Buffalo Upends Kent State 41-14
11/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Kent State University football team pushed out to a 14-0 lead late in the second quarter at the University at Buffalo, but the Bulls scored 41 straight points from the end of the first half to secure a 41-14 victory over the Golden Flashes here today (Nov. 4).
Kent State had built a two-touchdown lead when sophomore quarterback Julian Edelman scored from six yards out, his second rushing touchdown of the game. But Buffalo turned the tide of the game late in the first half when it took over on its own 48-yard line with 0:23 to play in the half and came away with a field goal.
From there, the Bulls scored three straight touchdowns on consecutive drives that were a combined 10 plays. UB needed five plays to go 78 yards to make it 14-10. Then after a fumble on Kent State's next play from scimmage, Buffalo took a lead it would not surrender at the 9:54 mark of the third quarter, when it struck on a 21-yard touchdown reception on the very next play after the fumble. That put Buffalo up 17-14, and the Bulls did not look back.
Another Kent State turnover set Buffalo up deep in Flashes' territory, and UB needed four plays to take a 24-14 lead midway through the third quarter. It was 21 points in a span of 3:02 for the Bulls. Buffalo added a field goal late in the third quarter to make it 27-14.
Any chance at a Kent State comeback attempt was foiled by two fourth quarter interceptions, one of which Buffalo turned into a one-play scoring drive that made it 34-14. The Bulls had six scoring drive of five plays or less, including three one-play touchdown drives. The Bulls added a late touchdown in the fourth quarter to close the scoring.
Tony Paoli, playing for the injured Drew Willy, hit 14-of-20 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown, while James Starks ran for 162 yards and three touchdowns.
Edelman hit 16-of-29 passes for 190 yards, but was intercepted twice. He also had 50 yards on 16 carries for two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman running back Eugene Jarvis ran for 64 yards on 12 attempts, while freshman wideout Phil Garner had four catches for 48 yards.
Kent State is next in action when it plays at Virginia Tech, Saturday, Nov. 11. Game time is 3:30 p.m., which was adjusted from a 1:30 kickoff for live television on ESPNU.
NOTES: Senior wideout Najah Pruden moved into fifth place all-time at Kent State with 106 career receptions... He has 1,980 career yards, second all-time... Junior cornerback Jack Williams notched his 10th career interception, moving into a tie for seventh all-time... The 41 points Buffalo scored were more than twice as many the most the KSU defense had allowed in any game since the season-opener against Minnesota... Sophomore returner Shawn Bayes averaged 34.0 yards on four kickoff returns... Sophomore Derek Burrell had a career-best 10 tackles to lead the Golden Flashes.
