UB football: 3 games to watch this season
On Thursday, Pete Lembo coaches his first game at UB after more than seven months of building a roster, installing offensive and defensive schemes and crafting the program into his own vision.
3 must-see games
1. Thursday vs. Lafayette: Pete Lembo coaches his first game at UB after more than seven months of building a roster, installing offensive and defensive schemes and crafting the program into his own vision. The Bulls look to improve on a 3-9 season in 2023, and it’s a first look at a team that returns 10 starters, including seven on defense, and has added more than 20 transfers and seven new coordinators and assistant coaches. It’s also a chance for some necessary redemption, as UB looks for its first win against a Football Championship Subdivision program since 2021 after last-minute losses to Fordham in 2023 and Holy Cross in 2022.
University at Buffalo receiver Nik McMillan makes a catch during the first half against Liberty in September 2023. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
2. Nov. 12 vs. Ball State: Call this one Lembo Bowl. Lembo faces the program he coached from 2011-15 for the first time as a head coach, and it’s the first time since 2021 that the Bulls have faced Ball State; the Cardinals ended the Bulls’ season with a 20-3 loss that year in Muncie, Indiana. By November, the Bulls will be well into the thick of the Mid-American Conference schedule. By this point in the season, they’ll have a sense of whether or not they’ll be bowl-eligible, and if there’s a possibility for playing for a MAC championship, as the top two teams in the 12-team conference earn berths in the title game Dec. 7 in Detroit.
3. Nov. 20 at Eastern Michigan. The Eagles thumped UB 24-11 in the regular-season finale for both teams in November, which helped Eastern Michigan earn bowl eligibility. Cole Snyder, UB’s starting quarterback the last two seasons, is now at Eastern Michigan and is the likely starter for the Eagles in the MACtion game at Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The Southwestern High graduate threw for 5,139 yards – fifth all-time at UB – and 31 touchdowns in 2022 and ’23, but his role diminished in the second half of last season.