The Bulls football team (2-2) defeated the Temple University Owls (2-1) 38-22 at UB Stadium on Saturday night.
UB relied on their defense and run game in a matchup where it was heavily favored to lose. The Bulls bounced back from a rocky start, giving up an interception and a touchdown in the first drives of the game. But a huge second quarter for both their offense and defense blew the game open. After losing two in a row, this game is a huge confidence booster going into conference play.
After coming out of the first quarter down 7-0, it wasn’t looking good for the Bulls.
Then their running game broke out.
The Bulls ran for 243 yards and four touchdowns in the game, three of those coming in the second quarter. UB then went on to score 31 unanswered points.
Jaret Patterson and Kevin Marks carried the running game, running for 214 yards and three touchdowns combined. Patterson credits his success to the offensive line.
“Hats off to them, they did their thing today,” Patterson said. “They do a great job each and every week.”
The duo also made school history by being the first running backs since Nov. 7, 2015 to each carry the ball 20 times in a game.
UB’s run game flourished because of its defense, holding off the Owls until the Bulls were too far out of reach. UB had three interceptions this game after failing to have any in the three previous games this season, one of which was taken all the way in by Joey Banks for a pick six.
The defensive line heavily pressured the Owls, which resulted in three sacks and a fumble. Banks credits them for the secondary’s success.
“They were causing havoc up front which trickled down to the secondary and their quarterback was just throwing money out there and we were taking it.”
This performance severely limited the output from Temple quarterback Anthony Russo, who ended with only 25 completions of 51 attempts on the night.
Temple didn’t go out easy though, putting up a fight toward the end of the game. The Owls scored a total of 15 points in the third quarter and into the fourth, after not responding to the Bulls for the better part of three quarters.
It wasn’t enough to come back though, with the Bulls easily securing the win in the final minutes despite desperate efforts from the Owls.
Getting a win against a tough opponent like the Owls is important for this young Bulls team going into conference play.
“This is a great win, a huge win, this builds confidence,” Patterson said. “We’re still finding our identity so we can make a strong statement in conference play.”
UB faces the Miami Redhawks (1-3) next week. The Bulls have a 7-14 record against the Redhawks, with UB being the last to win in the match-ups.
The sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com
Myah Gonzalez is an asst. sports editor at The Spectrum.
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
