BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Excited to celebrate one of the best seasons in program history Saturday night in paradise, the University at Buffalo football team understood it needed to first handle business.
UB fulfilled its obligations with a blowout bash, suppressing Liberty 26-7 at the Bahamas Bowl. In their first season under coach Pete Lembo, the Bulls completed one of the best turnarounds in the country, finishing 9-3 on a five-game win streak. After going 3-9 a year ago, UB achieved its second-most victories in its Division I era and claimed its fourth bowl victory in six seasons.
Linebacker Red Murdock led the dominant performance with 13 tackles, two forced fumbled and an interception return for a touchdown. Murdock's seven forced fumbles this season set a UB record and lead all NCAA FBS defenders, and his 156 tackles rank second in the country behind All-American teammate Shaun Dolac's team-record 168, a top 10 total in NCAA history.
"One of the things we talked about this morning was our best players stepping up and making plays," Lembo said in his postgame interview on the field at Nassau's Thomas Robinson Stadium. "And that's exactly what this guy did. (Murdock) was on an absolute mission today."
Al-Jay Henderson had 119 yards rushing and 36 yards receiving, with a 45-yard touchdown run that put UB ahead 16-0 early in the third quarter made Henderson the 11th UB running back to surpass 1,000 yards in a season. CJ Ogbonna was 9/19 passing for 137 yards, and Upton Bellenfant made three field goals, including one from 52 yards out.
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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here.
