It’s the Cole Snyder revenge game as Eastern Michigan seeks bowl eligibility, while Buffalo vies for its seventh win.
Game notes
- Time and date: Wednesday, November 20 at 7:00 p.m. ET
- Network: ESPNU
- Location: Rynearson Stadium — Ypsilanti, MI
- Spread: Eastern Michigan (-1)
- Over/under: 51.5
- All-time series: Eastern Michigan leads, 7-4
- Last meeting: Eastern Michigan 24, Buffalo 11 — November 21, 2023
- Current streak: Eastern Michigan, 1 (2023)
Setting the scene
It’s the Ontario Sandwich Rivalry.
No, this is not an official rivalry, but it’s one Hustle Belt drew up over a decade ago, and we hope the name sticks one day, as the Canadian province of Ontario is perfectly sandwiched between Ypsilanti, MI and Buffalo, NY on a map.
But one thing this matchup between Eastern Michigan (5-5, 2-4 MAC) and Buffalo (6-4, 4-2 MAC) is: a revenge game. It’s somewhat a newer concept in college football with the abundance of the transfer portal, but the prevailing storyline in this game revolves around quarterback Cole Snyder. After two seasons starting at Buffalo, Snyder now directs the offense at Eastern Michigan, and he’ll look to defend the grey turf of The Factory against his former teammates.
A home win snaps Eastern Michigan out of a three-game losing streak and sends it to bowl eligibility. A road victory clinches a win No. 7 for Buffalo, securing a winning season in year one of the Pete Lembo era.
Buffalo Bulls outlook
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It’s been a highly prosperous season of Buffalo football. Although the chances are slim, the Bulls are still alive for a MAC championship in year one of Pete Lembo’s tenure, coming off the heels of a 3-9 season.
Buffalo clinched bowl eligibility last Tuesday night, completing a double-digit fourth quarter comeback to force overtime against Ball State. Upon extending the game, the Bulls capitalized with a walk-off touchdown strike from CJ Ogbonna to Lamar Sperling for their sixth win.
Buffalo didn’t enter the season with a high-powered offense, but it’s a facet of the game the team vastly improved since September. The Bulls have scored 41 or more points in three of their last four outings, and they’re doing it multidimensionally, thriving in both the run and pass.
Through the air, CJ Ogbonna is molding into a reliable quarterback. After six-straight games under 200 passing yards to start the year, Ogbonna has taken his game to another level. He surpassed 200 yards in each of his last four starts, throwing for 264 yards and three touchdowns one week ago to lead a comeback over Ball State — proving this offense is now built to play from behind. The strong-armed quarterback isn’t too shy to attack downfield, registering a 40-yard completion in five different games this year, yet he still boasts a respectable touchdown to interception ratio of 13 to four.
Ogbonna was primarily utilized as a run-first quarterback in 2023, and that element of the game is finally coming back to him. His last two starts featured a combined 118 rushing yards, and most importantly, he had clean pockets in those wins as the offensive line refrained from allowing a single sack.
Offensive line improvement is paying dividends in the run game as well. Lead back Al-Jay Henderson has 100 rushing yards in three of his last five games, and Buffalo is 3-0 when he hits that mark this year. Henderson is taking over as the lead back, and he’s thrived in the role. After averaging 3.4 yards pre carry in games 1-5, he’s averaging 6.2 in games 6-10. The other skill position players to keep tabs on are Victor Snow and JJ Jenkins, who were instrumental in the 51-point outburst vs. Ball State. Both have similar season stats with 30+ receptions and 400+ yards, with Snow thriving as the short-yardage specialist and Jenkins operating as a deep threat.
Although Buffalo is overall trending in a positive direction, that’s more so the offense. Defense was the strong suit of the team earlier in the season, but the Bulls continue to find themselves in shootouts now. Buffalo is allowing 43.3 points per game across its last four contests, particularly struggling with pass defense. The Bulls are 122nd in the FBS in passing yards allowed per game, surrendering over 320 in consecutive weeks.
The defense is more effective against the run thanks to the overwhelming linebacker duo of Shaun Dolac and Red Murdock. Dolac and Murdock rank No. 1 and No. 2 nationally in total tackles, fielding 137 and 126, respectively. The tandem combined for 36 stops last week alone, and both linebackers have reached 10+ tackles in every game vs. FBS competition this year. Both are also quite the backfield invaders, combining for 25 tackles for loss.
