99 for 99: Instant Classic - Week 8 - The Return of the Return

The 99th season of UB football began September 1st in Athens and continues this Saturday as the Bulls take on the Massachusetts Minutemen at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. 99 4 99 will run until the MAC Championship game on November 30th. During the Season, the 99 for 99 Instant Classic will immortalize the best moment from the previous game, and let you, the reader decide the best moment of the season.

October 27, 2012 - Buffalo 20, Toledo 25 - Cortney Lester becomes the first UB Defensive Back to return an interception for a touchdown since Mike Newton.

The return gave Buffalo a 14-0 lead over Temple in what turned into a 42-7 rout of the Owls. 5 years later, the Bulls had no semblance of the offense they enjoyed in 2007. UB managed only 9 points in the previous two games while the defense allowed 34 points per game in the previous 3 games.

Now Buffalo faced the high-powered Toledo Rockets, something would have to change for the Bulls to compete.

The best thing to change (besides Quarterback) would be the turnover margin, the Bulls were -11, snagging only 2 interceptions all year.

Halfway through the first quarter Buffalo's offense continued to sputter when a Toledo pass glanced off the hands of the receiver into the waiting hands of Cortney Lester. Lester sprinted down the sidelines and slowed down to a controlled trot into the endzone before the Toledo offense (and the camera crew) could react.

Lester's effort was classic for two reasons. Historically, it was the first interception return for a touchdown by a UB defensive back in over five years, since Mike Newton's return in Philadelphia. Secondly, the score gave Buffalo a 7-0 lead which seemed to turn the season around. Buffalo fell 25-20, but sparked by the Lester Pick-6, the Bulls put together their best all-around effort all season.