2018 DOLLAR GENERAL BOWL
Buffalo (10-3, 7-1 MAC) vs. Troy (9-3, 7-1 Sun Belt)
Saturday, December 22, 2018 • 7:00 pm ET • Mobile, Ala. • Ladd-Peebles Stadium (40,646)
ESPN Announcers: Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Ahmad Brooks (analyst), Roddy Jones (sideline)
Watch Live
Buffalo Notes: MAC Notes:
Buffalo set a program record with its 10 wins in a single season since moving to FBS and joining the MAC in 1999. Fourth-year head coach Lance Leipold has the Bulls bowl eligible for the second consecutive year. Buffalo will be making its third bowl appearance in program history (2009 International Bowl; 2013 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl). Buffalo suffered a 30-29 loss to NIU in the 2018 Marathon MAC Football Championship Game on Nov. 30.
Bulls Notes:
• The Bulls are playing in their third bowl game in school history.
• Buffalo is looking to win its first bowl game. The Bulls lost to Connecticut, 38-20, in the 2009 International Bowl and lost to San Diego State, 49-24, in the 2013 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
• Buffalo’s 10 wins are the most in school history for a single season.
• Not only will this be Buffalo’s first ever meeting with Troy, it will be the program’s first matchup with any team from the Sun Belt Conference.
• This will be the second time in school history Buffalo will play a game in the state of Alabama. The Bulls played at Auburn in 2006.
• Tyree Jackson is 143 yards shy of becoming just the second quarterback in school history to throw for 3,000 yards in a season (Drew Willy threw for 3,304 in 2008).
• Anthony Johnson is 56 yards shy of 1,000 on the season. It would make him just the third player in school history to have two 1,000-yard receiving seasons in a career.
• Jaret Patterson is 54 yards shy of 1,000 on the season. Already, holding the Buffalo freshman rushing record, Patterson would be the first freshman in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
• Tyree Jackson’s 27 touchdown passes are two shy of the single-season school record. Joe Licata holds the school record with 29 in 2014.
• The Bulls are the only team in the nation to have a freshman score a touchdown in every game this season.
Gold Rush: Through 13 games, the Bulls have already broken the school record for rushing touchdowns in a season. Buffalo has scored 34 rushing touchdowns on the year, shattering the previous record of 27 set back in 2008 (over 14 games). Jaret Patterson leads the team with 13 touchdowns, Kevin Marks has 12, Tyree Jackson has seven and Em- manuel Reed and Theo Anderson each have one.
Setting the Tone: The Bulls have scored touchdowns on their first or second possession in nine of 13 games this season. In addition, Buffalo has scored first-quarter points in all but one game this year (Toledo). The Bulls are averaging 10.5 points in the opening quarter of games and have outscored their opponents 137-58 in the first quarter this season.
Scoring Pace: The Bulls have put together their highest-scoring season in school history. Buffalo has scored 452 points, breaking the previous school record of 424 set in 2008 over 14 games. In addition, UB has scored a school-record 62 touchdowns on the year breaking the previous record of 55 also set in 2008.
Big Play Bulls: The Bulls have made a habit of creating big plays this season. In fact, UB has had a play of at least 44 yards in 10 of their last 11 games. They have had touchdown plays of 70+ yards in four different games.
Serve and Protect: The UB offensive line has done a tre- mendous job this season. The Bulls have only allowed 12 sacks on the year, easily a low for a single season as a FBS program. The previous low for a season was 16 in 2014 and 2015. Buffalo uncharacteristically allowed five sacks against Toledo and four against Northern Illinois. The Bulls have not allowed a sack in nine games this season.
Center of Attention: Buffalo center James O’Hagan has started every game of his career and will make his 50th career start when the Bulls face Troy in the Dollar General Bowl. Only one other player in school history has started 50 ca- reer games. Former offensive lineman Pete Bittner started 50 games for the Bulls be- tween 2007 and 2010.
