The Liberty Flames (8-3, 5-3 CUSA) will play the Buffalo Bulls (8-4, 6-2 MAC) in the Bahamas Bowl. The Flames and Bulls are scheduled to meet at Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 11 a.m. ET. The game will air on ESPN2.

Liberty is 3-0 all-time against Buffalo. The two teams meet last September in Buffalo with Liberty picking up the win, 55-27. In the only other meeting between the two programs at the FBS level, Liberty defeated Buffalo, 35-17, in Lynchburg on Sept. 14, 2019.

The Bulls are making their second bowl trip in three years, as they defeated Georgia Southern, 23-21, in the 2022 Camellia Bow. They’ve also made bowl trips in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022 in recent seasons.

Under first year head coach Pete Lembo, Buffalo finished the 2024 season with an 8-4 record and 6-2 mark, finishing 3rd in the MAC. Their losses came to Missouri, UConn, Western Michigan, and Ohio. The only common opponent with Liberty is UMass. Buffalo defeated the Minutemen, 34-3, on Sept. 14 while the Flames defeated UMass, 35-34, in overtime on Nov. 16. Buffalo has won four games in a row.

Lembo has previous stints as assistant head coach and special teams coordinator at Maryland, Rice, Memphis, and, most recently, South Carolina. He has previous head coaching experience at Lehigh from 2001-2005, Elon from 2006-2010, and Ball State from 2011-2015. Lembo has faced Liberty on three previous occasions as head coach and has a 2-1 mark against the Flames. His 2004 Lehigh team defeated the Flames, 34-16, in Lynchburg. Then, in 2007 while at Elon, Lembo knocked off the Flames, 42-14. The only time Liberty has gotten the best of Lembo was in 2008 when the Flames defeated Elon, 26-3, in Lynchburg.

In the current era of college football, opt outs and the transfer portal play key factors on bowl games. Currently, Buffalo has only seen two players enter the transfer portal, their long snapper Byron Floyd and their kicker Upton Bellenfant. Both were starters this season for the Bulls. Bellenfant, who began his career at Alabama, made 14 of 16 field goals with a long of 47 for Buffalo this season. He was also a perfect 29 of 29 on his PATs and also handled the kickoff duties. His 367-yard walk-off field goal in overtime helped the Bulls upset nationally-ranked Northern Illinois.

As can be expected from a long-time special teams coach, Buffalo has a very good special teams unit. In addition to Bellenfant, who was named third-team all-MAC, the Bulls also featured the third-team all-conference punter in Ethan Duane. His 42.6 average yards per punt is third best in program history for a single season.

A transfer from Southeast Missouri State, CJ Ogbonna played in eight games in 2023 but took over as the starter this season. He completed 181 of 317 passes (57.1%) for 2,244 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions in 12 games. He also has 108 rushes for 311 yards and eight touchdowns.

Al-Jay Henderson rushed for nearly 1,000 yards on the season. The junior running back ranked third in the MAC with 959 yards on the ground. He has added 17 receptions for 202 yards and nine total touchdowns. Buffalo’s second best running back this season is Jacqez Barksdale who had 78 carries for 286 yards and two scores.

Victor Snow has led the Bulls in receiving this season. He has 51 receptions for 610 yards and six touchdowns on the season. He caught a touchdown pass in five of the last six games.

LB Shaun Dolac was named the MAC’s Defensive Player of the Year. He’s the second UB player to ever earn that honor, joining Khalil Mack who won the award in 2013. Dolac finished the regular season with a nation leading 159 tackles to go along with 16.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, and five interceptions.

Fellow linebacker Red Murdock, joined Dolac on the MAC’s first-team all-conference. He was second in the nation in tackles with 143 and added 14 tackles for loss, two sacks, and five forced fumbles.

Defensive end Kobe Stewart leads the MAC with 9.5 sacks, the most by a UB player since Khalil Mack had 10.5 in 2013. He has added 40 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

Three Players to Watch For

QB #7 – CJ Ogbonna has completed 181 of 317 passes (57.1%) for 2,244 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions in 12 games. He also has 108 rushes for 311 yards and eight touchdowns.

DE #0 – Kobe Stewart, a transfer from Samford, led the team and the MAC with 9.5 sacks this season. He also had 40 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

LB #52 – Shaun Dolac, the MAC Defensive Player of the Year, led the nation in tackles with 159 to go along with 16.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, and five interceptions.

Upcoming Games/Recent Results

Nov. 2 – Buffalo 41, Akron 30
Nov. 12 – Buffalo 51, Ball State 48 (OT)
Nov. 20 – Bufalo 37, Eastern Michigan 20
Nov. 26 – Bufalo 43, Kent State 7