Gridiron report card: Central Michigan

The Buffalo football team struggled in many areas throughout the entire game, and it resulted in one of the worst team performances by the Bulls in recent memory in a 51-14 blowout loss to Central Michigan on Saturday. The Bulls are now 2-4 and lost their third game in a row.

We graded Buffalo’s performance.

Quarterbacks: D

By the end of the game, third-string freshman quarterback Chris Merchant was in the game by coach’s decision.

The quarterbacks disappointed on Saturday as seniors Joe Licata and Tony Daniel combined for 149 passing yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The interceptions were not turning points for the game by any means - Licata’s came with a 30-point deficit and Daniel’s was halfway through the fourth quarter.

Licata did throw over 50 percent passing and had a nifty 34-yard toss to Willoughby for Buffalo’s only passing score.

Running backs: C

Three Buffalo running backs combined for 26 touches and 92 yards in a day where the Central Michigan defensive front shined. Senior Anthone Taylor rushed for a team-high 52 yards on 13 carries, while junior Jordan Johnson ran for 23 yards on nine touches.

They couldn’t capitalize on what was supposed to be a sub par defensive line. The longest run of the day was a 12-yard scamper by Taylor. No rusher found the end zone.

Wide receivers and tight ends: C

There’s so much the receivers can do when quarterbacks only throw 28 passes on the day, but the unit held its own.

The highlight of the receivers came on a nifty 34-yard touchdown pass to senior Ron Willoughby, but was overshadowed by the unnecessary celebration penalty. The penalty led to a quick Chippewa touchdown on the next drive.

Senior tight end Matt Weiser looked more like his former self from the Jeff Quinn system, hauling in four catches for 29 yards. Junior tight end Mason Schreck tacked on another 22 yards.

Offensive line: C+

The young offensive line of Buffalo did a poor job in run blocking, but its pass blocking was, by far and none, a huge step in the right direction.

The running backs numbers speak for themselves while the unit allowed four tackles for losses. But Licata was only sacked once and actually had some time in the pocket to make a play happen on multiple occasions. The line isn’t all there yet, but this growing core will only get better.

Defensive line: D

Junior Brandon Crawford is the only reason this unit didn’t receive an ‘F.’

Aside from the defensive tackle’s sack and pass breakup, the defensive line didn’t do anything to make an impact in Saturday’s game. The non-existent pass rush gave plenty of time for Central Michigan quarterback Cooper Rush to develop plays, en route to another impressive performance.

Linebackers: B-

Based on today's result, you would think the unit didn’t do much, but two of the tree top tacklers on the day were linebackers.

Senior Nick Gilbo and junior Brandon Berry combined for 19 tackles and two tackles for losses in a game that was essentially over by the end of the first half. Senior Okezie Alozie only accumulated one tackle and was out for the majority of the game.

Secondary: B

Freshman defensive back Andrews Dadeboe secured his nod for defensive player of the game in less than six seconds.

Dadeboe picked off Rush early in the fourth quarter and took it back for a 17-yard return for a touchdown. The game was still out of reach, but it added a little spark to a struggling defense.

Other than that, nothing else stood out. Senior cornerback Marqus Baker had 10 tackles, but he had his miscues, including blown coverage on a pass play which resulted in a touchdown for Central Michigan in the fourth quarter.

Rush threw for 313 yards and four touchdowns and found five different wideouts.

Special teams: C

Freshman placekicker Adam Mitcheson didn’t have an opportunity to score other than two extra points while senior punter Tyler Grassman was held to four punts, including one of those punts being blocked for a safety score for the Chippewas.

Kickoff coverage was the problem for Buffalo on Saturday. The kickoff unit allowed an average of 26 yards per kick return. Each time the Bulls kicked off after a touchdown, Central Michigan secured good field position, resulting in their own touchdown.

Coaching: C+

Buffalo was simply outplayed on Saturday, and it was evident after the first quarter. The Bulls repeated their standard first-half antics with a -30 point scoring margin after a dominant Chippewa display.

Head coach Lance Leipold mismanaged possession of time, but stuck to his balanced run-pass system. It’s hard to criticize that. Neither side did anything special, so there was no clear-cut right answer on which unit to use.

The Bulls are riding a three-game losing streak, something Leipold is not used to. Buffalo needs to regain focus and move on to Ohio next week.

Jordan Grossman is the co-Senior Sports Editor and can be reached at jordan.grossman@ubspectrum.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jordanmgrossman