2008 MAC Championship Game
Buffalo beats Ball State 42-24 at Ford Field, sealed by two defensive fumble-return touchdowns, for the program's only conference title
Program prestige
Zeitgeist statureRegional Program IVProgram outlook
Program outlook
Buffalo has one MAC title in program history and one all-time great in Khalil Mack — and just signed the biggest naming-rights deal in conference history a year after its best season in over a decade fell apart.
Since Jul 3: W 23-8 at Toledo; W 25-18 vs Massachusetts; W 31-24 vs Bowling Green; W 34-31 at Miami (OH). 6-3 this season.
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The program's one banner came in 2008: Turner Gill's Bulls went 8-6, won the MAC East, and beat Ball State 42-24 at Ford Field in Detroit behind two defensive fumble-return touchdowns. It remains the only conference championship in school history.
The program's best individual talent came a few years later and needed no championship to matter. Khalil Mack was the 2013 MAC Defensive Player of the Year — the first Bull to win it — and left with an NCAA-record 16 career forced fumbles and a share of the NCAA record for career tackles for loss. Oakland took him fifth overall in the 2014 NFL Draft, still the highest pick in program history, and he went on to become one of the league's premier pass rushers.
Buffalo spent the years after chasing another peak, and got close in 2024: a 9-4 season under first-year coach Pete Lembo, a 26-7 Bahamas Bowl win over Liberty, a five-game winning streak the program hadn't matched since 1959, and just the third nine-win season in school history. Then 2025 happened — a 5-7 regression in Lembo's second year, the same MAC gauntlet producing a completely different result. Off the field, the university answered with real investment: a $31.75 million, 15-year naming-rights deal with Broadview Federal Credit Union, announced in March 2026, the largest such deal in MAC history, renaming the 30,270-seat stadium Broadview Stadium. Whether the money and the momentum add up to a repeatable program, or whether 2025 was the truer read on where Buffalo actually is, is the question hanging over 2026.
On the field
A program without one fixed defensive or offensive identity across eras — 2008's title team won with defense and situational execution; the 2024 breakout leaned on a full-team surge under Lembo. What's constant is the program's ability to produce elite individual talent (Mack chief among them) even in years the team result doesn't match.
Buffalo has won 40% of its games since 1898 — 47% at home, 32% on the road.
178-268-4 all-time · 54 seasons · 1898–2026
Home
102-111-2
Away
71-152-2
Neutral
5-5
4 g
1890s
7 g
1900s
6 g
1930s
3 g
1940s
4 g
1950s
54%
1960s
18%
1970s
0%
1990s
25%
2000s
43%
2010s
51%
2020s
The CFP era
13 seasons inside the CFP era, no bids yet — the era the program is still trying to break into.
Trajectory · quality-score line · AP rank dotted · CFP bids marked · coach regimes ribboned
Program quality
AP rank (inverted)
CFP appearance
Swipe left for earlier seasons
Buffalo’s 2014–2026 record is 76-76.
Pete Lembo
Pete Lembo is in year 3. The methodology is taking shape.
Era Pete Lembo · 2024–presentPrev: Maurice Linguist (2021–2024)OC: Tony TokarzPrev OC: Dave Patenaude (2024–2025)DC: Brian DoughertyPrev DC: Joe Bowen (2024–2025)
3
years · era
Buffalo and Akron, meeting by meeting
Buffalo leads the series 13-12-0 (since 1999); in the last 10 meetings, Buffalo is 8-2
2025: Akron won 24-16. After this game, Buffalo led 13-12-0.
Last 25 meetings: ▲ Buffalo won, ▼ Akron won, by how much
Each step is one meeting: up when Buffalo wins, down when Akron wins, flat for a tie. Counts every game in our records since 1999. Tap the line for any season.
Moments in Buffalo history
- Buffalo 23, Army 20Sep 24, 2016
- Ball State 38, Buffalo 28MAC Championship · Dec 18, 2020
- Buffalo hires Pete Lembo2024
What this program never forgets
Most weeks vanish. These didn’t.
