The complete collapse of both of these teams since 2008 takes a lot of the fun out of this contest. Both teams are out of any kind of meaningful race (save staying out of the basement).
For Buffalo this is the first of three very winnable games while UB's offense has struggled it did so mostly against Temple and NIU, two of the best teams in the conference. BSU's limited offensive success has come against Akron, CMU, and SEMO.
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| Actual | Conf | National | Category | Actual | Conf | National | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 122.44 | 7 | 94 | Rushing Offense |  |
156.5 | 4 | 55 | |
| 185 | 6 | 85 |  |
Passing Offense | 151.4 | 12 | 111 | |
| 307.44 | 10 | 107 | Total Offense | |
307.9 | 9 | 106 | |
| 15.11 | 12 | 117 | Scoring Offense | |
22.3 | 8 | 92 | |
| 151.78 | 7 | 63 | |
Rushing Defense | 185.8 | 11 | 93 | |
| 116.23 | 4 | 32 | |
Pass Efficiency Defense | 138.24 | 11 | 89 | |
| 342.67 | 4 | T-40 | |
Total Defense | 419.4 | 10 | 92 | |
| 30.11 | 9 | 88 | |
Scoring Defense | 30.3 | 10 | 89 | |
| 32.34 | 13 | 113 | Net Punting | |
36.44 | 4 | 60 | |
| 16.75 | 1 | 7 | |
Punt Returns | 8.81 | 4 | 55 | |
| 20.08 | 8 | 98 | Kickoff Returns | |
21.31 | 6 | 70 | |
| -0.56 | 10 | 99 | |
Turnover Margin | -0.8 | 12 | 111 | |
| 190.89 | 2 | 29 | |
Pass Defense | 233.6 | 11 | 88 | |
| 89.26 | 13 | 120 | Passing Efficiency | |
109.56 | 10 | 106 | |
| 1.56 | 8 | T-86 | |
Sacks | 1.3 | 12 | 103 | |
| 6.11 | 3 | 49 | |
Tackles For Loss | 4.3 | 13 | 110 | |
| 2.67 | 8 | 94 | Sacks Allowed | |
1.4 | 3 | 35 | |
Where there is real reason to worry is the upswing of BSU's running game. Lewis is finally getting on track during his final year with the cards. The emergence of multiple threats from the cards means that Coach Parrish might be able to finally get his passing game going, a passing game that has been almost as bad as Buffalo's.
Ball State may be the worst defense that UB has played this season. The Cards are ranked 10th or lower in the conference in every measurable defensive category, if ever Alex Zordich was going to have a breakout game *this* could be the one. Not only does Ball State have a tepid pass rush but their secondary has done next to nothing against some pretty woeful opposition.
If Buffalo wants to start winning they need to make some Hey early in this game. On thing the Cards have done reasonably well this season is getting on the board Early, there is a real risk that the Cards run away with this is if they come out strong and UB does not start playing until 20 minutes in.