Messiah Burch's 184 rushing yards lift Buffalo to 31-24 win over Bowling Green

The Buffalo Bulls (5-3, 3-1 MAC) looked to be down-and-out when October rolled around, with heavy losses to Penn State and FIU while also flailing against two FCS opponents in the non-conference slate.

Now, after a 31-24 victory over the Bowling Green Falcons (2-6, 2-2 MAC), they have their sights set on proving they belong in title contention.

"People didn't expect us to be making this noise and I'm just so proud of everyone," senior halfback Messiah Burch said in post-press availability. "We just gotta continue to stay humble and just keep going to work every single week and I think the best is still yet to come with this team."

Burch was key to the UB effort on the afternoon, accumulating 184 yards and three touchdowns on 33 carries, putting up the same scoring production as BGSU's offensive unit on his own.

Both teams posted two touchdown drives apiece in the first half, with Burch opening the account on an 11-yard touchdown run to put the Bulls up 7-0 with 9:03 to go in the first quarter. Bowling Green would go on a 14-0 scoring run between the two opening quarters, with Jay Kastantin finding Isaiah Dawson (18 yards) and Trey Johnson (40 yards) for passing touchdowns to go ahead 14-7 with 9:03 to go in the second frame.

The Bulls mounted a scoring drive on their last possession of the first half, needing only 1:26 of game clock before Jason Wright connected with Clint Walker on a 14-yard scoring play to bring the game to a 14-14 tie at the halftime break.

The second half brought much more chaotic play, with a tipped Kastantin pass by Christopher Climes finding its way to the hands of Sedrick Vessa on Bowling Green's opening drive to give the Bulls the ball back on the first drive of the third quarter.

Falcons defensive end Myles Bradley, one of the MAC's best backfield penetrators, continued his impressive run of form on the ensuing drive, beating his man and sack-fumbling Jason Wright 11 yards behind the line, with running mate Eriq George falling on the ball to gift the BG offense possession at the UB 30-yard line.

Kastantin would make up for his earlier faux pas four plays later, connecting with Nakai Amachree for his third passing touchdown of the day from 13 yards out, putting the Falcons back on top.

Burch would find the endzone for the second time on UB's next possession, capping off a six-play, 75-yard drive with a two-yard scamper to bring the game back to a tie at 21-21 with 8:16 to go in the third quarter.

Buffalo would crack the game wide-open by the fourth quarter, forcing two three-and-outs and an interception on BG's next three offensive possessions, scoring on an Oliver Hautanen field goal and converting the interception into a 73-yard touchdown run by Burch to go up 31-21 with 12:18 remaining.

BG would make things interesting late, threatening to score inside UB's redzone before settling for a field goal from Travis Kenner and forcing a turnover-on-downs with 1:02 remaining, but Nakai Amachree would get dragged down in-bounds inside UB territory with seven seconds remaining and no timeouts, dooming the Falcons to a one-score loss in the end.

Burch's 184 rushing yards paced UB, and extended his streak of 100+ yard rushing games to five, but he wasn't the only contributor on offense. Quarterback Jason Wright completed 13 of his 21 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown, with an additional 35 rushing yards. Chance Morrow (39 yards) led the team in receptions (four) while Clint Walker (40 yards) led in yards and touchdowns (one) on two catches.

Safety Miles Greer notched his first career interception on Saturday and also led the team in tackles (nine). Will Clark had 1.5 each of tackles-for-loss and sacks to lead the Bulls defense, while Sedrick Vessa had a pick as well.

Bowling Green found space on offense early, but were turtled late, finishing with 341 total yards and over 35 minutes of possession.

Jay Kastantin finished 19-of-27 passing for 217 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions– both in the second half– while leading the team in carries (14) and pre-sack yards (49). Austyn Dendy had 39 yards rushing behind Kastantin, while Winn Sharp led the receivers with five catches for 50 yards.

Defensive back Kal-El Pascal and linebacker Dorian Pringle led the team with eight tackles apiece, with Pascal leading in solo stops (six) and Pringle adding a TFL. Eriq George led the pass rush with 1.5 TFLs and a fumble recovery, while Myles Bradley had a sack and a forced fumble.

Buffalo gets an extended BYE week before weeknight action, next scheduled to play the Miami RedHawks in a suddenly-vital conference tilt. Kickoff is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 3rd, at 7 p.m. Eastern time.

Bowling Green steels for a trip to Kalamazoo to face a Western Michigan squad coming off a tough loss to Toledo. That game is scheduled for next Saturday at noon Eastern time, with broadcast on CBS Sports Network.