The Buffalo Bulls battle the Bowling Green Falcons this week in a game that will feature the country’s leading passer, Matt Johnson (1,760 yards, 13 TDs), and leading receiver, Roger Lewis (559 yards, 5 TDs). Coming into the game, both the Bulls and Falcons are 2-2. The game will air Saturday, Oct 3 at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESP3.
In last week’s matchup, Buffalo suffered a narrow defeat against Nevada 24-21. Matt Weiser had a great game in the loss, grabbing 10 receptions for 131 yards and one TD. Ron Willoughby had a great game as well, adding 122 receiving yards on 10 catches. Bowling Green defeated Purdue 35-28 in its matchup. Matt Johnson had a huge game through the air for the Falcons, connecting on 43 of 59 pass attempts for 402 yards, one TD and one interception. He added 58 yards on 11 carries. Travis Greene put up 70 rushing yards and two TDs on 11 carries.
The odds between the Bulls and the Falcons are even this week, while the Over/Under (O/U) is currently not available.
Sitting at 2-2 Straight Up (SU) and 3-1 Against The Spread (ATS), the Bulls will look to improve heading into Week 5. Teams complete passes at a high percentage against the Falcons. They allow a completion rate of 66.2% to their opponents, 114th in the nation. The Bulls hope to continue the trend of torching Bowling Green’s defense during the third quarter, when they allow 11.2 points per game.
Over on the other sideline, the Falcons head into Week 5 with records of 3-1 ATS and 2-2 SU. Chances are Bowling Green will continue to rely on its passing attack, where its 442.2 passing yards per game ranks first in the nation. Buffalo needs to keep its intensity through the fourth quarter against the Falcons, who average 12.2 points in the final 15 minutes of regulation. When Bowling Green’s offense hits the field, they like to pick up the pace. With an average of 89, the team ranks second in the country for number of plays per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – Buffalo, ATS Winner – Buffalo
Notes
Buffalo is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games.
Buffalo is 12-4 SU in its last 16 games at home.
Buffalo is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Bowling Green.
Buffalo is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Bowling Green.
Buffalo is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Bowling Green.
Buffalo is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Bowling Green.
Buffalo is 2-0 SU when leading at the end of the third quarter this year.
Among all FBS teams, the Buffalo offensive passing game is ranked 73rd in the country, while the Bowling Green pass defense is only ranked 109th. The Falcons passing attack is ranked first, compared to the 37th-ranked pass defense of the Bulls.
According to overall FBS team rankings, Buffalo is rated higher in the ground game on both sides of the ball. Its 90th-ranked rushing attack will face the 96th-ranked run defense of Bowling Green, while its 89th-ranked rush defense will look to contain the 97th-ranked running game of the Falcons.
Buffalo has allowed 20.0 points per game this year, which is ranked 63rd in the country. Bowling Green has put up 38.5 points per game this year and is ranked 22nd in FBS.
