Head Coach: Pete Lembo is entering his 2nd season as the head coach of the Bulls with a 9-4 record. He took over the program coming off a 3-9 season and instantly turned it into one of the better teams in the MAC. Now he looks to take the Bulls to the next level.
Program Outlook: Buffalo is a unique program in the MAC, not just because of their location but also because they are based directly in a bigger city, while some programs are a little outside of one. There’s advantages and disadvantages to this, the disadvantage being pro sports, particularly the NFL taking priority in the area but the people of Buffalo take pride in every team in the area which helps especially when the Bulls are good.
How does the 2025 Roster look?: Buffalo ranks 31st in the country returning 62% of their production per Punt and Rally’s returning production rankings. This is very high in the MAC. Key players for the Bulls starts with RB Al-Jay Henderson, he is the engine for this offense and is primed for a big year. Ta’Quan Roberson is a mobile experienced QB who is the favorite to take over leading this offense but Gunnar Gray cannot be overlooked either, he was the backup last year. Whoever wins the job will be protected by one of the best, most experienced Olines in the MAC, guards Tyler Doty and Trevor Brock are All-MAC players. Receiver Victor Snow will make the QBs job easier and so will Nic McMillan if he’s fully healthy after missing all of last year. The defense will be led by LB Red Murdock who is a tackling machine, he had 156 of them last year and Dion Crawford is good as well. DE Kobe Stewart was a massive recruiting win, he briefly hit the portal in the spring but Buffalo kept him, he’s their best pass rusher and one of the best in the MAC. DT George Wolo was hurt last year but his a 300lb man who will take up space inside if he stays healthy this year. The secondary gave up more plays than preferable but was also very aggressive, corner Marquis Cooper leads an experienced group. That unit having another year together could really take a step forward.
Screenshot from FBSchedules.com
2025 Schedule Thoughts: Buffalo’s schedule is pretty favorable overall. The non-conference is highlighted by an opener at Minnesota but once they get past that the remaining games are at home. Buffalo hosts UConn who won 9 games last year, Troy who struggled last year but will be at least a little better and St Francis, Buffalo will be the last FBS program to face the Red Flash as they will be dropping to D3. The MAC schedule is very nice, Buffalo gets 4 programs who all had their struggles last season and 3 of those have a new coach. The Bulls biggest road challenge is likely Bowling Green who is also breaking in a new coach and they get possibly their 3 toughest games Ohio, Miami and Eastern Michigan all at home. The schedule really helps put the Bulls in the driver’s seat of the MAC race.
Final Thoughts: Pete Lembo turned this program around quick and suddenly there’s hope that Buffalo can win the MAC in just his 2nd season. The schedule really helps their odds for that. Of course the Bulls can’t let themselves slip, they had a +9 turnover margin last year that helped lead them to some wins they must maintain that again this year. Overall it feels like 7-8 wins is their floor but Buffalo could easily find themselves in the MAC championship by the end of the season.
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