The bye week has finally ended and it’s almost time to get back to watching football. This week the Bulls will be squaring off with the Nevada Wolfpack in an attempt to forget about their awful 22-16 loss to the Albany Great Danes (Who just made the top-25 poll in the FCS).
Like Buffalo, Nevada has struggled to start the season. The Wolfpack took two overtimes to finally put away FCS Cal Poly and just got stomped by #18 Notre Dame 39-10. This is a game where both opponents have a good shot at winning and will be crucial in how the rest of their seasons go.
Below are three players to watch for in this week’s matchup:
James Butler: Running back
Quick Facts:
- 5-9. 210 lbs.
- Junior
- Rushed for 1,153 yards and 8 touchdowns last year.
So a lot of you should remember how awful our defense was against Nevada’s run game last year. Well, they bring back the same 1000 yard rusher for this year’s matchup. James Butler is easily the biggest offensive threat that the Bulls will have to face.
What to watch for: UB’s last matchup saw this guy go for 177 yards and a touchdown. It would be a huge improvement if he’s held to 100 or less.
Tyler Stewart: Quarterback
Quick Facts:
- 6-4 220 lbs.
- Senior
- Threw for 2,139 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions last season.
Stewart absolutely struggled with the passing game in his last matchup with the Bulls and threw for a measly 90 yards. Besides this performance, he enjoyed a relatively successful season by leading Nevada to a bowl win.
What to watch for: It’ll be interesting to see if Borland’s defense can clamp down on the passing game again because that kept Buffalo in the hunt last year. If they’re able to do that with ease, the run game will be the only concern.
Dameon Baber: Cornerback
Quick Facts:
- 5-11, 180 lbs.
- Sophomore
- Picked off 6 throws last year and defended 8 passes in his freshman season.
Baber had an incredible freshman year for the Wolfpack and racked up second team All-Mountain West honors. The sophomore comes back with preseason All-Mountain West accolades.
What to watch for: Buffalo threw a whopping three interceptions in their game versus Albany. If the Bulls can prevent any of those from happening in this game — particularly to Baber — that would be a good sign.