18 of Buffalo's 21 points came from Elijah Holmes
Buffalo walked in the underdog and walked out with the win. What actually happened.
Buffalo wasn't supposed to win this one. They knock off UAlbany, 21-17 at UB Stadium. Nobody pulled clear, and Buffalo had the better end of the last ten minutes. Chance Morrow caught seven passes for 48 yards, three of them for touchdowns.
Third down decided the possession count
Buffalo converted 10 of 21 third downs (48%) to UAlbany's 26%, led by Elijah Holmes (8/19) and Chance Morrow (4/7). Buffalo sacked UAlbany's quarterback 3 times to UAlbany's 1, chiefly Logan Goodwin (1 sack), Stevie Bracey (1 sack) and Christopher Climes (1 sack). That's what carried Buffalo.
How the two sides actually played on the night.
Where it swung
The game turned on a handful of snaps. Elijah Holmes's 9-yard throw to Chance Morrow for a touchdown on 3rd-and-7 at Q2 11:23. Then Messiah Burch's 47-yard run on 1st-and-10 at Q3 00:19. Later, Elijah Holmes's 20-yard throw to Jaylen Andrews on 2nd-and-14 at Q4 06:43.
Cumulative margin after each quarter (lead change). Above the line = UALB ahead, below = BUFF ahead.
Who carried it
Elijah Holmes threw for 189 yards on 47 attempts with three touchdowns and ran seven times for 17 yards, including three of them from inside the 20, eight third-down conversions and a hand in four plays of 15 yards or more. Chance Morrow caught seven passes for 48 yards, three of them for touchdowns, including three of them from inside the 20 and four third-down conversions. Messiah Burch ran eight times for 74 yards. For UAlbany, Justus Murray Jr caught two passes for 26 yards, one of them for a touchdown. Aidan Semo threw for 13 yards on five attempts and ran five times for 9 yards. BJ Norman caught six passes for 67 yards. SaVeon Brown was the disruptive one for Buffalo: 1 TFL, 1 INT, 5 tackles.
The way it played out
UAlbany struck first through Tavahri Groves, Buffalo led 14-10 at the half and the final points came on a late touchdown by Elijah Holmes.
The disruptive ones
Three names to keep: SaVeon Brown (1 TFL, 1 INT, 5 tackles) for Buffalo, Logan Goodwin (1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 PBU, 2 tackles) for Buffalo and Stevie Bracey (1 sack, 2 TFLs, 6 tackles) for Buffalo. 2 of Buffalo's 3 sacks came from the defensive line, which is how this defense has generated pressure since 2016.
How it graded
The closing line had Buffalo -18.5. UAlbany covered. The total was 47.5; the teams combined for 38, an under. Justus Murray Jr accounted for 6 of UAlbany's points.
Where it leaves them
Historically similar games since 2019 — close margin, both offenses held far below norm — and how often that offense outperformed this level the following week.
A program win for Buffalo; a gut-check loss UAlbany won't soon forget.
Discussion
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