8 Weeks to kickoff: UB's first win at Oxford

#56 UB Football Game

November 18, 2009 - UB 42, Miami 17

The 3-7 Bulls failed to do what the 2008 Bulls excelled at, winning close games. UB lost to WMU late in overtime. Bowling Green beat UB on a last minute TD drive. The previous week UB rallied from from a 21-7 deficit to tie the game at 24, only to surrender the game winning field goal with 85 seconds remaining in the game.

Report Card and Thoughts: Miami

I will take a win over one of the worst teams in football

Had UB won those games, they would have been 6-4 (4-2), and while that means Temple would have won the MAC East, (which is bad), it also means UB would have gone to back to back bowl games. UB won their final two games and they would have finished 8-4, an unprecedented back-to-back 8 win seasons. Maybe UB wins their first bowl game. Maybe Gill stays for another year of winning ball at UB rather than taking a total rebuild job at Kansas. Maybe Gill leaves but the 16 win momentum gives Warde the foresight to promote Danny Barrett.

In a game more memorable for the what ifs of the season, UB dominated a team that has traditionally dominated the Bulls. Yager Stadium was an awful place for UB to play, but in 2009 UB broke through that barrier. In the five UB games at Yager before 2009, UB was 0-5 and outscored by a combine 218-58. Since 2009, UB is 2-1 at Yager winning by a combined 99-65.

Miami dominated the game early, but the defense played strong. Mike Newton caught an interception in the end zone, to keep the score locked at 0-0 after one quarter. After a Miami field goal, Zach Maynard went 3 for 3 for 38 yards and Brandon Thermilus ran twice for 30 yards and a TD to give UB a 7-3 lead. On the next drive, Thermilus ran three more times for 63 yards and a TD.

With 86 seconds left in the half, Zach Maynard orchestrated a perfect 52-yard TD drive scoring with 13 seconds left. Maynard was 5 for 5 passing for 48-yards before finishing the drive with a 2-yard run for the TD. Up 21-3 at the half, UB cruised to a 42-17 victory.

With 10 tackles, a fumble recovery and a safety, it was another signature game in the career of senior safety Mike Newton. Maynard finished 13 for 18 for 136 yards, a passing TD and a rushing TD. While not his flashiest game, he was under control. Maynard was not sacked, he had no interceptions and no fumbles. Without the negative plays UB was able to put up their highest point production of the season. The game to put UB at 4-7 was meaningless, however it gave UB fans hope that Maynard would be a better QB in 2010.