Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 125. Buffalo
"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo"
“Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo” is a grammatically correct sentence. It’s also 2 more buffalos than Buffalo Bulls winning seasons. The Bulls have had a transitory relationship with football since forming the program all the way back in 1895. They started as an FBS independent, dropped the team, brought back football, went to the New York State Conference, went back to the FBS, stopped playing to fight in World War II (respect), returned to playing, dropped football again, then returned as a Division 3 team in 1977 before eventually working their way back up to the FBS in 1999. Whew.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+---------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+---------+------+--------------+--------+
| 14 | Buffalo | 2020 | 23.981 | 6-1 |
| 45 | Buffalo | 2018 | 1.918 | 10-4 |
| 53 | Buffalo | 2019 | -2.638 | 8-5 |
| 53 | Buffalo | 2008 | -4.644 | 8-6 |
| 69 | Buffalo | 2013 | -9.747 | 8-5 |
| 69 | Buffalo | 2022 | -10.526 | 7-6 |
| 72 | Buffalo | 2017 | -10.79 | 6-6 |
| 82 | Buffalo | 2009 | -22.291 | 5-7 |
| 89 | Buffalo | 2014 | -24.428 | 5-6 |
| 91 | Buffalo | 2015 | -26.997 | 5-7 |
| 88 | Buffalo | 2007 | -27.644 | 5-7 |
| 97 | Buffalo | 2012 | -32.887 | 4-8 |
| 107 | Buffalo | 2021 | -36.532 | 4-8 |
| 98 | Buffalo | 2001 | -43.677 | 3-8 |
| 108 | Buffalo | 2011 | -44.299 | 3-9 |
| 111 | Buffalo | 2006 | -52.292 | 2-10 |
| 113 | Buffalo | 2010 | -54.795 | 2-10 |
| 115 | Buffalo | 2004 | -54.86 | 2-9 |
| 126 | Buffalo | 2016 | -55.895 | 2-10 |
| 110 | Buffalo | 2000 | -58.8 | 2-9 |
| 114 | Buffalo | 2003 | -63.37 | 1-11 |
| 117 | Buffalo | 2005 | -63.639 | 1-10 |
| 116 | Buffalo | 2002 | -68.516 | 1-11 |
| 114 | Buffalo | 1999 | -76.242 | 0-11 |
+------+---------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: -5489.9702 (125th)100-184 record
1 conference title
3-3 bowl record
0 consensus All-American
10 NFL players drafted
Yeah, I’m surprised too—Khalil Mack wasn’t a consensus All-American. I’m not sure who’s culpable for that, but you could very well say Buffalo has 1* consensus All-American and nobody would bat an eye. The recent decade has been much kinder to Buffalo than the late 1990s and 2000s, with six of their top seven seasons coming since 2013. It’s still not enough to cover the losing that occurred beforehand, as Buffalo sits with a 100-184 record. Despite their record, six bowl appearances and a conference title is a pretty good resume compared to what we’ve seen so far.
Top 5 Seasons
5. 2013 (8-5 overall, 6-2 MAC)
This was the Khalil Mack show. Mack had one of the most dominant defensive performances I’ve ever seen by a G5 player against P5 competition, recording 9.5 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 1 interception for a pick six against an Ohio State team that would finish 12-2 on the season. He’d go on to win MAC DPOTY, the Jack Lambert Trophy, be voted a 1st Team All-American, and tie the NCAA records for most tackles for loss (75) and forced fumbles (16) in a career. Also on this team was senior RB Branden Oliver who ran for 1535 yards and 15 TD. Oliver set the Buffalo record for most rushing yards in a career with 4049, a record that still stands today. After starting 0-2, Buffalo would go 8-2 in their last 10 regular season games before losing to San Diego State in their bowl game.
