Buffalo (3-3, 1-1 MAC) vs. UMass (4-2, 1-2 MAC)
October 17, 2026
Broadview Stadium – 1:00 pm
Bulls on the Air
Radio
Buffalo – ESPN 1520
Television
ESPN+
Storylines
• This is the second year Buffalo and UMass will play for the Flagship Cup. The Bulls won the inaugural cup, 28-21, last season at UMass.
• Buffalo leads the all-time series, 10-6. The Bulls have won five of the six meetings with both teams members of the Mid-American Conference.
• Messiah Burch has rushed for over 100 yards in three straight games. He is looking to become the first UB running back to rush for 100 yards in four straight games since Jaret Patterson in 2019. Patterson rushed for over 100 yards in the final six games of that season.
• After committing nine turnovers in their four non-conference games, the Bulls have committed zero turnovers in their two MAC games.
• The Bulls have only allowed one passing touchdown in the last three games and none in MAC play.
• Through six games, Buffalo has only allowed one 100-yard rusher. Penn State’s
Quinton Martin rushed for exactly 100 yards against the Bulls on Sept. 19.
• Buffalo’s next win will be the 18th for head coach Pete Lembo‘s – tying him with Doc Ulrich (1966-68) for eighth in program history.
Bulls Battle UMass for Flagship Cup on Saturday
The University at Buffalo football team will host UMass on Saturday afternoon in the annual Flagship Cup game.
Buffalo is 3-3 overall, 1-1 in the MAC and is coming off a 23-8 win at Toledo last Saturday. The Bulls were led by running back Messiah Burch who rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown in the game.
UMass is 4-2 overall, 1-2 in the MAC and is coming off a 20-19 loss to Miami (OH) last Saturday. The Minutemen are led by quarterback Pop Watson who has thrown for 820 yards and seven touchdowns on the season.
Buffalo leads the all-time series, 10-6. The Bulls won the last meeting, 28-21, at UMass last season.
Flagship Cup Rivalry
Saturday’s meeting between Buffalo and UMass will be for the Flagship Cup – one of college football’s newest rivalry trophies.
The Flagship Cup is named in recognition of both universities’ standing as the flagship institution of their respective states.
The rivalry dates back to 1964. Buffalo leads the all-time series, 10-6. The Bulls won the inaugural cup in thrilling fashion, scoring a touchdown with just 19 seconds left to defeat the Minutemen, 28-21, at McGuirk Stadium last season.
Sweet Burch
Messiah Burch has come into his own as a running back in recent weeks. Over the last three games, the senior back is averaging 130 yards per game.
The 389 yards over the last three games is more than his rushing total from his first 22 career games combined (294).
He became the first UB running back since Dylan McDuffie in 2021 to rush for 100 yards in three consecutive games (143 vs. Ohio, 108 vs. Akron, 166 vs. Bowling Green).
After an injury-plagued season in 2025, Burch looks to have returned to his 2024 form when he averaged 5.3 yards per carry as a reserve running back.
Wright on Target
Jason Wright continues to improve at quarterback for the Bulls.
He saw his first action in the second half at FIU when season starter Elijah Holmes exited the game with an injury.
Over this last three starts, Wright has completed 52 percent of his passes while averaging 160 passing yards per game.
He has also done damage with his legs. Against Robert Morris, Wright rushed for 95 yards – the most by a UB quarterback since Matt Myers ran for 110 yards against Kent State in 2022.
He had a rushing touchdown in Buffalo’s win at Toledo.
Not So Fast
The UB defense has been stout against the run this season, especially lately.
In their first two conference games, the Bulls held Western Michigan and Toledo, two of the league’s top offenses, to 115 and 110 yards, respectively.
Penn State’s Quinton Martin (100) is the only player to rush for 100 yards against the Bulls this season.
Take a Chance
Wide receiver Chance Morrow is off to a tremendous start to the season. The fifth-year transfer from Louisville, now in his fourth season with the Bulls, has 34 receptions for 414 yards and six touchdowns so far on the season.
It’s truly a breakout season for Morrow who had 16 receptions for 258 yards and two touchdowns over his first three seasons at Buffalo combined.
Against Albany, Morrow became the first Buffalo player to total three touchdown catches in a game since All-MAC receiver Anthony Johnson had three touchdown receptions against Miami (OH) in 2018.
His 11 receptions at FIU were the most by a UB player since Justin Marshall had 11 against Georgia Southern in the 2022 Camellia Bowl. His 173 receiving yards were the eighth most for a single game in Buffalo’s FBS era (since 1999).
Turnover Margin
Buffalo can link taking care of the football with its improved play in recent games.
The Bulls committed nine turnovers over the first four games of the season, including three each against FIU and Robert Morris. Over the last two games, against Western Michigan and Toledo, UB didn’t commit a single turnover.
The Bulls also did a better job forcing turnovers at Toledo. After forcing only two turnovers in the first five games, the Bulls forced three fumbles in their win against the Rockets.
