YPSILANTI, Mich. — The local quarterback out of Southwestern High School, Cole Snyder, threw for two touchdowns, ran for two more as the Buffalo Bulls beat Eastern Michigan 50-31 on Saturday.
The teams combined to score on the first 10 possessions, the 10th a Buffalo touchdown for a 37-31 lead in the third quarter when Snyder found Jamari Gassett alone down the left sideline for a 65-yard play.
The first punt came after that, and though Mitchell Tomasek's kick left Buffalo at its 1, the Bulls drove for an Alex McNulty field goal. They added another to lead 43-32 after EMU (2-2, 0-1 Mid-American Conference) turned the ball over on downs. The Bulls scored on their first nine possessions.
The Bulls (1-3, 1-0) avoided their first 0-4 start since 2005 and snapped a seven-game losing streak.
Snyder, a transfer from Rutgers, was 19-of-28 passing for 291 yards. Quian Williams had 93 yards receiving and a score. Mike Washington ran for two touchdowns.
EMU's Austin Smith, who took over for injured Taylor Powell in last week's 30-21 win over Arizona State, made his first career start and passed for a TD and ran for another. Samson Evans, who rushed for 258 yards on 36 carries against the Sun Devils, had just 52 yards on 15 carries against the Bulls. Tanner Knue had 106 yards receiving.
The game began with consecutive touchdowns with Williams, who transferred from EMU before the 2021 season, reaching the 1 on a 59-yard pass play to set up Buffalo's first score. EMU followed with Jaylon Jackson's 89-yard kickoff return. The back-and-forth scoring resulted in a 30-24 Bulls halftime lead.
Meanwhile, former Bulls' head coach Lance Leipold, now the head coach at University of Kansas, has led the Jayhawks to their first 4-0 start since 2009. Kansas beat 35-27.
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