4. 2008 (8-6 overall, 5-3 MAC)
Prior to 2007, Buffalo’s best record in the previous eight years was just 3-8. Things changed in 2007 when they went 5-7 to bring some momentum into 2008, where they would shockingly win their only conference title since returning to the FBS. The season started rough, a 2-4 start included losses to Pitt and Missouri, while a 1-2 conference record entailed a 25-27 loss to Central Michigan and 28-34 OT loss to Western Michigan. Luckily for Buffalo, while the West was loaded in 2008 with Ball State, Central Michigan, and Western Michigan, their division, the East, was a lot weaker in comparison (only Buffalo would make a bowl). Buffalo scratched and clawed their way to a 43-40 4OT win over Akron to improve to 6-4, setting up a game with Bowling Green to decide who goes to the MAC title game. Down 27-7 at the start of the 4th quarter, Buffalo stormed back to tie it at 27, and RB James Starks would run in the winning TD in overtime for the 40-34 2OT win. That set up a matchup between 7-5 Buffalo and 12-0, #12 ranked Ball State for the title. Almost no one gave Buffalo a chance, but they shockingly won the game 42-24 to both win their first conference championship in team history and go to the first bowl in team history. They’d lose to UConn in the bowl, but this team’s legacy remains written. Key players included QB Drew Willy, RB James Starks and WR Naaman Roosevelt.
3. 2019 (8-5 overall, 5-3 MAC)
2018-20 was the best stretch in school history, going 24-10 over three years. 2019 was the worst of the bunch, but it’s Buffalo’s third best team since 1983. While 2008 had a lot of close wins, 2019 was a much more balanced team and outscored opponents by an average of 10 points a game. Wins included 43-20 over MAC West champs Central Michigan, 43-14 over a bowl-bound Eastern Michigan, and 38-22 over 8-5 Temple. RB Jaret Patterson was a MONSTER, running for 1799 yards and 19 TD, while backup Kevin Marks also ran for 1000+ with 8 TD. The defense was stout, ranking 26th in the nation in PPG with just 21.3 allowed per game. 3 offensive lineman and 6 defenders made the All-MAC team. The season was capped with an impressive 31-9 win in the Bahamas Bowl over Charlotte.
2. 2018 (10-4 overall, 7-1 MAC)
This team got off to the hottest start in school history, opening first at 4-0, then 9-1, before finishing the regular season at 10-2. Their schedule was pretty soft, and they never cracked my top 25 even at 9-1, but the offense was humming and the team left no doubt on their way to the MAC title game. Down 5 points with 1 minute left, Northern Illinois QB Marcus Childers would throw a 35 yard TD to stun Buffalo and take the MAC championship 30-29. Despite falling short, Buffalo would rake home the awards: QB Tyree Jackson was the MAC OPOTY, coach Lance Leipold was the MAC COTY, RB Jaret Patterson was the MAC Freshman of the Year, and 7 of 11 Buffalo starters on offense would make 1st or 2nd Team All-MAC. Buffalo would lose their bowl game to finish 10-4 and #45 overall in my rankings.
1. 2020 (6-1 overall, 5-0 MAC)
A few teams actually benefited from the covid season! Buffalo was already a great team as shown in 2018 and 2019, but in 2020 they really showed their prowess, ranking 5th in the country with 43.4 PPG. RB Jaret Patterson had arguably the best rushing performance in NCAA history with…wait for it…36 carries for 409 yards and 8 TD! Those are real stats! That came in a 70-41 win over Kent State to improve to 4-0, and Buffalo would go into the MAC title game at 5-0. They would lose 28-38 in an upset to Ball State as yet another MAC Title eluded them, but they’d finish with a win over 7-3 Marshall in the bowl. Patterson won MAC OPOTY and Leipold won his second MAC COTY. DE Malcolm Koonce was a 1st Team All-MAC selection and a 3rd round pick by the Las Vegas Raiders. Jaret Patterson’s twin brother, James Patterson, led the team in tackles and would finish his career in 2022 with 414 tackles. RB Kevin Marks, who backed up Jaret for most of his career, would notably finish 4th in school history with 3035 rushing yards. The Bulls finished #14 in my ranking with what was arguably the best team in school history.
5th Quarter
Was 2020 really the best team, or did they just play a favorable covid schedule? Does anyone top Jaret Patterson’s 2020 rushing performance vs Kent State? Let me know what you think.
Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years - Main Hub
