Buffalo (6-3, 4-1 MAC) at Ball State (3-6, 2-3 MAC)
November 11, 2026
Scheumann Stadium – 7:30 pm
Bulls on the Air
Radio
Buffalo – ESPN 1520
Television
ESPN2
Storylines
• The Bulls are looking to win their fifth straight game. It would be their longest win streak since winning the final five games of 2024.
• A win would make the Bulls bowl eligible for the ninth time in program history and first time since 2024.
• Buffalo is looking for just its second win at Ball State. The Bulls are 1-5 all-time at Scheumann Stadium with their lone win coming in 2017.
• Pete Lembo was the head coach at Ball State from 2011-15.
• Messiah Burch is 99 yards shy of becoming the 12th different player in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
• Clint Walker’s next touchdown catch will be his fourth of the season and tie Mason Schreck (2016), Matt Weiser (2014) and Chad Bartoszek (2001) for the school record for touchdown receptions by a tight end in a season.
• Chance Morrow is just the third receiver in program history to have 11 or more catches in two different games of the same season, joining Drew Haddad (1998) and Anthony Johnson (2017). No UB receiver has ever had 11 or more receptions in three games in a season.
• Quarterback Jason Wright is coming off his best game as a Bull, throwing for a career-high 358 yards and two touchdowns at Miami (OH).
• Under Pete Lembo, the Bulls are 9-2 in MAC road games.
Midweek MACtion Continues on Wednesday at Ball State
The University at Buffalo football team will travel to Ball State on Wednesday night in search of their fifth straight win.
Buffalo is 6-3 overall, 4-1 in the MAC and is coming off a 34-31 overtime win at Miami (OH) last Tuesday. The Bulls were led by wide receiver Chance Morrow who had 12 receptions for 199 yards and two touchdowns in the game.
Ball State is 3-6 overall, 2-3 in the MAC and is coming off a 31-30 overtime loss at UMass last Wednesday. The Cardinals are led by quarterback Keldrick Luster who has thrown for 1,482 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season.
Ball State leads the all-time series, 11-3. The Cardinals won the last meeting, 51-48 in overtime, at Broadview Stadium in 2024.
Welcome Back
Head Coach Pete Lembo is returning to Ball State for the first time since he served as the Cardinals head coach from 2011-15. He had a 33-29 record at Ball State.
Lembo’s Ball State Highlights
• Only coach since Paul Schudel (1985-94) to have a winning record.
• 19 wins in consecutive seasons (2012-13) is tied for the most in school history (2007-08, 1977-78).
• Took Ball State to the 2012 Beef O’ Brady’s Bowl and 2013 GoDaddy.com Bowl.
• Coached four different players in the BSU Hall of Fame – Willie Snead, Jahwan Edwards, Keith Wenning and Sean Baker.
• Four of Ball State’s five all-time wins against current P4 or former BCS programs came under Lembo.
• Coached the Cardinals to a 28-25 victory over Buffalo in 2011.
Sack Lunch
Buffalo’s defense has done a much better job getting to the quarterback in recent games.
The Bulls have 10 sacks over the last three games. UB only had seven sacks over the first six games of the season.
The Bulls had their best game at Miami (OH) when they posted five sacks and nine tackles for loss.
Two players who have stepped up recently are edges Sedrick Vessah and Will Clark.
Vessah posted his first career sack against Toledo on Oct. 10 and has had 3.5 sacks in the last four games.
Clark hadn’t had a career sack until the Bowling Green game on Oct. 24. He has had 3.5 sacks in the last two games.
Sweet Burch
Messiah Burch has come into his own as a running back in recent weeks. Over the last six games, the senior back has rushed for 801 yards – averaging 133.5 yards per game.
To put that in perspective, Burch rushed for a total of 294 yards over the first 22 games of his career
He currently leads the MAC in rushing, averaging 100.1 yards per game.
Burch became the first UB running back since Jaret Patterson in 2019 to rush for 100 yards in five consecutive games.
He is 99 yards shy of becoming the 12th different running back in program history to rush of 1,000 yards in a season and the first since Al-Jay Henderson in 2024.
Wright on Time
On paper, quarterback Jason Wright’s stats look quite pedestrian. However, the sophomore quarterback has come up clutch in the two-minute drill in five of the last six games.
