Why Buffalo Must Avoid the Upset Against Lafayette in Week 1

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On Aug. 29 in Week 1, the Buffalo Bulls host Lafayette College at UB Stadium at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+. They are not meeting the Lafayette Rajun' Cajuns from Louisiana, but instead will be facing the Lafayette College Leopards from Easton, Penn.

The Leopards will be heading to Buffalo as underdogs but should not be taken lightly. Lafayette is coming off a 9-3 season including a 36-34 first round FCS playoff loss to then No. 12 Delaware. The Bulls play in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) while the Leopards are a FCS team playing in the Patriot League Conference. Though Buffalo' is playing in a higher division and a bigger conference than Lafayette, the Bulls should not take the Leopards lightly to begin their season.

What Is at Stake?

Every FBS team entering this season has some amount of hope that they can get into the 12-team College Football Playoff, especially considering the fact that a Group of 5 team will be given one of the automatic spots in the CFP. While Buffalo has an outside chance of making it to the playoff, they will hold onto that hope to get that vaunted playoff opportunity. The journey to the postseason starts with winning at home against the Leopards. A loss to Lafayette will almost certainly means a lost season for the Bulls.

For the Leopards, they have a unique opportunity to build their brand. Many people forget that the University of Louisiana Rajun' Cajuns no longer refer to themselves as Louisiana-Lafayette. Naturally, Louisiana has a bigger brand and bigger fanbase than Lafayette College. If the Leopards were to win against a FBS opponent like Buffalo in Buffalo, it would be huge for them. Many FCS schools that became FBS teams in the last 15-20 years built their brand by doing that very thing (Appalachian State against Michigan, Georgia Southern against Florida, etc.). While Buffalo does not have the pedigree that a Michigan or Florida has, any win is better than no win.

Key Players: Buffalo Bulls

The Bulls offense will be led by senior quarterback CJ Ogbonna, senior running back Jacqez Barksdale and a trio of wide receivers in Taji Johnson, JJ Jenkins and Nik McMillan. Offensively, the Bulls will be turning to them if they want to be successful. It will be Ogbonna's first season as a starter. After a less than productive season from Cole Snyder in 2023, Ogbonna will have to lead the Bulls with a host of offensive options. They were 112th in FBS in passing yards with 192.4 and 94th in FBS in rushing yards with 133.6. Both are not particularly good for an offense.

They also will need to get a bit better on defense. On defense, the Bulls had just 18 sacks, leaving them tied for 117th in FBS. They also finished 109th in third-down percentage, allowing opponents to convert 34.2 percent of the time. Buffalo also allowed 318.8 yards per game. That just isn't winning football. Some players that will need to step up will be inside linebacker Shaun Dolac, free safety Marcus Fuqua and defensive tackle George Wolo. Wolo has 91 career tackles as well as 12 sacks. Fuqua led the FBS in interceptions in 2022 and is one of just three All-Americans in the program's history. Dolac led the nation in solo tackles and second in tackles for loss, according to FoxSports.com. As a team the Bulls went 3-9, something they will need to improve in 2024.

Key Players: Lafayette College Leopards

Because of the lower division that they play in, the Leopards are headed into this game as an underdog to their FBS opponent.

They will need help from returning players like junior starting quarterback Dean DeNobile, junior running back Jamar Curtis and junior wide reciever Elijah Steward. DeNobile nearly threw for 2,000 yards in 2023. He was backed up by Curtis who ran for 1,459 yards and 15 touchdowns in the 2023 campaign. Steward led the team in receiving yards with 738 yards and 5 touchdowns, nearly 400 more than the next highest receiver.

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On defense, the Leopards are led by defensive back Saiku White and linebacker Preston Forney. White finished second in tackles for the team with 71 and had 4 interceptions in 2023. Forney finished third in tackles with 70 and had 4 sacks. The team will look to fill the void left leading tackler Marco Olivas in 2023 who graduated. The team went 9-3 in the 2023 campaign losing to just a ranked-Duke team, Colgate in overtime and Delaware to end the season. They could give Buffalo a little trouble.

Trend to Watch

While Buffalo is facing an FCS team to open up its season, the Bulls are coming off a 3-9 record in 2023. At the same time, the Leopards are coming off a 9-3 season. The pressure is entirely on the Bulls to come out and win against their FCS foes. If they fail in doing so, the Leopards will take advantage of the Bulls' inexperience and upset them.