jimmythegreek
The opening odds start here
Buffalo -23 -120 over Kent St:
I can't remember how many times we've gone against winless Kent St (0-11 0-7). I believe this is the fourth and not necessarily all of it in MAAC play. However, Buffalo, (7-4 5-2) looks to hand the Golden Flashes tonight a winless 2024 campaign. This will likely be the second straight season that Kent will go 0 for 8, with Buffalo headed to a decent bowl game if the Bulls can get to 67% this season. Last week, CJ Ogbonna (16/18 250 3 TD) was nearly perfect in a 37-20 beating of Eastern Michigan (5-6 2-5). Halfway through the first quarter, he connected on a 90 yard strike to JJ Jenkins (5-120 1 TD) followed by a 2 point conversion to open the scoring and leading to a wire-to-wire victory. He then in the second quarter found Victor Snow (44-13 1 TD +) on a 9 yard connection to breeze Buffalo to a 17-0 halftime lead. Ogbonna then hooked up with AL Jay Henderson on a 75 yard scoring pass for his only catch after EMU came back to cut Buffalo's lead to a field goal early in the 4th quarter. Henderson also ran for 86 yards on 25 carries (3.4) including a one yard TD run in the 3rd quarter as the Bulls never relinquished their lead. Shaun Dolac then put the finishing touches on the outcome with a 60 yard INT return to paydirt of Cole Snyder (24/33 251 3 TD 2 INT). Buffalo was outgained by EMU 445-398, but forced 4 turnovers and won the battle of the time of possession by 5 minutes. They also head the Eagles to just 70 rushing yards despite Markus Allen (9-187 1 TD) and Terry Lockett Jr (8-122 2 TD) having big games in the receiving core. Dion Crawford recorded a safety and sacked Synder 4 times including once in the end zone. Meanwhile, Kent remined winless losing to Akron 38-17 (3-8 2-5) as Ben Finley (14/29 250 1 TD) accounted for a scoring pass of 36 yards to Jarvis Rush, his only catch of the game. Finley was victimized by several drops as well as sporadic inaccuracy but was able to lean on his running game as Jordan Simmons (11-113 10.3) and Charles Kellom (19-104 5.5 1 TD) each racked up games north of 100 yards. Tahj Bullock (10-35 3.5 2 TD) ran 2 plays in from 8 and 3 yards respectively. Kent got off to a great start as Luke Floriea (3-103 1 TD) caught an 80 yard TD pass from Tommy Ulatowski (12/20 229 2 TD 1 INT) probably the lone bright spot within the first 90 seconds of the game and the only time the Golden Flashes had the lead. It was all downhill from there as Akron raced to a 23-10 halftime lead. The Zips nearly doubled Kent in total yardage (521-287) and recorded 28 first downs to Kent's 9. They also sacked Ulatowski 4 times and held the Golden Flashes to just 52 yards rushing.
Ogbonna (167/295 2051 16 TD 4 INT) has had quite a solid season for the Bulls statistics wise, however Buffalo only has the 100th rated passing game int he MAAC. The issue is the execution as Buffalo has averaged about 27 points per game overall and hasn't had the leverage to rely on the running game. Henderson (153-774 5.1 7 TD) has been a workhorse in the backfield but Ogbonna (98-263 2.7 6 TD) can also been key calling his own number although in shorter situations for the most part. Jenkins (35-533 4 TD) and Snow (43-511 5 TD) have been a clutch tandem downfield as the top targets but have ran routes and on multiple occasions underachieved as playmakers with some key drops stalling numerous drives within their otherwise decent success. The Bulls have won 3 straight and have seemed to alleviate their earlier inconsistencies in the passing game. Kent yields 520 total yards on average and are 116th in the country yielding 257 yards overall per contest and dead last allowing 44 points, dead last in the country.
A 1-21 record over the last 2 seasons is likely to get Kenni Burns fired after just 2 seasons at the helm. 14.5 points per game as well as 234 total yards on offense is not promising when it comes to getting it done. Ulatowski (74/163 1251 14 TD 8 INT) has shown flashes, but none approaching golden status as he is under 50% in accuracy with a conservative approach despite taking chances at times, which is what a desperate team needs to do like Kent. The Golden Flashes have just 2 TD's rushing all season, fewest in the country. KY Thomas (135-549 4.1 1 TD) hasn't had much success and neither have the receivers led by Chrishon McCray (40-705 9 TD) and Floriea (40-650 6 TD) who are Ulatowski's main targets. Buffalo hasn't been exactly a feared foe defensively, 6th last in the country in passing yards allowed (274) and 116th nationwide alone giving up 422 on average. They've allowed 23 points overall per game but with their recent 3 game winning streak are assured of a bowl game.
With the Kent finale taking place tonight, there's not much inspiration involved but also nothing to lose in Burns' likely swan song. Buffalo seems to have found and rhythm and chemistry in their recent play. The Bulls have scored 30-plus points in three straight games. Meanwhile, Kent State has scored 17 or fewer points over the past three weeks. Kent half the time is playing not to lose, which seems like a not so impressive formula to impress the organization let alone the fans, if, who, and how many actually show up to Dix Stadium. I'm sure we have hear quite a few comparisons to their nicknamed stadium in comparison to the team. And then there’s the Kent State run defense. Buffalo doesn’t run all that well, but it keeps on trying. The mass carries didn’t work in the win over Eastern Michigan last week, but they controlled the tempo and have looked solid over their last 3 games in that category. The misery is almost over, but Buffalo will get one more shot to end the season victorious come bowl game time.