Running Down a Dream
Buffalo rushed for 302 yards in its victory over Robert Morris. It was just the second time in the last five seasons the Bulls eclipsed 300 yards rushing in a game. They rushed for 370 yards against St. Francis in 2025.
All 302 yards were gained by just three players. Messiah Burch (146), Jason Wright (95) and Nino Hill (64) all rushed for career highs in the game.
Ethan Punt
Punter Ethan Stumpf is off to a record-breaking start to the season. The junior punter leads the MAC in punting, averaging 46.8 yards per punt. Of his 37 punts, 12 have sailed over 50 yards, including a season-long 72-yard punt against Western Michigan.
The program record for single-season punt average is 44.7, set by Dylan Drennan in 2025.
Close Calls
Buffalo’s 20-17 loss to Western Michigan last week was another one-score game for the Bulls. Ten of UB’s last 16 games, dating back to last season, have been decided by one score. The Bulls are 5-5 in those ten one-score games.
Your Friend the Tight End
If the first six games are any indication, Buffalo will be utilizing the tight end a lot more in 2026. Newcomers Clint Walker (13 rec., 110 yds) and Trevor Wilson (5 rec., 52 yds) have combined for 18 receptions on the season.
In 2024 and 2025, tight ends combined for 15 catches for those entire seasons.
Only one tight end has caught a touchdown over the last four seasons – Andrew Schnackenberg at Kent State in 2023.
New Faces
Buffalo has 54 new players on the roster from a season ago. Of the new faces, 23 are transfers and 31 are freshmen.
There were 22 newcomers on the week-one depth chart.
Elijah Holmes (QB), Clint Walker (TE), Logan Goodwin (Edge), Zach Bergmann (LB), Stevie Bracey (LB) and Joseph Stoever (LS) all started the season opener.
New Coordinators
Coach Lembo has new coordinators on offense, defense and special teams entering this season. Offensive coordinator Tony Tokarz and special teams coordinator Garrett McLaughlin are new to the staff while defensive coordinator Brian Dougherty was elevated from safeties and nickels coach.
Tokarz came to Buffalo from Florida State where he spent the past six seasons, including the previous four as quarterbacks coach. Prior to Florida State, Tokarz was tight ends coach at Memphis where he coached with Lembo.
A native of Orchard Park, McLaughlin returned to Western New York after spending the past two seasons as special teams coordinator and defensive line coach at Columbia.
Dougherty is in his third season on Lembo’s staff and first as defensive coordinator. He previously served as defensive coordinator at both the University of Indianapolis and Valparaiso.
Six Bulls Named to Phil Steele’s Preseason All-MAC Team
Six University at Buffalo football players have been named to Phil Steele’s Preseason All-MAC Team.
Wide Receiver Jasaiah Gathings was named to the first team. Safety Miles Greer was named to the second team. Defensive tackle Cornell Evans and nickel SaVeon Brown were named to the third team. Tight end Clint Walker and cornerback Kobi Blackwell were named to the fourth team.
Gathings is in his second year with the program after transferring from UConn. The graduate receiver had 36 catches for 410 yards and three touchdowns in 2025.
Greer is also in his second year with the program after transferring from Shepard University. In 2025, he ranked third on the team in tackles with 74 and added three tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
Evans, who has started 16 games over the last two seasons, had 14 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in 2025.
Brown had 52 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in 2025.
Walker is a newcomer to the program after transferring from Davenport University. He spent four seasons with the Panthers and was an All-Conference selection in 2025.
Blackwell had a breakout season for the Bulls in 2025. The redshirt-sophomore had a team-high seven pass breakups in 2025 and added 20 tackles and an interception.
It’s Broadview Stadium Now
Thanks to a partnership with Buffalo Athletics and Broadview Federal Credit Union, Broadview Stadium is the new name of the former UB Stadium. The landmark agreement will have the Broadview name on both the stadium and arena for the next 15 years.
Bulls Picked Sixth in Preseason Poll
Buffalo was picked to finish sixth in the Mid-American Conference preseason poll according to the MAC head coaches.
Western Michigan was picked first with 138 points, followed by Miami (134), Toledo (115), Ohio (107), Central Michigan (101), Buffalo (81), Eastern Michigan (76), Kent State (64), Bowling Green (59), Akron (52), Ball State (34), Sacramento State (28) and Massachusetts (25).
Western Michigan was selected as the preseason favorite to win the MAC Championship.
On The Airwaves
Again this season, University at Buffalo football can be heard locally on ESPN 1520, a 50,000-watt station with one of the strongest signals in the nation. Calling all the play-by-play action of Bulls football for his 27th year, and 19th consecutive, will be Paul Peck. Scott Wilson is back for his 10th season as analyst. Brad Riter also returns as game host.
The UB Football postgame show will once again be hosted by Bob Gaughan.
