Murdock forces three turnovers as Buffalo improves to 4-0 in bowl games since 2019.
Last time the Buffalo Bulls arrived on international soil, there was significant history to be made. They sported an 0-3 all-time record in bowl games and were desperate to bring a trophy back home to the States. Buffalo claimed a 31-9 Bahamas Bowl victory over Charlotte that day, and since then, the Bulls have been on a roll in bowl season.
In their first return trip to the Bahamas Bowl since a transformative afternoon, it was sheer dominance for the Bulls. Buffalo improved to 4-0 in bowl games since 2019, dominating Liberty in a 26-7 wire-to-wire result. Under first-year head coach Pete Lembo, the Bulls finished the 2024 campaign with a 9-4 record to claim their second 9-win season in program history.
“What a great way to finish such a special season for our program and for this team in particular,” Lembo said. “It’s been a really, really special experience. I’ve coached 33 years, every level of college football from the SEC down to Division III and this was as special of a group of people as I’ve been around my entire career, and probably including my playing days in high school and college. There really have not been any bad days with this group, so it’s very, very cool we were able to finish it with a very meaningful win today.”
The 19-point victory was largely fueled by an assertive defense effort. Leading the unit was outside linebacker Red Murdock, who rewrote the record books in the performance of a lifetime. Murdock forced two Liberty fumbles deep in Buffalo territory, jarring the ball loose from Flames’ starting quarterback Ryan Burger on both occasions — one from the 30-yard line in the second quarter and another from the 5-yard line in the third. Finishing the year with seven forced fumbles, Murdock became the 2024 FBS standalone leader in the category, earning status as one of 13 players since 2005 with seven forced fumbles in a season.
Murdock’s impact extended beyond those forced fumbles. In the fourth quarter, he all but sealed the contest with a 30-yard pick-six on his first career interception to hand Buffalo a 26-0 lead. The redshirt sophomore added a game-high 13 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and a pass deflection in a Defensive MVP performance.
“Being responsible for three turnovers — just an amazing effort,” Lembo said. “We talked this morning how your best players need to step up in big games like this. That was really special.”
Murdock entered the game ranked second in the FBS in total tackles. The nation’s leader was none other but his partner-in-crime in the linebacking corps — inside linebacker Shaun Dolac. Dolac became the program’s first consensus All-American this season and concluded his collegiate career on a high note with nine tackles, a share of a sack, and 1.5 tackles for loss in winning fashion. With the linebacking corps leading the way, Buffalo overwhelmed the Liberty offensive line with three sacks and 10 stops behind the line of scrimmage as a collective unit.
“The main thing Dolac has taught me is to never put a limit on yourself,” Murdock said, reflecting on his time with the All-American linebacker. “He taught me you can be a lot better than you think, so I’ve just been pushing myself a lot harder because of him.”
Buffalo finally jump-started its offense in the second half on a 45-yard scamper by running back Al-Jay Henderson. On that run, Henderson eclipsed 1,000 yards to become the 11th 1,000-yard rusher in Buffalo history and the first since 2021. The Bahamas Bowl Offensive MVP finished with 119 yards, marking his fifth 100-yard performance of the season, and Buffalo improved to 5-0 in such contests.
“It was the same play we’ve been running when the game first started,” Henderson said on his 45-yard touchdown run, an inside zone to the boundary. “We knew if we kept pounding it, one of them was gonna break and that’s exactly what happened.”
The Bulls defense started strong forcing four consecutive three-and-outs on Liberty’s first four series. It was a much slower start for the Buffalo offense, but the unit received a nice assist from kicker Upton Bellenfant. Already committed to Texas Tech in the portal, Bellenfant rounded out his time as a Bull in a highly productive manner. He sunk four field goals in total, including three in the first half to hand Buffalo a 9-0 lead at the break. His first make was quite the tone-setter, a career-long 52-yard shot that had plenty of leg in the windy setting of Nassau.
“We just had to settle down a little bit,” Lembo said. “We had a few self-inflicted wounds with some penalties that stymied some of our drives down in the red zone where we had to settle for field goals, but one of the things our team has been able to do is behind a veteran offensive line is to keep pounding the football and then some of those two or three yard runs turn into bigger runs, and that’s exactly what happened in the second half.”
Buffalo finally jump-started its offense in the second half on a 45-yard scamper by running back Al-Jay Henderson. On that run, Henderson eclipsed 1,000 yards to become the 11th 1,000-yard rusher in Buffalo history and the first since 2021. Henderson finished with 119 yards, marking his fifth 100-yard performance of the season, and Buffalo improved to 5-0 in such contests.
The Bulls nearly pitched the first shutout of bowl season, but Liberty backup quarterback Nate Hampton fired a 36-yard strike to Reese Smith with 7:00 remaining to prevent a zero on the scoreboard. Both teams only scored one offensive touchdown in the Bahamas Bowl, but Buffalo’s commanding defense proved to be the difference between the MAC and Conference USA opponents, who met for the second-consecutive season.
Buffalo’s commanding victory ensured the MAC a fifth bowl win for the first time in the conference’s history. The MAC finished 5-2 in its postseason matchups this year as the Bulls rounded out the season with a celebration at Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.
“This game reflected our team a lot — not perfect, but sticking together, handling adversity well, taking care of the football, and trying to play the field position game,” Lembo said. “Getting the result that we wanted and heading into the offseason with a fifth-straight win here is pretty cool.”
Buffalo officially completed one of the most impressive turnarounds in college football under first-year head coach Pete Lembo, transforming from 3-9 to 9-4 over the course of a season. 2024 will be a memorable time in program history as the Bulls finished with their second-highest win total of all-time. To cap it off, the Bulls will add new hardware into their luggage back to the United States, solidifying status as the first college football team to win two games in the Bahamas.
“Creating stability, that’s what these guys needed more than anything else,” Lembo said on the turnaround. “They just needed to walk into the building every day and know what to expect and have a consistent schedule, a consistent routine, and strong meaningful relationships with the coaches who are able to be themselves. I try to be myself with them and they know where I stand, and that goes for the rest of the staff. And they can be themselves, and we’ve got some wonderful guys. They just innately do the right things. It’s been such an easy group to get on the right track because there’s such good people in it.”