AMHERST, N.Y. — While the final result for the University at Buffalo football team wasn't what it hoped for, the Bulls are encouraged by much of what they saw in their 38-17 season-opening defeat at No. 19 Wisconsin on Saturday.
The Bulls won the turnover battle 2-0, allowed no sacks, trailed by four at the half after having chances to take the lead, and managed to hang close for most of a game Wisconsin was favored to win by four touchdowns.
"It showed that we've got a lot of heart on this team and that we're just going to battle no matter what the situation is," said UB quarterback Cole Snyder. "We were down at the end of the game, we were still battling. I thought the offense showed a lot of good flashes and it's something to build off. The defense made a couple of really nice plays, a couple of turnovers, so that was really good to see."
UB hopes to carry those positives into this week's home opener against Fordham.
Thanks to prior experience, the Bulls won't be overlooking the Rams just because of Fordham playing in the FCS. UB hosted Holy Cross, another FCS school, last year in the Bulls' home opener. Holy Cross won the game 37-31 on a 46-yard touchdown pass as time expired.
"Obviously, we can talk from past experiences, we lost to an FCS team last year," Snyder said. "Coach DJ (Mangas, offensive coordinator) always talks about nameless, faceless. It doesn't matter who we're playing. If it's Georgia, the number one team in the country, or if it's Wisconsin, the 19th team in the country, or if it's an FCS team, we're not going to take anyone lightly. We talk about process a lot here, and our process doesn't change no matter who the opponent is. "
What will change from Week 1 is the venue though, with the Bulls excited to return to UB stadium to play in front of their home crowd for the first time this season.
"We have a number of guys who we feel like, this is UB. This is Buffalo's team," said head coach Maurice Linguist. "Our team is this city's team. It's Western New York's team. We feel like it's the state of New York's team, and we never take it for granted being able to come back home."
A home environment the Bulls hope will be buzzing with energy on Saturday.
"We had a lot of donors go with us last week to Madison, to Camp Randall, and I think they're certainly excited to be back home as well. Our students have their first game experience, so let's pack out this stadium. Let's be loud, let's be proud. We're going to wear blue, and we're looking forward to having an exciting night."
Buffalo and Fordham kick off Saturday at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
