INSIDE SLANT

Buffalo tabbed another from their seemingly bottomless pool of quality tailbacks—this time junior Brandon Thermilus, who rolled up 126 yards and three touchdowns, both career highs—as the Bulls broke a three-game losing streak to defeat Miami (Ohio), 42-17, in front of a sparse crowd at Yager Stadium.

The Bulls’ offense started slowly until Thermilus peeled off 93 yards and two touchdowns on just five first-half carries, helping the Bulls to a 21-3 lead.

It was a productive night for Thermilus in what has been an uneven junior season. The son of former Houston Oilers running back Alonzo Highsmith was chosen by coach Turner Gill to replace record-setting tailback James Starks after the Niagara Falls High product went down with a season-ending shoulder injury in August.

“It definitely feels good to be healthy and out there running with the guys,” said Thermilus, who has been playing on a sore ankle for the last month. “We knew one of us had to step in and make something happen, just like when James went down. We went out and put it on the line.”

Thermilus battled inconsistency and injuries while rushing for 311 yards and two touchdowns coming into the Miami game. But Thermilus had already reached his career high with 13:49 left in the third quarter. He scored his third touchdown on a 29-yard pass from Zach Maynard with 6:58 left that gave the Bulls a commanding 35-10 lead.

“Being injured hurts a little bit but you have to fight through it,” Thermilus said. “It is what it is.”

The Bulls moved up to 4-7 overall, 2-5 in the Mid-American Conference while winning in Yager Stadium for the first time in seven tries. Miami ended its season, its first under former Notre Dame offensive coordinator Michael Haywood, with a 1-11 overall record and 1-7 in the MAC.

Gill talked all week about the team maintaining its focus despite the fact that the Bulls were out of bowl contention. The Bulls were also playing without leading receiver Naaman Roosevelt, who was out with a knee injury, leading rusher Ike Nduka (ankle) and right tackle Andrew West, who was suspended for the game.

The Bulls responded by scoring 28 unanswered points after an early 3-0 deficit.

“We needed a victory like this,” senior safety Mike Newton said. “We’ve been playing tough the last couple of weeks but it’s unfortunate we haven’t been able to come out on top. I think this helped out our confidence a lot.”

NOTES, QUOTES

• Based on the time of possession numbers, you figured Miami (Ohio) defeated Buffalo by a wide margin. While the Bulls’ defense spent a lot of time on the field, it allowed only 17 points in their 42-17 romp over the RedHawks. Miami went on long drives for most of the evening but generally came up empty.

UB forced two red-zone turnovers—one on an interception by Mike Newton in the end zone and another on a fumble recovery by Newton on the 1-yard line which was caused by cornerback Domonic Cook. The RedHawks ran 92 plays and produced 385 yards of total offense. They had the ball 38 minutes and 21 seconds compared to Buffalo’s 21:39.

• After junior Brandon Thermilus rushed for a game-high 126 yards, Buffalo has had a different leading rusher in each of the last four games. Mario Henry had 43 yards against Ohio, Jeffvon Gill had 172 yards against Bowling Green and Ike Nduka had 172 yards against Western Michigan. Including quarterback Zach Maynard, five UB players have rushed for better than 200 yards on the season—more than any other team in the Mid-American Conference.

• The Bulls’ win over Miami was Turner Gill’s 19th as coach at Buffalo. To put in perspective the job Gill has done at Buffalo, the Bulls won 16 games total in the nine years prior to his hiring (1997-05). Gill is tied with Craig Cirbus (1995-00) for fourth in school history in wins.

Game Ball Goes To:   RB Brandon Thermilus—He produced the kinds of numbers that many expected at the beginning of the season.

Keep An Eye On:   FS Mike Newton—The Bulls got two red zone turnovers and they were both by Newton. One was in the Red Hawks end zone and the other was on the 1-yard line.

Quote To Note:   “We just needed a win. We didn’t need a blowout, we just needed a win.”—Buffalo coach Turner Gill

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Looking Good:   The RedHawks controlled the ball during the early going but the Bulls’ defense, which yielded 385 yards of total offense to Miami, played classic bend but don’t break. Junior safety Davonte Shannon finished with 15 tackles and Newton and sophomore middle linebacker Scott Pettigrew finished with 10 tackles each.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Domonic Cook forced a fumble by Miami’s Brayden Coombs on the 1-yard line. Newton, who had an interception in the end zone in the first quarter, scooped up the fumble and returned it to the UB 25. It was that kind of night for Miami. It was that kind of night for the Bulls, who desperately needed a game like this.

Still Needs Work:   The Bulls started slowly with only 16 yards of total offense in the first quarter. They didn’t get their initial first down until 9:56 left in the second quarter. A lot of it had to do with Miami controlling the time of possession. The RedHawks went on two drives that totaled 24 plays while the Bulls ran six plays for 16 yards in the opening quarter.

Roster Report:  

• WR Naaman Roosevelt left the Miami (Ohio) game with a knee injury.

• Running back Ike Nduka (ankle), fullback Lawrence Rolle (concussion), defensive end Jerry Housey (knee) and sophomore Joe Petit (concussion) missed the Miami game.