2018 College Football Team Previews: Buffalo Bulls
Buffalo Bulls
Location: Buffalo, NY
Coach: Lance Leipold (13-23 @UB, 122-29 overall) 4th Season
Stadium: UB Stadium (Capacity: 29,013)
CSJ Projections:
5th: MAC (3rd in East Division)
3rd: New York
86th: FBS
92nd: Division I
2017 In A Sentence: The Bulls won the final three games of the season to finish 6-6 and gain bowl eligibility for just the third time as an FBS program but were shutout from getting a bowl bid– the Bulls loses were by a close margin, losing all six games by a combined 29 points, with their worst loss by only 10 points.
Biggest Shoes to Fill: DE Demone Harris last year had the best season of his career. He led the Bulls in both sacks (5) and tackles for loss (9.5) to go along with 55 tackles and two forced fumbles. Harris was an All-MAC Second Team selection following the 2017 season. He finished his career with 108 tackles, 9.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss. He signed a free agent contract with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past spring.
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Key Player: WR Anthony Johnson is coming off a breakout season with the Bulls and looks to have even better senior season this year. In 2017, he had 76 catches for 1,356 and a school-record 14 touchdowns. He ranked second in the nation in receiving yards per game (113.0) and third in receiving touchdowns (14). The All-MAC First Team selection had six games of 140 or more receiving yards which was tops in the country.
Fearless Prediction: The Bulls play at Ohio and Bowling Green might eliminate division title thoughts, but this should be Coach Leipold’s best team. While last year’s bowl-eligible squad couldn’t secure a postseason bid, look for the Buffalo to gain their first bowl bid since 2013.
Originally from LaMoure, North Dakota, Kent is a 1996 graduate of North Dakota State University. His prior writing experience is over 15 years having previously worked with D2football.com, I-AA.org, and College Sporting News before coming to College Sports Journal in 2016. His main focus is college football is the Missouri Valley Football Conference within the Division I FCS. And in 2017, he began also to look at the FBS Group of Five conferences of the American Athletic, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, and Sun Belt.
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