Buffalo perseveres in unconventional 25-18 OT win over UMass

The Flagship Cup might be the new kid on the block as far as intra-league rivalry trophies go, but it keeps delivering instant classics.

In the game's second edition, the Buffalo Bulls (4-3, 2-1 MAC) would once again find a way to claim a victory late in the going, holding on in overtime to re-claim the cup over the UMass Minutemen by a final score of 25-18 on Saturday afternoon.

The visiting Minutemen, down their top two quarterbacks, their starting wide receivers and with one halfback questionable before the game even kicked off, found the scoreboard first thanks to third-string QB Logan Inagawa's 20-yard run on a designed QB power play up the middle, putting UMass up 7-0 at the 10:08 mark of the first quarter.

Buffalo responded back with a short field goal from Oliver Hautanen to get on the scoreboard at 7-3 on the following possession, but the two teams would stalemate over the rest of the first quarter and well into the second, exchanging four-straight punts before one team blinked.

Buffalo was forced to punt after an unsuccessful 11-play, 46-yard drive, with Ethan Stumpf pinning UMass to their own eight-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Inagawa was quickly put under siege, and rolled backwards into the endzone trying to evade the pressure before being dragged down anyways by Sedrick Vessah to clinch a defensive safety and give Buffalo the ball with a chance to take the lead of the game at 7-5 midway through the second quarter.

That's where the game took a turn for the weird.

Buffalo receiver Jaylen Andrews seemed to haul in a 20-yard pass to move the chains on third-and-nine, but instead was flagged for offensive pass interference, putting the ball 10 yards backwards and repeating the down. UB picked up eight on the run play and decided once again to punt for field position from the UMass 49-yard line.

The ball fluttered in the air, then touched UMass special teamer Drew Alsup, resulting in a live ball. UB fell atop it, getting new life at the UMass 15-yard line.

UMass' defense stood tall, forcing UB to kick another short field goal, which Hautanen hit from 33 yards out to put the Bulls up 8-7 with 4:40 remaining in the first half.

The Minutemen would get the ball back on the kickoff and be forced into a punt of their own– which caromed off return man Miles Greer and into the hands of TJ Magee, who caught the ball on the bounce at the UB three-yard line.

Elijah Faulkner cashed in three plays later on a jet sweep run to get UMass back on top by a margin of 15-8 after a successful two-point conversion pass– a margin which survived to halftime despite a UMass interception setting up a potential chance to double up on points.

Unfortunately for the Minutemen's hopes, Derek Morris would miss on both a 55-yard attempt and a 50-yard attempt rewarded via a running into the kicker penalty on the prior kick, leaving the margin at seven points at the break.

Buffalo came out of the locker room firing, with Messiah Branch running for 32 yards on four rushes to open up the second half, UMass committing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and Chance Morrow converting a third-and-nine with a 19-yard reception to set up Jason Wright's touchdown pass to tight end Clint Walker, who was wearing the #41 memorial jersey this week for the Bulls.

The 10-play, 75-yard drive was perhaps their best of the day, and put the game at a 15-15 tie.

Both UMass and Buffalo would settle in for a field position battle over the remainder of the third quarter, with Kobi Blackwell's mid-quarter INT resulting in no points.

The fourth quarter proved consequential; UB started it off with a bang on a 46-yard Burch run to get deep inside UMass territory, but the drive stalled out on UMass' 38-yard line, with the Bulls opting to punt the ball right back only four plays later.

UMass drove down the field thanks to big downfield plays from Inagawa, who found Reece Adkins for 17 yards and Jabari Lewis for 21 yards to help the Minutemen set up in UB territory– but two-straight incompletions on second and third down doomed the surge, and on fourth-and-seven from the UB 27-yard line, Derek Morris was asked to try and convert from 45 yards out on the field goal.

Morris missed once again, with the ball drifting wide right as his previous misses had done in the second quarter.

UB was kept to a three-and-out on the next possession, giving UMass yet another opportunity for late points. The Minutemen grinded out a drive lasting over four minutes thanks to steady progress on the ground, but on third-and-two from the UB 27-yard line, Inagawa would get chased out of the pocket and sacked for a seven-yard loss, forcing another field goal attempt.

This time, Morris struck true, putting UMass up by a narrow 18-15 margin.

Buffalo killed what remained of the clock on a 14-play, 65-yard drive, but couldn't hit the endzone in time, settling for a 29-yard field goal by Hautenen to put the game into overtime.

The Bulls had first possession and made quick work of it, with Nino Hill converting on a third-and-two run and Jason Wright finding Clint Walker for their second scoring strike of the night to give UB the 25-18 lead.

UMass went backwards in their replying drive, though not at first. Inagawa found Elijah Faulker open for an 11-yard reception to position the Minutemen in favorable position, but then Faulkner took a loss on a run, giving UB the green light to put pressure on a newbie quarterback.

Indeed, Inagawa fumbled the ball out of bounds on a broken play the very next snap and then scrambled to avoid the pressure and try to make a play before getting dragged into the opposite sideline for a 13-yard loss, forcing a fourth-and-25.

Inagawa's pass would be swatted down in the endzone, assuring the Buffalo win.

Messiah Burch was the savior for the Bulls, rushing for 172 yards on 28 carries to help the effort, while Clint Walker was the receiving leader with seven receptions for 45 yards and both of UB's touchdowns. Jason Wright finished 16-of-35 for 134 yards, two touchdowns and an interceptions.

Sa'Veon Brown led in tackles (10) on the day, while five different Bulls had a tackle-for-loss or pass break-up apiece and three had a sack. Rex Stitchcomb and Mikey Crawford each had a forced fumble.

Logan Inagawa, a transfer from FCD Drake University, struggled in his first start, finishing 14-of-25 for 168 yards and an interception, though he did contribute positively as a rusher (66 yards, touchdown). Elijah Faulkner played in relief of the injured Kurtis Cimmons IV, leading the team with 84 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. Kezion Dia-Johnson led the receivers with five catches for 79 yards.

Kendall Bournes and Timmy Hinspeter each had eight tackles to lead the Minutemen defense. Defensive back TJ Magee had a banner day, with seven tackles, three pass break-ups, an interception and a fumble recovery on special teams. Isaiah Reed and Jahmad Harmon each had two pass break-ups to continue their good form.

Buffalo now sits at 4-3 (2-1 MAC) and will host Bowling Green next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time, looking to stay afloat in the conference title chase.

UMass took their third-straight loss and are 4-3 (1-3 MAC) after going undefeated in their first month of games. They now look forward to another rivalry contest, this time against UConn for the Southwick Jug, set for Friday night at 7 p.m. Eastern time.