The preseason is going to look a lot different for the University at Buffalo football team.
The Bulls began preseason practices Monday, six days after it announced a Covid-19 outbreak that included 19 football players, and they're scheduled to begin the season Nov. 4 at Northern Illinois, nearly two months after their original season opener was scheduled, and nearly three months after the Mid-American Conference originally postponed football and all fall sports to the spring.
But now that the Bulls are back, they have a new set of obstacles to overcome and to negate. They’re favored to win the MAC championship in the most uncharacteristic season of Lance Leipold’s six as UB’s head coach.
Here are five questions that face the Bulls as they are scheduled to begin the season.
Will a six-game season be a sprint?
If it's a sprint for the Bulls, it will be for all 12 MAC teams. Each team will play a six-game, conference-only schedule – five games against division opponents and one crossover game. It could be fewer, considering if and how Covid-19 impacts teams and the schedule.
Through Wednesday morning, 25 college football games have been postponed or canceled because of Covid-19 issues, including positive tests, isolation, quarantine and contact tracing protocols. The nature of a highly contagious disease means that there could be more cancellations and postponements. Every game should be considered as a must-win.
"We’ve always taken each game for its value, that this is the most important game and we’ve got to find a way to win it, whether it’s a Big Ten opponent or an FCS game," Leipold said. "We’ve never tried to devalue or increase the value of one game over the other. The approach has always gone that way for consistency.”
Does a shortened season impact UB’s chances at winning the MAC championship?
This depends on how the MAC schedule shakes out. Two of UB's first three games are on the road, prior to a 10-day break in the schedule from Nov. 19 to Nov. 28, when the Bulls resume their schedule against Kent State.
Games will be a priority and at a premium in a six-game schedule.
"We're going to prepare the same way, like if it was a normal season," UB running back Jaret Patterson said. "It's a different time frame but I don't see (much) different. We're going to prepare, strategize and approach everything like it's a normal year, a normal season."
MAC commissioner: Conference worked behind the scenes to evaluate return to football
The MAC has not yet revealed logistics if games are postponed or canceled because of Covid-19 issues. However, the MAC has established guidelines for practices and competition in regard to Covid-19. Teams that have higher than a 5% threshold of positive cases must shut down all practices and competitions for at least seven days, and a threshold of 2% to 5% would require altering practice and meeting schedules, more frequent testing and reviewing the competition schedule.
Can the Bulls stay healthy?
The Bulls have more than just ankle sprains and muscle pulls to worry about this year. The Covid-19 pandemic is the overarching concern, particularly given the outbreak that impacted the UB athletic program and the football team last month. Covid-19 is a highly contagious disease that has impacted 112 Football Bowl Subdivision athletic programs since June, according to a Buffalo News database that is tracking Covid-19 cases in college athletics.
It is paramount that UB’s players, coaches and support staff remain healthy if they want to play a full schedule and play for the MAC championship.
What has changed personnel-wise for the Bulls since 2019?
Not a lot, and Leipold said none of UB's players has opted out of the season due to health or Covid-19 concerns. UB returns most of its starters from 2019, but the biggest holes to fill will be on the offensive line, which lost left tackle Evin Ksiezarczyk and guards Paul Nosworthy and Tomas Jack-Kurdyla to graduation.
Expect a refined group of receivers, led by Antonio Nunn and Daniel Lee, and anticipate another quarterback competition between Matt Myers and Kyle Vantrease.
Defensive ends Malcolm Koonce and Taylor Riggins lead a defensive line that returns three of its four starters, and UB’s linebackers will be boosted by the additions of graduate transfers Tyree Thompson (UCLA) and Brendan Pyne (Brown). Pyne had 178 tackles, including 14.5 tackles for loss, and a sack in three seasons at Brown. He had 51 tackles in 2019.
The secondary led the MAC in pass defense (197.8 yards per game) in 2019, but lost safety Joey Banks and cornerback Devon Russell to graduation.
Will a long layoff affect Jaret Patterson’s productivity?
Probably not. Patterson is one of the nation’s top returning running backs and there should be no signs of a slowdown. He has rushed for 2,812 yards and 33 touchdowns in his first two seasons with the Bulls, including a school-record and MAC-leading 1,799 yards in 2019.
Patterson hasn’t run the ball in a game since December, when the Bulls won the Bahamas Bowl and finished 8-5, and he is likely champing at the bit to play again, as he was one of the players who led a campaign to bring back the football season in the MAC.
"I can't wait until Nov. 4," Patterson said. "I know this team is ready. I know what this team is about to do, and I just can't wait."
If Patterson starts slow, the Bulls have Kevin Marks, who ran for 1,035 yards in 2019.
