Saturday afternoon was at times dank and lifeless, which proved a fitting backdrop for the

University at Buffalo. UB was no match for Dan LeFevour and Central Michigan as the Bulls'

season continued to unravel in a 20-13 loss before 18,092 at UB Stadium in a game that was

delayed twice because of a lightning storm.

The Bulls cleaned up their turnover issues — although Zach Maynard's lone

interception was a momentum changer. They finally got the running game purring, but the

offense usually stalled inside the 20. UB had three chances in the red zone and came away with

two field goals and one turnover on downs.

Five games into the season, the Bulls (1-4) have offered little indication of repeating in

the Mid-American Conference's East Division. Coach Turner Gill's teams have historically

gotten off to slow starts — they were 2-4 before making their run a year ago — but

have lost four consecutive games and are 0-2 in conference play.

UB's lone victory came against Texas-El Paso on the road in the season opener and although

the Bulls host Bowl Championship Subdivision Gardner-Webb next Saturday nothing at this point

is guaranteed. Still, Gill isn't ready to panic. Not after two league games with six

remaining.

"There's still a few ball games to go where we can get some things accomplished that we

want to get done for the rest of the season," Gill said.

But time is running short. LeFevour carved up the Bulls for 268 yards on 22 of 28 passes

for two touchdowns and one interception which was picked off by Davonte Shannon in the first

half. Wideout Bryan Anderson finished with eight receptions and a touchdown, while Antonio

Brown had six catches for 112 yards and a touchdown.

UB, in fact, made some strides. Junior tailback Ike Nduka learned on Thursday that he

earned his first career start and responded with a career-high 172 yards on 22 carries. A

season-long 48-yard gain set up A.J. Principe's 21-yard field goal with 1:18 left in the third

quarter.

The Bulls have been horrible against the run and after giving up nearly 200 yards in a

blowout loss last week at Temple, Central Michigan rushed for 144 led by LeFevour's 98 yards.

But UB's offense inside the 20 took a step backward. Before Principe's field goal that made

it 20-13, the Bulls drove all the way to the Central Michigan 9 before Naaman Roosevelt was

called for offensive pass interference which pushed them back 15 yards. Maynard then fumbled a

snap for a loss of 2 yards to the Central 26. Maynard picked up a huge chunk of it on a

23-yard scramble to the 3 to set up the field goal.

Said Roosevelt, who finished with six receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown: "We need to

stay motivated and focused when we get down there [in the red zone]."

With almost nine minutes left in the game, UB went for it on fourth-and-inches from the

Central 11, but Maynard's sneak was stopped short, snuffed out by Chippewas linebacker Nick

Bellore and free safety Bobby Seay.

"Less than one [yard], we're going to go for it," Gill said. "That's my mentality in most

cases. ... Most cases I'm going to go for on fourth and less than one. I believe we should get

it and if we don't we don't deserve to win the ball game."

Maynard, who completed 16 of 31 for 210 yards, said the offense tried to get the Chippewas

to jump offsides.

"We tried to push forward but we didn't push forward far enough," he said. "That hurt us

and we had to get off the field. That's how it is sometimes."

After a Central Michigan punt, Maynard tried to hit Roosevelt down the right sideline but

the pass was intercepted by corner Josh Gordy with 2:45 left.

"We made the plays," Central Michigan coach Butch Jones said, "when we had to."

UB had one more opportunity to score when it got the ball back with 11 seconds left on its

25. Maynard hit Brett Hamlin for 17 to the UB 42 and spiked the ball to stop the clock with

three seconds left. Bellore was called for pass interference on a pass intended for Marcus

Rivers which moved the ball to the Chippewas' 43. One last shot for UB.

Maynard threw a Hail Mary pass toward the end zone but the ball sailed out of the back of

the end zone. Game over.

"We're still pretty confident," Roosevelt said. "Losing like this hurts but we're still

confident knowing we still have a good team."