafayette, LA | ESPN+ | L 38–45 | 17,674 |
| September 30 | 12:00 p.m. | at Akron | InfoCision Stadium–Summa FieldAkron, OH | ESPN+ | W 13–10 $^{OT}$ | 5,490 |
| October 7 | 2:00 p.m. | Central Michigan | UB StadiumBuffalo, NY | ESPN+ | W 37–13 | 12,093 |
| October 14 | 3:30 p.m. | Bowling Green | UB StadiumBuffalo, NY | ESPN+ | L 14–24 | 15,196 |
| October 21 | 3:30 p.m. | at Kent State | Dix StadiumKent, OH | ESPN+ | W 24–6 | 11,735 |
| October 31 | 7:30 p.m. | at Toledo | Glass BowlToledo, OH | ESPN2 | L 13–31 | 14,939 |
| November 7 | 7:30 p.m. | Ohio | UB StadiumBuffalo, NY | ESPN2 | L 10–20 | 11,444 |
| November 15 | 7:00 p.m. | at Miami (OH) | Yager StadiumOxford, OH | ESPN2 | L 10–23 | 7,561 |
| November 21 | 7:30 p.m. | Eastern Michigan | UB StadiumBuffalo, NY | ESPN2 | L 11–24 | 11,243 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||
Source

## Game summaries
### at No. 19 Wisconsin

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulls | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| No. 19 Badgers | 7 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 38 |
at Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, Wisconsin
* Date: September 2, 2023
* Game time: 2:30 p.m.
* Game weather: 88 °F (31 °C); Sunny; Wind at S13 MPH
* Game attendance: 76,224
* Referee: Kole Knueppel
* TV announcers (FS1): Eric Collins (play-by-play) and Devin Gardner (analyst)
* Box score
After a strong first half showing by the Bulls where they played Wisconsin down to the wire, the Badgers pulled away and routed the Bulls 38-17.
| Statistics | UB | WISC |
| First downs | 14 | 23 |
| Plays–yards | 71–316 | 71–503 |
| Rushes–yards | 30–122 | 40–314 |
| Passing yards | 194 | 184 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 26–41–0 | 24–31–2 |
| Time of possession | 27:24 | 30:26 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Buffalo | Passing | Cole Snyder | 26/41, 194 yards, 2 TD |
| Buffalo | Rushing | Mike Washington | 12 carries, 52 yards |
| Buffalo | Receiving | Darrell Harding, Jr. | 1 reception, 51 yards |
| Wisconsin | Passing | Tanner Mordecai | 24/31, 189 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT |
| Wisconsin | Rushing | Chez Mellusi | 13 carries, 157 yards, 2 TD |
| Wisconsin | Receiving | Will Pauling | 5 receptions, 55 yards |

### Fordham

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rams | 3 | 17 | 6 | 14 | 40 |
| Bulls | 14 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 37 |
at University at Buffalo Stadium • Amherst, New York
* Date: September 9, 2023
* Game time: 6:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C); Cloudy; Wind at NE5 MPH
* Game attendance: 15,854
* Referee: Rich Edwards
* TV: ESPN+
* Box score
| Statistics | FOR | UB |
| First downs | 27 | 23 |
| Plays–yards | 79–459 | 60–362 |
| Rushes–yards | 43–150 | 30–97 |
| Passing yards | 309 | 265 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 23–36–0 | 24–30–0 |
| Time of possession | 34:10 | 25:36 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Fordham | Passing | C. J. Montes | 23/36, 309 yards, 5 TD |
| Fordham | Rushing | Julius Loughridge | 20 carries, 106 yards |
| Fordham | Receiving | MJ Wright | 7 receptions, 159 yards, 1 TD |
| Buffalo | Passing | Cole Snyder | 24/30, 265 yards, 3 TD |
| Buffalo | Rushing | Mike Washington | 13 carries, 57 yards, 2 TD |
| Buffalo | Receiving | Marlyn Johnson | 7 receptions, 105 yards, 2 TD |

