Buffalo Wins in Overtime on a 15-yard Pass to Walker
Buffalo needed a field goal with two seconds left in regulation just to get to overtime, then needed one more throw to Clint Walker to win it 25-18 over UMass.
UMass started it, with Logan Inagawa running 20 yards for a touchdown with 10:08 left in the first quarter. Buffalo answered with a field goal, then a safety, then another field goal from Oliver Hautanen to lead 8-7. Elijah Faulkner's 2-yard run and a two-point conversion pass from Inagawa to Jabari Lewis put UMass back up 15-8 before halftime. Walker's 2-yard catch from Jason Wright in the third quarter tied it at 15, and then nobody scored until late in the fourth.
Derek Morris hit a 53-yard field goal with 1:57 left to put UMass up 18-15. That held until 0:02, when Hautanen kicked a 29-yarder to force overtime. Buffalo scored first in the extra period, Wright to Walker from 15 yards, and that was the game.
The stats say this was close to even. Buffalo had 351 total yards to UMass's 339, and each side threw an interception and lost a fumble. Buffalo ran 44 times for 217 yards, with Messiah Burch carrying 28 times for 172 of them. Wright completed 16 of 35 for 134 yards, which is not a lot, yet two of the throws went for scores. Both teams finish 4-3.
Fantasy-wise, Walker is the story: 7 catches and two touchdowns made 23.5 points from a guy who had been averaging under 8 a game. Inagawa gave UMass a decent day, and it was not enough.