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99 for 99 - #27 - Jeff Quinn's First Win

Everything changed, but UB showed no sign of slowing down.

Kevin Hoffman-US PRESSWIRE

99 for 99 takes a look at the 99 biggest moments in UB Football history during this season, the 99th season of UB Football. These moments are not in any order, however the top 10 moments have been saved for last.

September 2, 2010 - Buffalo 31, Rhode Island 0 - Jeff Quinn's Debut is a win. Jerry Davis throws 4 TD passes in his first UB start.

In both 2002 and 2003, Buffalo lost to FCS teams, times had changed under Turner Gill, but with a new coach and quarterback any confidence would be blind trust.

Buffalo started slow, kicking a field goal on one drive, fumbling away another. On defense Rhode Island moved the ball but the defense held in the red zone. Buffalo led 3-0 after one quarter, and Buffalo fans began to wonder where the high-octane spread offense was.

Rhode Island drove deep into UB territory again, but they were thwarted once again, this time by Josh Thomas who grabbed a deflected ball near the end zone and returned it back out near the 20. From there, Jerry Davis' aerial assault began. Davis hit freshman Alex Neutz for 35 and 31 yards and capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Ed Young.

After a Jerry Davis Interception, Rhode Island threatened again. This time their drive ended on a sack and forced fumble by Steven Means, one of 5 sacks on the day. Jerry Davis capitalized on the turnover in one throw, a 38 yard beauty to Marcus Rivers for his second touchdown pass of the day. After a 3-and-out where Buffalo aggressively used all their timeouts to stop the clock, Buffalo got the ball back with 87 seconds remaining. Jerry Davis only needed 38 seconds, he completed a 21 yard pass to Alex Neutz to send Buffalo into the locker room up 24-0.

Rhode Island returned the 2nd half kickoff 68 yards, but the defense again held strong and the shutout was maintained when Rhode Island's Louis Feinstein missed a 29-yard field goal. That would be the last time Rhode Island threatened in the game. A little later, Davis hit Terrell Jackson for a 17-yard touchdown, his fourth TD pass, each to a different receiver.

With 4 TD passes, Davis tied Marty Barrett, Drew Willy and Zach Maynard for 3rd most TD passes in a single game in UB history (1977-present) (Alex Zordich later matched that effort in 2012 with 4 TD passes against Morgan State). His 302 yards passing was the 11th highest yardage amount in UB's D-1 era.

With the win, Quinn became the third of the last four head coaches to win their debut:
Craig Cirbus defeated Fordham 49-13.
Jim Hofher fell to Rutgers 15-31.
Turner Gill defeated Temple 9-3 in OT.
Jeff Quinn defeated Rhode Island 31-0.

Quinn also became the first coach since Jim Wilson in 1950 to shutout a team in his UB coaching debut.