### Liberty

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Flames | 10 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 55 |
| Bulls | 0 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 27 |
at University at Buffalo Stadium • Amherst, New York
* Date: September 16, 2023
* Game time: 12 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C); Sunny
* Game attendance: 13,020
* Referee: Greg Sujack
* TV announcers (CBSSN): Jason Knapp (play-by-play); Malik Zaire (analyst)
* Boxscore
| Statistics | LIB | UB |
| First downs | 20 | 22 |
| Plays–yards | 65–569 | 81–363 |
| Rushes–yards | 36–225 | 30–87 |
| Passing yards | 344 | 276 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 16–29–0 | 29–51–2 |
| Time of possession | 28:35 | 31:25 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Liberty | Passing | Kaidon Salter | 16/26, 344 yards, TD |
| Liberty | Rushing | Kaidon Salter | 10 carries, 66 yards, TD |
| Liberty | Receiving | Treon Sibler | 3 receptions, 106 yards, TD |
| Buffalo | Passing | Cole Snyder | 29/51, 276 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT |
| Buffalo | Rushing | Mike Washington | 11 carries, 37 yards |
| Buffalo | Receiving | Nik McMillan | 4 receptions, 72 yards, TD |

### at Louisiana

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulls | 0 | 0 | 21 | 17 | 38 |
| Ragin' Cajuns | 7 | 3 | 21 | 14 | 45 |
at Cajun Field • Lafayette, Louisiana
* Date: September 23, 2023
* Game time: 7:30 p.m.
* Game weather: 93 °F (34 °C); Cloudy; Wind at SW5 MPH
* Game attendance: 17,674
* Referee: Jeremy Parker
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Dan McDonald (play-by-play) and Eric Mouton (analyst)
* Boxscore
| Statistics | UB | ULL |
| First downs | 19 | 24 |
| Plays–yards | 79–373 | 67–518 |
| Rushes–yards | 44–178 | 38–269 |
| Passing yards | 195 | 249 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 18–35–2 | 22–29–2 |
| Time of possession | 33:21 | 26:39 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Buffalo | Passing | Cole Snyder | 17/34, 198 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT |
| Buffalo | Rushing | Mike Washington | 13 carries, 88 yards |
| Buffalo | Receiving | Cameron Ball | 2 receptions, 51 yards |
| Louisiana | Passing | Zeon Chriss | 22/29, 249 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT |
| Louisiana | Rushing | Dre'lyn Washington | 13 carries, 103 yards |
| Louisiana | Receiving | Charles Robertson | 4 receptions, 58 yards |

### at Akron

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Bulls | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| Zips | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
at InfoCision Stadium–Summa Field • Akron, Ohio
* Date: September 30, 2023
* Game time: Noon
* Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C); Sunny; Wind at SW5 MPH
* Game attendance: 5,490
* Referee: Andrew Speciale
* TV: ESPN+
* Boxscore
| Statistics | UB | AKR |
| First downs | 16 | 15 |
| Plays–yards | 68–248 | 52–258 |
| Rushes–yards | 34–106 | 25–122 |
| Passing yards | 142 | 136 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 20–34–0 | 19–27–0 |
| Time of possession | 33:22 | 26:38 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Buffalo | Passing | Cole Snyder | 19/34, 142 yards, 1 TD |
| Buffalo | Rushing | Ron Cook | 17 carries, 62 yards |
| Buffalo | Receiving | Chance Morrow | 2 receptions, 45 yards |
| Akron | Passing | DJ Irons | 19/26, 136 yards, 1 TD |
| Akron | Rushing | DJ Irons | 16 carries, 100 yards |
| Akron | Receiving | Myles Walker | 4 receptions, 40 yards |