With UB trailing Robert Morris, 14-7, with 1:41 left in the first half, Wright drove the Bulls 65 yards in just 32 seconds to tie the game at halftime. He had an 18-yard pass completion and three rushes for 47 yards, including a 25-yard TD.
The next week against Western Michigan, the Broncos took a 24-21 lead with 1:18 left in the game. Wright marched the Bulls down to the 2-yard line on two carries for 12 yards and completing three passes for 51 yards. Unfortunately, the drive stalled at the 2-yard line.
UMass took an 18-15 lead over UB with 1:57 left in the fourth quarter. Wright calmly marched to Bulls down the field for the game-tying field goal that sent the game to overtime where the Bulls eventually won. He completed six passes for 46 yards and added two carries for 17 yards on the drive.
Buffalo trailed Bowling Green, 14-7, with 1:55 left in the first half. Wright drove the Bulls 63 yards down the field on two runs for 47 yards and completed two passes for 17 yards, including a 14-yard TD pass to Clint Walker to tie the game at the half.
Trailing by a touchdown at Miami (OH), Wright drove the Bulls 80 yards and scored the tying TD on a two-yard run with 1:35 left to force overtime.
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 53 receptions for 679 yards and eight touchdowns so far on the season. He leads the MAC in receptions per game (5.13), receiving yards per game (75.44) and touchdowns (8).
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.
He had 11 receptions for 173 yards at FIU and 12 receptions for 199 yards at Miami (OH). He is just the third wide receiver in program history to have 11+ catches in two different games of the same season, joining Drew Haddad (1998) and Anthony Johnson (2017).
High Five
Tight end Clint Walker is putting up numbers that haven’t been seen by a UB tight end in quite some time.
The fifth-year tight end has 22 receptions on the season, good for second on the team. His 22 receptions are the most by a UB tight end since Tyler Mabry had 27 receptions in 2018.
Walker had his first two touchdown catches, including the game-winner in overtime, in UB’s win over UMass. He became the first UB tight end to catch a touchdown pass since Andrew Schnackenberg at Kent State in 2023. Walker was the first UB tight end to catch two touchdowns in a game since Zac Lefebvre in 2019.
He has three touchdown receptions on the season. His next touchdown will tie him with Mason Schreck (2016), Matt Weiser (2014) and Chad Bartoszek (2001) for the single-season record for touchdown receptions by a tight end.
Point Production
Since MAC play has started, the Bulls have scored points in all but one quarter over the five games. The third quarter against Western Michigan was the only of the 22 quarters of MAC play Buffalo didn’t produced points.
Close Calls
Buffalo’s 34-31 win over Miami (OH) last week was yet another one-score game for the Bulls. 13 of UB’s last 19 games, dating back to last season, have been decided by one score. The Bulls are 8-5 in those 13 one-score games.
Taking Turns
Every turnover forced by the Buffalo defense this season has been by a different player. The four interceptions are by four different players. The seven forced fumbles are by seven different players. The five fumble recoveries are by five different players.
OH My!
First-year starting kicker Oliver Hautanen has been very reliable for the Bulls this season. The sophomore kicker has made 15 field goals on the season – the most of any kicker in the Mid-American Conference. He is tied for fourth in program history for made field goals in a season.
He made three field goals in wins over Toledo and UMass, becoming the first UB kicker to make three field goals in consecutive games since Alex McNulty made four at Coastal Carolina and three at Eastern Michigan in 2022.
Hautanen drilled a 52-yard field at FIU on his first career attempt. It tied for the sixth longest field goal in program history.
He was named the MAC Special Teams Player of the Week after his three field goal performance against UMass.
Keeping it Clean
Buffalo didn’t commit a single penalty in its win over Bowling Green on October 24. The Bulls are one of just two teams this season not to commit a penalty in a game. Indiana also didn’t commit a penalty in a victory over Rutgers on October 3.
I Love the 70s
70 seems to be the magic number for the Buffalo offense this season. The Bulls are 5-0 when they run 70 plays and 1-3 when they run less than 70 plays.
Buffalo ran 80 plays against UAlbany, 91 plays against Robert Morris, 78 against Toledo, 79 against UMass and 79 against Miami.
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 ranks fourth in the MAC in punting, averaging 45.1 yards per punt. Of his 50 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.
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.