Dolac also thrives as a coverage specialist. He snagged a team-leading third interception last week and his near runback to the end zone set up Buffalo with a much-needed score to remain in the game. Outside of the star linebacker pairing, names to watch on other levels of the defense include defensive end Kobe Stewart (team-high 7.5 sacks) and cornerback Marquis Cooper (two interceptions, team-high seven pass breakups).
Eastern Michigan Eagles outlook
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Eastern Michigan started this season to a blistering hot 5-2 record, highlighted by a thrilling overtime win over Jacksonville State (the current frontrunner of Conference USA).
But after three opportunities to reach that coveted sixth win, Eastern Michigan is still chasing bowl eligibility. The Eagles ride a three-game win streak which initiated the final weekend of October after a jarring loss to Akron. The heartbreak sustained the following week when Eastern Michigan completed a last-second Hail Mary vs. Toledo, but failed the ensuing two-point conversion in attempt to circumvent overtime. Last week, the Eagles finally lost handily, getting severely outplayed by Ohio in the second half of a 35-10 decision.
Time is running out as senior night approaches Wednesday. And one of those seniors wants this win especially bad, and that’s quarterback Cole Snyder. Snyder served as Buffalo’s starting quarterback in 2022 and 2023, starting all 25 games for the Bulls and leading them to a 2022 Camellia Bowl victory. He completed the rare quarterback intra-conference transfer this offseason, becoming a staple in the Eastern Michigan starting lineup.
Snyder elevated Eastern Michigan’s passing offense significantly from a unit averaging 152 passing yards per game in 2023 to one picking up 237 yards per game in 2024. The increased verticality Snyder brought from Ypsilanti to Buffalo is showing throughout the Eagles offense, which is averaging eight more points per game this season. But he’s fresh off his roughest showing as an Eagle, throwing an uncharacteristic three interceptions last Wednesday vs. Ohio after throwing three in his first nine games combined.
He’ll look to bounce back as a passer while also picking up tough yards as a runner — ranking second on Eastern Michigan with 297 rushing yards this season. First is Delbert Mimms who averages 62.9 yards per game with seven touchdowns in his first season in the MAC. While Eastern Michigan ranks 87th nationally in rushing offense, the team runs it at the 18th-highest rate in the FBS. Unfortunately for the Eagles, some of those rushing attempts are sacks which they allow at a high rate of 2.8 per game.
The Eagles offense is fueled by the wide receiver trio of Terry Lockett Jr., Oran Singleton, and Markus Allen. All three tote at least 30 receptions and 400 yards on the year, and Singleton is the primary target with 62 catches. But in long distance situations, Lockett becomes the guy, and he averages over 14 yards per catch with a team-high three touchdowns.
On defense, Eastern Michigan is middle of the road in a bevy of statistics, ranging from points allowed to stopping the run to limiting the aerial attack. The strengths of the unit involve getting off the field on critical downs, as Eastern Michigan opponents convert just 35.9 percent of third downs (46th in FBS) and 23.5 percent of fourth downs (2nd in FBS).
Defensive linemen Peyton Price and Justin Jefferson are key components of a commanding front, and the duo owns a collective 7.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss. Outside linebacker Luke Murphy is the leading tackler, and he’ll aim to prevent CJ Ogbonna and Al-Jay Henderson from continuing their rushing hot streaks. Murphy is one of 10 Eagles to recover a fumble this year, and that’s one statistic the team produces at a high rate — ranking top 10 in the FBS. However, Eastern Michigan’s defense only has five interceptions all season. The turnover battle typically favors the Eagles (which are a +4 in 2024), but a 4-1 loss in that department to Ohio contributed heavily to the end result.
Prediction
Buffalo’s Week 12 overtime thriller with Ball State was easily the most thrilling midweek MACtion game of the season. This one has potential for a close, thrilling ending as well.
Both teams’ offenses are drastically improved from the previous year, so there should be a decent amount of points on the scoreboard, especially given this Buffalo stretch of shootouts.
CJ Ogbonna has recently proven his ability to take games over as a passer and Cole Snyder can do so too, so the aerial offenses likely prevail Wednesday night — especially when factoring in the passing defense statistics of Eastern Michigan and Buffalo. It will be a back-and-forth affair, but in the end, the presence of havoc causers Shaun Dolac and Red Murdock allow the Bulls to generate that one extra stop needed to emerge in a close finish.
Prediction: Buffalo 35, Eastern Michigan 31