Buffalo — Mid-American
HC
Pete Lembo · UB Stadium · Amherst, NY · 30,270 cap
PPA off / def
0.08 / 0.11
2025
Class rank
#101
class of 2026
Returning PPA
-1%
returning production
2026 schedule
2025 results (5–7)
Statistical comps — 2025 Buffalo's closest analogs
Nearest neighbors by z-scored success rate, explosiveness, run rate & havoc (offense + defense), 2015–25.
2025 leaders
Transfer portal — 2026 (16 in / 16 out)
| Incoming |
|---|
| Sayre Smothers | CB | ← The Citadel | ★★★ |
| Stantavious Smith | DL | ← Florida A&M | ★★★ |
| Logan Goodwin | EDGE | ← IU Pennsylvania | ★★★ |
| Joey Cheshire | LB | ← Cornell | ★★★ |
| Joe Crocker | IOL | ← Baylor | ★★★ |
| Nathan Natoli | OT | ← Bucknell | ★★★ |
| Nino Francavilla | IOL | ← Miami | ★★★ |
| Zach Bergmann | LB | ← Missouri Southern State | ★★★ |
| + 8 more |
Origins
Mack arrived with one scholarship offer and left as the best defender in the country, then became the NFL's fifth overall pick. The program has otherwise spent its life proving that Buffalo in November is a real thing.
Founded 1846 · A private medical college that joined the SUNY system in 1962 · first football 1894 · defined by Khalil Mack
All-time record
All-time
172–265–4
1898–2025
Win %
39.5%
53 seasons played
Winning seasons
16
30% of seasons
By level: ii/iii 6–16 (1898–1952) · FBS 166–248–4 (1958–2025) · FCS 0–1 (1997–1997)
| Best seasons | W | L | Conference |
|---|
| 2018 | 10 | 4 | Mid-American |
| 2024 | 9 | 4 | Mid-American |
| 2019 | 8 | 5 | Mid-American |
| 2013 | 8 | 5 | Mid-American |
| 2008 | 8 | 6 | Mid-American |
Season records from CollegeFootballData, which is why the span starts at 1898 — that is where its coverage of this program begins, not necessarily the first year it fielded a team.
Play-calling tendencies (2025 · garbage time excluded)
| Situation | Plays | Run % | Success % | Nat'l | Avg yds | Expl % |
|---|
| 1st down | 333 | 44% |
42% | 92 of 136 | 5.9 | 14% |
| 2nd down | 253 | 51% |
38% | 99 of 136 | 5.1 | 9% |
| 3rd & short (≤3) | 37 | 78% |
49% | — | 1.9 | 3% |
| 3rd & medium (4–7) | 47 | 30% |
45% | — | 3.7 | 4% |
| 3rd & long (8+) | 77 | 17% |
23% | — | 6.3 | 16% |
| 4th down | 22 | 55% |
41% | — | 2.0 | 14% |
160 drives · 29% ended in points · 6.3 plays and 33.0 yards per drive · 0.49 PPA per drive
Success: 50% of yardage needed on 1st, 70% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd/4th. Explosive: 12+ yd rush / 16+ yd pass. National rank is shown only for 1st and 2nd down, where every team has 100+ plays; the later buckets average 18-43 and a rank there would be noise.
League leaderboard →Most valuable plays (by PPA, 2025)
| Wk | Opp | Play | Yds | PPA |
|---|
| 6 | Eastern Michigan |
Ta'Quan Roberson pass complete to Victor Snow for 75 yds for a TD (Jack Howes KICK) |
75 | 6.08 |
| 5 | UConn |
Lamar Sperling run for 63 yds for a TD (Jack Howes KICK) |
63 | 6.00 |
| 2 | Saint Francis |
Ta'Quan Roberson run for 40 yds for a TD (Jack Howes KICK) |
40 | 5.09 |
| 12 | Central Michigan |
(02:31) No Huddle-Shotgun #2 T.Roberson pass complete short right to #3 N.McMillan caught … |
55 | 4.28 |
| 13 | Miami (OH) |
(06:16) No Huddle-Shotgun #2 T.Roberson pass complete deep right to #3 N.McMillan caught a… |
41 | 4.07 |
| 14 | Ohio |
No Huddle-Shotgun #2 T.Roberson pass complete deep left to #0 V.Snow caught at OHI47, for … |
58 | 3.74 |
| 14 | Ohio |
Jasaiah Gathings 29 Yd pass from Ta'Quan Roberson (Jack Howes Kick) |
29 | 3.74 |
| 8 | Massachusetts |
Ta'Quan Roberson pass complete to Victor Snow for 37 yds to the MASS 38 for a 1ST down |
37 | 3.69 |