Marcus Fuqua was a freshman the last time the University at Buffalo football team left the country for a bowl game.
Somehow, the safety and graduate student for the Bulls lucked out in the next five years. He was a third-team Associated Press All-America selection in 2022. He’s been to three bowl games, including the 2019 Bahamas Bowl.
He and the Bulls will return to the tropics next month as UB (8-4) will play Liberty (8-3) in the Bahamas Bowl at 11 a.m. Jan. 4 at Thomas Robinson Stadium in Nassau. The Bulls defeated Charlotte, 31-9, in 2019.
“Just go and have fun,” Fuqua said. “But it’s a football game and at the end of the day, you’ve got to be focused, locked in. The more focused team is going to be one that wins. We’re going to be in the Bahamas, we’re looking to have a good time, have a good trip, but you’ve got to be locked in.”
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Pete Lembo’s first season as UB coach will conclude with the Bulls’ seventh bowl appearance since it became a Football Bowl Subdivision program in 1999.
The Bahamas Bowl returns to Nassau after the 2023 game was played at Jerry Richardson Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., and temporarily rebranded as the Famous Toastery bowl due to renovations at Thomas Robinson Stadium. Western Kentucky defeated Old Dominion, 38-35, in 2023.
The Bulls knew something was up Thursday morning when they were told to leave their phones in the locker room for a team meeting. That’s when they found out their bowl destination.
In a video posted to UB football’s social media channels, UB’s players initially thought they’d be going to Arizona for the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl. Then, Lembo showed the Bulls a video from the Bahamas Bowl.
“It’s going to mean a lot, especially for this program,” UB linebacker Shaun Dolac said. “Also for the guys that have been here and for the staff that’s been here, so it’s going to be a great feeling, going down there, having fun, but our job is to get the win. That’s what we’re going to prepare for.”
UB has 15 practices between the end of the regular season – a 43-7 win Nov. 26 against Kent State – and the Bahamas Bowl.
“It’s kind of like another spring ball for us,” Fuqua said. “We have a whole month, and we’re practicing a couple times a week, so a lot of the young guys can get a lot of reps and the older guys can still get reps, too. But just being able to stay locked in the whole time and treat it like we’ve got a game coming up.”
What to know about Liberty
The Flames play in Conference USA but could be without a fraction of their roster by the new year, and will not have their starting quarterback for the Bahamas Bowl. They might not have their current coach, either.
Quarterback Kaidon Salter announced Monday that he will enter the transfer portal after four seasons with the Flames, and Liberty coach Jamey Chadwell told reporters in Lynchburg, Virginia, that players who enter the transfer portal won’t play in the Bahamas Bowl. Salter is one of 11 Liberty players, as of Thursday morning, heading for the portal, which officially opens Monday.
Salter was the Conference USA MVP in 2023, and threw for 1,886 yards and 15 touchdowns with six interceptions this season. He also ran for 579 yards and seven touchdowns.
Chadwell, who coached Coastal Carolina when it faced UB in 2021 and 2022, has been mentioned as a candidate for the coaching opening at UCF, but said earlier this week that those reports were “erroneous.”
Three things to watch in Bahamas Bowl
1. Henderson’s productivity at running back: Al-Jay Henderson has solidified his spot as UB’s top running back and he enters the bowl game with 959 yards and eight touchdowns on 183 carries. He is in line to become UB’s first 1,000-yard rusher since Dylan McDuffie, who had 1,049 yards on 206 carries in 2021.
Henderson is averaging 117.7 yards on 20.6 carries in UB’s final seven regular-season games, including a career-best 185 yards on 30 carries against Kent State, and credits his rise in production to his trust in the offensive line as well as merely getting reps – he had only 39 carries in UB’s first five games.
2. The pass defense’s lack of productivity: UB’s pass defense has allowed 258.9 yards per game in its 12 games. The Bulls began the week ranked 11th in the 12-team Mid-American Conference and 121 of 134 teams in the nation.
The Bulls gave up only 102 passing yards against Kent State, but that was an anomaly. In its previous three games, UB had given up at least 331 passing yards, including a season-high 378 Nov. 2 at Akron.
3. Who will stay and who will go? The first football transfer portal window opens Monday. Players who intend to transfer to another program for 2025 have 20 days to enter their names into the portal between Monday and Dec 28.
UB will have a new long snapper for the bowl game as Byron Floyd announced Tuesday he plans to enter the transfer portal. More UB players could enter the portal, which also happened in 2022. Players also can decide to opt out of the bowl game in order to prepare for professional football. UB also will be without a special teams coordinator after UB confirmed Tuesday that Tyler Hancock no longer is with the program.
UB’s bowl history
This will be UB’s seventh bowl game and eighth bowl-eligible season since the program moved to the Football Bowl Subdivision level in 1999:
2008: International Bowl, Toronto. Lost to Connecticut, 38-20.
2013: Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Boise, Idaho. Lost to San Diego State, 49-24.
2017: Finished 6-6 but did not make the bowl field due to a surplus of 6-6 teams, and only 78 bowl bids available that year.
2018: Dollar General Bowl, Mobile, Ala. Lost to Troy, 42-32.
2019: Bahamas Bowl. Beat Charlotte, 31-9.
2020: Camellia Bowl, Montgomery, Ala. Beat Marshall, 17-10.
2022: Camellia Bowl. Beat Georgia Southern, 23-21.
2024: Bahamas Bowl vs. Liberty, 11 a.m., Jan. 4.
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Publish date : 2024-12-05 05:30:00
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