I'll have a couple of more selections up for this weekend in week 13.
I can't remember how many times we've gone against winless Kent St (0-11 0-7). I believe this is the fourth and not necessarily all of it in MAAC play. However, Buffalo, (7-4 5-2) looks to hand the Golden Flashes tonight a winless 2024 campaign. This will likely be the second straight season that Kent will go 0 for 8, with Buffalo headed to a decent bowl game if the Bulls can get to 67% this season. Last week, CJ Ogbonna (16/18 250 3 TD) was nearly perfect in a 37-20 beating of Eastern Michigan (5-6 2-5). Halfway through the first quarter, he connected on a 90 yard strike to JJ Jenkins (5-120 1 TD) followed by a 2 point conversion to open the scoring and leading to a wire-to-wire victory. He then in the second quarter found Victor Snow (44-13 1 TD +) on a 9 yard connection to breeze Buffalo to a 17-0 halftime lead. Ogbonna then hooked up with AL Jay Henderson on a 75 yard scoring pass for his only catch after EMU came back to cut Buffalo's lead to a field goal early in the 4th quarter. Henderson also ran for 86 yards on 25 carries (3.4) including a one yard TD run in the 3rd quarter as the Bulls never relinquished their lead. Shaun Dolac then put the finishing touches on the outcome with a 60 yard INT return to paydirt of Cole Snyder (24/33 251 3 TD 2 INT). Buffalo was outgained by EMU 445-398, but forced 4 turnovers and won the battle of the time of possession by 5 minutes. They also head the Eagles to just 70 rushing yards despite Markus Allen (9-187 1 TD) and Terry Lockett Jr (8-122 2 TD) having big games in the receiving core. Dion Crawford recorded a safety and sacked Synder 4 times including once in the end zone. Meanwhile, Kent remined winless losing to Akron 38-17 (3-8 2-5) as Ben Finley (14/29 250 1 TD) accounted for a scoring pass of 36 yards to Jarvis Rush, his only catch of the game. Finley was victimized by several drops as well as sporadic inaccuracy but was able to lean on his running game as Jordan Simmons (11-113 10.3) and Charles Kellom (19-104 5.5 1 TD) each racked up games north of 100 yards. Tahj Bullock (10-35 3.5 2 TD) ran 2 plays in from 8 and 3 yards respectively. Kent got off to a great start as Luke Floriea (3-103 1 TD) caught an 80 yard TD pass from Tommy Ulatowski (12/20 229 2 TD 1 INT) probably the lone bright spot within the first 90 seconds of the game and the only time the Golden Flashes had the lead. It was all downhill from there as Akron raced to a 23-10 halftime lead. The Zips nearly doubled Kent in total yardage (521-287) and recorded 28 first downs to Kent's 9. They also sacked Ulatowski 4 times and held the Golden Flashes to just 52 yards rushing.
Ogbonna (167/295 2051 16 TD 4 INT) has had quite a solid season for the Bulls statistics wise, however Buffalo only has the 100th rated passing game int he MAAC. The issue is the execution as Buffalo has averaged about 27 points per game overall and hasn't had the leverage to rely on the running game. Henderson (153-774 5.1 7 TD) has been a workhorse in the backfield but Ogbonna (98-263 2.7 6 TD) can also been key calling his own number although in shorter situations for the most part. Jenkins (35-533 4 TD) and Snow (43-511 5 TD) have been a clutch tandem downfield as the top targets but have ran routes and on multiple occasions underachieved as playmakers with some key drops stalling numerous drives within their otherwise decent success. The Bulls have won 3 straight and have seemed to alleviate their earlier inconsistencies in the passing game. Kent yields 520 total yards on average and are 116th in the country yielding 257 yards overall per contest and dead last allowing 44 points, dead last in the country.
A 1-21 record over the last 2 seasons is likely to get Kenni Burns fired after just 2 seasons at the helm. 14.5 points per game as well as 234 total yards on offense is not promising when it comes to getting it done. Ulatowski (74/163 1251 14 TD 8 INT) has shown flashes, but none approaching golden status as he is under 50% in accuracy with a conservative approach despite taking chances at times, which is what a desperate team needs to do like Kent. The Golden Flashes have just 2 TD's rushing all season, fewest in the country. KY Thomas (135-549 4.1 1 TD) hasn't had much success and neither have the receivers led by Chrishon McCray (40-705 9 TD) and Floriea (40-650 6 TD) who are Ulatowski's main targets. Buffalo hasn't been exactly a feared foe defensively, 6th last in the country in passing yards allowed (274) and 116th nationwide alone giving up 422 on average. They've allowed 23 points overall per game but with their recent 3 game winning streak are assured of a bowl game.
With the Kent finale taking place tonight, there's not much inspiration involved but also nothing to lose in Burns' likely swan song. Buffalo seems to have found and rhythm and chemistry in their recent play. The Bulls have scored 30-plus points in three straight games. Meanwhile, Kent State has scored 17 or fewer points over the past three weeks. Kent half the time is playing not to lose, which seems like a not so impressive formula to impress the organization let alone the fans, if, who, and how many actually show up to Dix Stadium. I'm sure we have hear quite a few comparisons to their nicknamed stadium in comparison to the team. And then there’s the Kent State run defense. Buffalo doesn’t run all that well, but it keeps on trying. The mass carries didn’t work in the win over Eastern Michigan last week, but they controlled the tempo and have looked solid over their last 3 games in that category. The misery is almost over, but Buffalo will get one more shot to end the season victorious come bowl game time.
I'll have a couple of more selections up for this weekend in week 13.