### Central Michigan

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Chippewas | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
| Bulls | 10 | 13 | 14 | 0 | 37 |
at University at Buffalo Stadium • Amherst, New York
* Date: October 7, 2023
* Game time: 2:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C); Cloudy; Wind at SW12 MPH
* Game attendance: 12,093
* Referee: Rich Edwards
* TV: ESPN+
* Boxscore
| Statistics | CMU | UB |
| First downs | 21 | 18 |
| Plays–yards | 74–360 | 67–355 |
| Rushes–yards | 25–80 | 35–123 |
| Passing yards | 280 | 232 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 28–49–3 | 20–32–0 |
| Time of possession | 27:43 | 32:17 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Central Michigan | Passing | Jase Bauer | 28/49, 280 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT |
| Central Michigan | Rushing | Jase Bauer | 6 carries, 31 yards |
| Central Michigan | Receiving | Marion Lukes | 7 receptions, 73 yards |
| Buffalo | Passing | Cole Snyder | 20/32, 232 yards |
| Buffalo | Rushing | Ron Cook | 11 carries, 53 yards, 2 TD |
| Buffalo | Receiving | Boobie Curry | 4 receptions, 74 yards |

### Bowling Green

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 10 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Bulls | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
at University at Buffalo Stadium • Amherst, New York
* Date: October 14, 2023
* Game time: 3:30 p.m.
* Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C); Rain; Wind at SW8 MPH
* Game attendance: 15,196
* Referee: David Siegle
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Doug Sherman, Je'Rod Cherry
* Boxscore
| Statistics | BGSU | UB |
| First downs | 13 | 18 |
| Plays–yards | 59–295 | 66–238 |
| Rushes–yards | 43–218 | 37–167 |
| Passing yards | 77 | 71 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 9–16–2 | 9–29–4 |
| Time of possession | 33:28 | 26:32 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Bowling Green | Passing | Camden Orth | 9/16, 77 yards, TD, 2 INT |
| Bowling Green | Rushing | Terion Stewart | 25 carries, 123 yards |
| Bowling Green | Receiving | Austin Osborne | 3 receptions, 59 yards |
| Buffalo | Passing | CJ Ogbonna | 4/14, 41 yards, TD, 2 INT |
| Buffalo | Rushing | Ron Cook | 12 carries, 47 yards |
| Buffalo | Receiving | Darrell Harding Jr. | 2 receptions, 39 yards, TD |

### at Kent State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulls | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
| Golden Flashes | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
at Dix Stadium • Kent, Ohio
* Date: October 21, 2023
* Game time: 3:30 p.m.
* Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C); Cloudy; Wind at W13 MPH
* Game attendance: 11,735
* Referee: Matt Packowski
* TV: ESPN+
* Boxscore
| Statistics | UB | KENT |
| First downs | 15 | 10 |
| Plays–yards | 67–331 | 61–164 |
| Rushes–yards | 34–136 | 35–86 |
| Passing yards | 195 | 78 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 18–33–1 | 12–26–1 |
| Time of possession | 31:58 | 27:53 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Buffalo | Passing | Cole Snyder | 18/33, 195 yards, TD, INT |
| Buffalo | Rushing | Jacqez Barksdale | 10 carries, 85 yards |
| Buffalo | Receiving | Marlyn Johnson | 5 receptions, 64 yards |
| Kent State | Passing | Michael Alaimo | 7/14, 51 yards |
| Kent State | Rushing | Jaylen Thomas | 17 carries, 65 yards |
| Kent State | Receiving | Chrishon McCray | 5 receptions, 52 yards |

### at Toledo

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulls | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
| Rockets | 14 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
at Glass Bowl • Toledo, Ohio
* Date: October 31, 2023
* Game time: 7:30 p.m.
* Game weather: 33 °F (1 °C); Snow; Wind at E7 MPH
* Game attendance: 14,939
* Referee: Andrew Speciale
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Clay Matvick (play-by-play) and Aaron Murray (analyst)
* Boxscore
| Statistics | UB | UT |
| First downs | 18 | 13 |
| Plays–yards | 85–324 | 53–355 |
| Rushes–yards | 44–173 | 34–179 |
| Passing yards | 151 | 176 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 14–41–2 | 12–19–1 |
| Time of possession | 34:44 | 25:16 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Buffalo | Passing | Cole Snyder | 14/41, 151 yards, TD, 2 INT |
| Buffalo | Rushing | Ron Cook | 17 carries, 97 yards |
| Buffalo | Receiving | Darrell Harding, Jr. | 2 receptions, 44 yards |
| Toledo | Passing | Dequan Finn | 12/19, 176 yards, TD, INT |
| Toledo | Rushing | Peny Boone | 12 carries, 125 yards, TD |
| Toledo | Receiving | Anthony Torres | 4 receptions, 84 yards, TD |