2014
Khalil Mack drafted fifth overall
The Oakland Raiders select Mack fifth overall, the highest NFL Draft selection in program history
2024 Bahamas Bowl championship
Buffalo beats Liberty 26-7 to cap a 9-4 season and a five-game winning streak, the program's best season in years
Moment of the year · 2026
Won 23-8 at Toledo
Week 6 of 2026. Won as a 18.5-point underdog — the result the market didn't see coming.
2026–2026
Buffalo has sent 1 player to the NFL Draft since 2026 — none in the first round.
Thin. Roster development still maturing.
1
picks · 0 in round 1
#257
Red Murdock
Linebacker · 2026 · 
Denver Broncos · #27/583 final season
Denver Broncos · #27/583 final season
#130 all-time · 1 first-round picksthe talent factory →
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Ladder finish
Season standing · 2026 · 6-3
Season standing · 2026 · 6-3Buffalo is 6-3 — bowl-eligible, unranked.
6+ wins, bowl access secured. The baseline of a successful FBS year.
Bowl eligible
Sub-FBSBuildingBowlRankedContenderPlayoff
Conference
Mid-American standing · 2026
2nd in the Mid-American
Buffalo is 2nd in the Mid-American at 4-1. 1 team above — that's the direct path to the title game.
| # | Program | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio | 5-0 |
| 2 | Buffalo | 4-1 |
| 3 | Western Michigan | 4-1 |
| 4 | Toledo | 3-1 |
| 5 | Eastern Michigan | 3-2 |
| 6 | Miami (OH) | 3-2 |
| 7 | Ball State | 2-2 |
| 8 | Bowling Green | 2-3 |
| 9 | Kent State | 2-3 |
| 10 | Central Michigan | 1-3 |
| 11 | Massachusetts | 1-3 |
| 12 | Sacramento State | 1-5 |
| 13 | Akron | 0-5 |
Coaching history
Coaching history
- Maurice Linguist departs
- Hired Pete Lembo
- Lance Leipold departs
- Hired Lance Leipold
- Hired Maurice Linguist
- Hired Alex Wood
- Jeff Quinn departs
- Alex Wood departs
Coordinator lineage
Buffalo’s offense and defense, by coordinator
FBS-relative efficiency percentile per season (2014–2026), same population as the Coordinator Mirror board. Dashed vertical lines mark a coordinator change.
Offense2014–2026
2014 · Alex Wood2015–2016 · Andy Kotelnicki2017–2020 · Andy Kotelnicki / Jim Zebrowski (co)2021–2022 · Shane Montgomery2023 · DJ Mangas2024–2025 · Dave Patenaude2026 · Tony Tokarz
Defense2014–2026
2014 · Lou Tepper2015–2019 · Brian Borland2020 · Brian Borland / Chris Simpson (co)2021 · Joe Cauthen2022 · Brandon Bailey2023 · Robert Wright2024–2025 · Joe Bowen2026 · Brian Dougherty
Elite (≥70th pct)AveragePoor (≤30th pct)
Gameday customs
Rituals
Three gameday rituals — the ones outsiders never quite catch.
The 2008 MAC Championship
since 2008
more
Turner Gill's third season delivered the only MAC title in program history -- an 8-6 record, the MAC East division, and a 42-24 win over Ball State at Ford Field in Detroit on December 5, 2008, sealed by two defensive fumble-return touchdowns. Every subsequent Buffalo team is measured against getting back to that game.
Khalil Mack’s Ascent
since 2013
more
Khalil Mack was the 2013 MAC Defensive Player of the Year -- the first Bull to win the award -- finishing his career tied for the NCAA record in tackles for loss (75) and setting the NCAA record for career forced fumbles (16). The Oakland Raiders drafted him fifth overall in 2014, still the highest NFL draft selection in program history.
Broadview Stadium (renamed 2026)
since 2026
more
In March 2026, the University at Buffalo signed a $31.75 million, 15-year naming-rights partnership with Broadview Federal Credit Union -- the largest such deal in MAC history -- renaming the 30,270-seat stadium Broadview Stadium and funding new student scholarships.
Cultural identity
2024 W
2022 W
2020 W
2019 W
2018 LReddit blowups
r/CFB moments
268
[Postgame Thread] Holy Cross Defeats Buffalo 37-31
161
[Postgame Thread] Buffalo Defeats Wagner 69-7
All-time top community posts
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