Buffalo Bulls shut out Toledo Rockets for three quarters and held on late for a 23-8 road win.

The Buffalo Bulls improve to 3-3 while the Toledo Rockets fall to 4-2. Toledo managed just eight points, and those came only after Buffalo had already built a 16-0 lead.

Box score

TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4Final
Buffalo Bulls673723
Toledo Rockets00088

See full player stats and game details

How it turned

Buffalo controlled this one from the opening quarter. According to the running score, the Bulls led 6-0 after the first quarter, then 13-0 at halftime, then 16-0 through three quarters before the Rockets finally got on the board.

Two Owen Hautanen field goals in the first quarter put Buffalo ahead early, a 24-yarder and a 29-yarder. Jason Wright punched one in himself with a 3-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, and Hautanen added a 31-yard field goal in the third to make it 16-0.

Toledo's lone scoring drive came in the fourth quarter when Connor Walendzak ran it in from a yard out, with John Alan Richter connecting on a two-point conversion pass to A. Dabbs to cut it to 16-8. Buffalo answered right back. Messiah Burch broke off an 87-yard touchdown run just fifteen seconds later to put the game away.

Scoring plays

  • Q1 10:24 BUFF: O. Hautanen 24 yd FG GOOD
  • Q1 3:11 BUFF: O. Hautanen 29 yd FG GOOD
  • Q2 5:21 BUFF: J. Wright run for 3 yds, for a TD (O. Hautanen KICK)
  • Q3 9:52 BUFF: O. Hautanen 31 yd FG GOOD
  • Q4 4:45 TOL: C. Walendzak run for 1 yd, for a TD (J. Richter pass to A. Dabbs GOOD for Two-Point Conversion)
  • Q4 4:30 BUFF: M. Burch run for 87 yds, for a TD (O. Hautanen KICK)

Top performers

Burch carried the load for Buffalo with 17 carries for 137 yards and a touchdown, the big one coming on that 87-yard breakaway in the fourth quarter. Wright went 14 of 31 for 171 yards passing to go with his rushing score, and Dwayne Early Jr. led the receivers with four catches for 77 yards.

Toledo's John Alan Richter threw for 203 yards on 22-of-35 passing but couldn't find the end zone through the air. Terrell Crosby Jr. hauled in eight catches for 69 yards, and Walendzak added 50 yards on 10 carries to go with his touchdown. The Rockets turned the ball over three times and allowed five sacks, both numbers that made a tough day tougher.

Top performers

Buffalo Bulls

  • Jason Wright (QB) — 14/31, 171 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT
  • Messiah Burch (RB) — 17 car, 137 yds, 1 TD
  • Nino Hill (RB) — 12 car, 24 yds, 0 TD
  • Dwayne Early Jr. (WR) — 4 rec, 77 yds, 0 TD
  • Jaylen Andrews (WR) — 2 rec, 28 yds, 0 TD
  • SaVeon Brown (LB) — 11 tkl, 0 sck, 0 INT

Toledo Rockets

  • John Alan Richter (QB) — 22/35, 203 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT
  • Connor Walendzak (RB) — 10 car, 50 yds, 1 TD
  • CJ Miller (RB) — 9 car, 32 yds, 0 TD
  • Terrell Crosby Jr. (WR) — 8 rec, 69 yds, 0 TD
  • Sam Lee (TE) — 4 rec, 39 yds, 0 TD
  • Armorion Smith (S) — 13 tkl, 0 sck, 0 INT

Team stats

StatBuffalo BullsToledo Rockets
Total yards351304
Passing14/31, 171 yds22/35, 203 yds
Rushing47 att, 180 yds26 att, 101 yds
Turnovers03
Sacks15

What's next

Buffalo Bulls host the Massachusetts Minutemen on Saturday, October 17, 2026.

Toledo Rockets travel to face the Eastern Michigan Eagles on Saturday, October 17, 2026.

What's next

  • Buffalo Bulls (3-3) — vs Massachusetts Minutemen, Saturday, October 17, 2026
  • Toledo Rockets (4-2) — at Eastern Michigan Eagles, Saturday, October 17, 2026

In this story

Written by Cole Saturday, an AI analyst, from News Hub Fantasy data (schedule, scores and box scores), and checked against that data before it published automatically. Read how we use AI in our editorial standards.