Gridiron Report Card: The Spectrum grades the Bulls' failed comeback against Army

Quarterback: C+

The Good: Junior quarterback Joe Licata threw for 396 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. All five of his touchdowns came in the second half, where the Bulls’ passing attack was nearly unstoppable.

The Bad: Most of that production came with the game out of reach. Licata could not move the offense effectively in the first half, which helped lead to Buffalo’s large deficit.

In addition to setting a career-high in touchdowns, Licata threw a career-high three interceptions. After the game, Licata said, “If you want to win at the Division I level, your quarterback can’t throw three interceptions in one game,” and he was right. All three of his interceptions led directly to Army touchdowns.

Running backs: B

The Good: All three running backs – juniors Anthone Taylor and Devin Campbell and sophomore Jordan Johnson – all averaged at least 4.5 yards a carry. Campbell was effectively catching passes out of the backfield again Saturday, as he caught two of Licata’s final three touchdowns.

The Bad: The Bulls had to abandon the run in the second half because of the deficit, but the running backs were effective when they were in the game.

Wide receivers and tight ends: C

The Good: More Buffalo receivers were involved this week after the team relied heavily on junior wide receiver Ron Willoughby last week.

Junior wide receiver Marcus McGill caught six passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns – all career-highs. McGill made a great play in the third quarter when he took a screen pass from Licata down the sideline for a 65-yard touchdown.

The Bad: Willoughby dropped a pass that would have given Buffalo a first down on its first drive of the second half. Three plays later, on fourth down, the Bulls elected to go for it. Johnson threw a pass to a wide-open Matt Weiser on a trick play. The junior tight end dropped the pass, resulting in a turnover on downs.

Buffalo did not get its tight ends involved in the game again this week, with sophomore tight end Mason Schreck’s 9-yard catch being the group’s lone production for the day.

Offensive-line: B+

The Good: The offensive line did not give up a sack on Licata and generally kept the quarterback upright. They opened up holes in the running game before Buffalo had to abandon the run when they fell behind.

The Bad: Senior left tackle Jack Silas was called for a false start penalty early in the third quarter that made it first and 15. Licata was picked off on the next play.

Run defense: F

The Good: The only thing Buffalo did well in this category on Saturday was force and recover two Army fumbles.

The Bad: Army ran for 341 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns; those numbers speak for themselves. Buffalo never had an answer for the Black Knights’ triple-option offense, consistently missing gap assignments and tackles. The Bulls actually won the time of possession battle against a clock-controlling team, but it did not matter as Army had runs of 57, 45 and 41 yards.

Pass defense: F

The Good: There was nothing the pass defense did well Saturday. Army quarterbacks went 7 for 7 for 125 yards.

The Bad: Army quarterback Angel Santiago completed less than half (46 of 93) of his passes and threw for only 596 yards in all 12 games last season. He was 6 for 6 for 96 yards against Buffalo Saturday. Even the Black Knights’ backup quarterback completed a 29-yard pass that should have easily been intercepted.

Army is not a passing team, but even it could pass against Buffalo.

Special teams: B

The Good: The Bulls recovered an onside kick attempt in the fourth quarter that helped them cut the lead to 47-31. Buffalo blocked two extra points, which ended up being crucial as it allowed the Bulls to be within one possession of Army at the end of the game. A high snap went over junior punter Tyler Grassman’s head in the second quarter. Grassman picked up the ball and impressively still got off the punt and it was downed on Army’s 12-yard line.

The Bad: Senior kicker Patrick Clarke missed a 35-yard field goal in the second quarter that would have pulled Buffalo within one point. The Bulls converted just one of its four onside kick attempts.

Coaching: D

The Good: At least Buffalo got creative and called a trick play on fourth down. It just wasn’t executed as Weiser dropped the pass.

The Bad: Buffalo was completely unprepared for Army’s triple-option. Head coach Jeff Quinn said before the game that the team had been preparing or Army’s running game since before this week’s practices, but it did not show on the field.

Quinn made a questionable decision on Buffalo’s final offensive play. The Bulls faced a fourth down on their own 32-yard line, trailing by eight with a little more than 30 seconds remaining. Quinn chose to run the ball up the middle with Taylor instead of putting the ball into the hands of Licata, who was coming off three-straight touchdown drives.

Even if Taylor converted the first down on the ground, Buffalo had no timeouts so they would have wasted time lining up to spike the ball. If Buffalo had completed a pass and the receiver was tackled in bounds, at least the Bulls would have been further down field.

email: sports@ubspectrum.com