### Ohio

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| Bulls | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
at University at Buffalo Stadium • Amherst, New York
* Date: November 7, 2023
* Game time: 7:30 p.m.
* Game weather: 45 °F (7 °C); Clear; Wind at 15 MPH
* Game attendance: 11,444
* Referee: Jeremy Valentine
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Jay Alter (play-by-play) and Tom Luginbill (analyst)
* Boxscore
| Statistics | OHIO | UB |
| First downs | 15 | 14 |
| Plays–yards | 51–236 | 64–295 |
| Rushes–yards | 30–115 | 41–114 |
| Passing yards | 121 | 181 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 14–21–0 | 16–23–0 |
| Time of possession | 27:50 | 29:24 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Ohio | Passing | Kurtis Rourke | 14/21, 121 yards |
| Ohio | Rushing | Sieh Bangura | 17 carries, 78 yards, 2 TD |
| Ohio | Receiving | Tyler Walton | 6 receptions, 62 yards |
| Buffalo | Passing | Cole Snyder | 14/21, 171 yards |
| Buffalo | Rushing | Ron Cook | 16 carries, 48 yards |
| Buffalo | Receiving | Boobie Curry | 4 receptions, 66 yards |

### at Miami

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulls | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| RedHawks | 0 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 23 |
at Fred C. Yager Stadium • Oxford, Ohio
* Date: November 15, 2023
* Game time: 7:05 p.m.
* Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C); Clear; Wind at SW3 MPH
* Game attendance: 7,561
* Referee: Greg Sujack
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Mike Corey (play-by-play) and Rocky Boiman (analyst)
* Boxscore
| Statistics | UB | MIAMI |
| First downs | 12 | 13 |
| Plays–yards | 61–278 | 52–326 |
| Rushes–yards | 44–131 | 36–180 |
| Passing yards | 147 | 146 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 7–17–0 | 9–16–0 |
| Time of possession | 30:08 | 29:52 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Buffalo | Passing | Cole Snyder | 6/14, 120 yards |
| Buffalo | Rushing | CJ Ogbonna | 16 carries, 50 yards, TD |
| Buffalo | Receiving | Marlyn Johnson | 1 reception, 80 yards |
| Miami | Passing | Aveon Smith | 9/16, 146 yards |
| Miami | Rushing | Rashad Amos | 15 carries, 82 yards, 2 TD |
| Miami | Receiving | Javon Tracy | 5 receptions, 123 yards |

### Eastern Michigan

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 7 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Bulls | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 11 |
at University at Buffalo Stadium • Amherst, New York
* Date: November 21, 2023
* Game time: 7:30 p.m.
* Game weather: 40 °F (4 °C); Rain
* Game attendance: 11,243
* Referee: Billy Williams
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Matt Schick (play-by-play) and Dustin Fox (analyst)
* Boxscore
| Statistics | EMU | UB |
| First downs | 21 | 18 |
| Plays–yards | 73–367 | 58–337 |
| Rushes–yards | 46–226 | 30–163 |
| Passing yards | 141 | 174 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 19–27–0 | 12–28–0 |
| Time of possession | 34:52 | 24:37 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Eastern Michigan | Passing | Austin Smith | 19/27, 141 yards, TD |
| Eastern Michigan | Rushing | Samson Evans | 22 carries, 127 yards, TD |
| Eastern Michigan | Receiving | JB Mitchell | 7 receptions, 75 yards |
| Buffalo | Passing | Cole Snyder | 11/26, 135 yards |
| Buffalo | Rushing | Ron Cook CJ Ogbonna | 10 carries, 43 yards, TD 6 carries, 43 yards |
| Buffalo | Receiving | Marlyn Johnson | 4 receptions, 80 yards |