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The Buffalo Bulls will have to take on Miami without their starter Alex Zordich. Zordich has been nursing injuries for some time and it was apparent at points in the Toledo game that the pain was affecting his throwing motion. Against the Rockets Joe Licata came in and played a decent fourth quarter.
Paul Peck tweeted that Buffalo head Coach Jeff Quinn has decided that this week, due to that same injury, Licata will get the start against Miami.
| OPP | CMP | ATT | CMP% | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan State | 1 | 2 | 50.0% | 28 | 1 | 0 |
| Kent State | 1 | 3 | 33.0% | 21 | 0 | 1 |
| @Ohio | 5 | 10 | 50.0% | 36 | 0 | 0 |
| @Northern Illinois | 9 | 20 | 45.0% | 86 | 0 | 0 |
| Toledo | 5 | 11 | 45.5% | 68 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 21 | 46 | 45.7% | 239 | 2 | 1 |
Licata has seen action in all but three games. Licata played in each of UB conference games and their home opener against Morgan State.
It's been against the last two opponents that the Williamsville South Graduate and Western New York Record holder has seen the most action.
Last week Zordich came in off the bench and drove Buffalo down the field to come within a score before giving up a fumble after being blindsided on a potential go ahead drive.
Licata is stylistically the exact opposite of Alex Zordich. Where Zordich is a solid running quarterback who is not a great passer Licata has a strong arm but can't do too much damage with his legs. The rockets exposed Licata's immaturity with the game ending blitz but the freshman was also hindered by the Buffalo coaching staffs decision to abandon the run in the fourth quarter.
How the Buffalo staff will adjust the offense to compensate for Licata's lack of mobility will be key as UB finally has their starting tailback, and entire compliment of receivers all healthy for the first time since the Kent State game.