Football at Buffalo Notebook
10/26/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 26, 2014 By Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Titus Davis has built a sensational resumé of highlight-reel plays and historic accomplishments as a wide receiver at Central Michigan.
On Saturday, he added to his legacy.
The senior from Wheaton, Ill. caught six passes for 100 yards and a touchdown in CMU's 20-14 road win over Buffalo.
Davis' 7-yard TD reception with 8 minutes, 8 seconds remaining broke a 14-14 tie and proved to be the winning score. It gave Davis 29 career TD receptions, the most in CMU history.
"It's been a goal since the end of last year when people brought it to my attention," Davis said. "It feels good to finally break it. I'm happy it's behind us now. I think it's a great accomplishment and it feels even better because we got the win."
Davis' 100-yard day upped his career receiving yardage total to 3,322 and he moved past Reggie Allen and into second place on the school's all-time list. Allen had 3,242 yards from 1995-98.
Bryan Anderson (2006-09) tops the chart with 3,648 yards. Anderson is the man that Davis passed on the TD receptions list.
Davis has 181 career receptions, which ranks sixth in school history. Fifth on the list is Bryan Schorman, who had 187 catches from 1995-98.
"Can't say enough about him," CMU coach Dan Enos said after Saturday's game. "We had him open about four more times and we had pressure (on the quarterback) and couldn't get him the ball. People can't cover him in this league."
While Davis' fourth-quarter TD catch is the most memorable of his six receptions in Saturday's game, his first catch also carried major importance.
CMU's leading rusher, Thomas Rawls, went down with an injury after being thrown for a 2-yard loss in the first quarter.
On the next play, the Chippewas faced a fourth-and-9 at the Buffalo 26. A field goal try, which would have measured 43 yards, was out of the question at that point as CMU was driving into a stiff breeze.
Quarterback Cooper Rush found Davis for a 22-yard gain and a first down at the 4. One play later, the Chippewas scored to seize a 7-0 lead.
Running-back depth
Junior running back Saylor Lavallii and sophomore Martez Walker found themselves in the spotlight when Rawls, who entered the game as the Mid-American Conference's leading rusher, went out with a knee injury.
"First off I was like, I hope he's OK," Lavallii said. "I don't want any of my teammates to get hurt. That hits home with me.
"I looked over at Tez and I was like, 'We've got to step up. Let's do it.'"
They did. The pair combined for 137 yards rushing on 37 carries. Lavallii finished with 80 yards, Walker with 57. Lavallii scored on runs of 4 and 9 yards.
It was an injury to starter Zurlon Tipton in the 2013 season opener that opened the door for Lavallii. He started eight games a year ago, rushing for 807 yards.
"Football's a physical game," Lavallii said. "At any point in time, somebody can go down and the next guy has got to be ready. Or in this case, guys have got to be ready.
"The offensive line did a good job up front today and I think Tez and I did a pretty good job of finding the holes."
Next man up
Losing Rawls may have had a galvanizing effect on the Chippewas.
"Any time you lose a player like Thomas Rawls it's big, and it's going to be hard to fill those shoes," Davis said. "We all knew that we needed to step up, that's all there is to it.
"The game of football is going to keep going. We knew we had backs who were ready to step up and we were able to do that today."
Enos, like all coaches, knows how critical backups are to the success of a football team, and he has said that he and his staff constantly plan for such scenarios, at every position.
"I didn't feel like there was an emotional drop" when Rawls went out, he said. "I think our team believes in one another and I think they know that they are very capable."
The drive
The Rush-to-Davis 7-yard TD pass capped what, to date, is CMU's most memorable and, perhaps, most important drive of the year.
Starting at their own 2-yard line after a Brandon Greer interception, the Chippewas marched 98 yards in 16 plays and used 9 minutes, 29 seconds of game time.
They converted three third downs on the drive, including a 16-yard Cooper-to-Davis completion from their own 7-yard line.
They also converted on fourth-and-3 from the Buffalo 32 when tight end Deon Butler cradled a dart from Rush while sliding on his hip at the Bulls' 22. The TD pass came on third-and-5.
"I just felt the vibe," Davis said of the time-consuming drive. "It was like we knew we were going to go down and score. It was a good feeling. As we drove the ball, we just got more confident. We were able to get momentum. I think that was the biggest drive of the game."
The drive was CMU's longest of the season in number of plays, yards covered and time elapsed.
Almost as important was CMU's ability to run out the clock on the ground. After stopping Buffalo on downs at the CMU 41, the Chippewas took over at their own 41 with 1:28 remaining.
The Chippewas drove to the Buffalo 32 and, on fourth-and-1, Lavallii dove over the pile for a 2-yard gain and a first down. Rush took a knee on the final play.
"In my head, I'm thinking This is the game right here, we've got to seal this up," Lavallii said of his first-down pickup, adding that on the previous play, on which he was stopped for no gain, the Buffalo defensive linemen were dropping low in order to create a pile at the line of scrimmage.
"The play before they were all cutting up front so I said I'm going up and over this time," Lavallii said. "When I saw them all cutting, I just took off."
Defense
The Central Michigan defense was once again solid-to-stellar.
The Chippewas held Buffalo to 271 total yards including just 38 on the ground. Both totals are season-lows for the Bulls.
Buffalo running back Anthone Taylor finished with just 25 yards rushing, by far his season-low, on 14 attempts. He entered the game averaging 132.3 yards per game.
CMU picked up 21 first downs to Buffalo's 15 and held an almost 13-minute advantage in time of possession. Buffalo entered the game leading the MAC in average time of possession and the Chippewas were second.
CMU held a 341-217 edge in total yardage.
The Chippewas intercepted Buffalo quarterback Joe Licata twice, and CMU scored on the drives immediately following both picks.
Josh Cox and Greer recorded the interceptions, while Jason Wilson was credited with three of the Chippewas' seven pass breakups. Tony Annese had two.
It was the fifth career pick for Greer, the first for Cox.
Wilson, a cornerback, had tight coverage on Buffalo receiver Devon Hughes on the Bulls' final two pass plays, both of which fell incomplete.
Leterrius Walton and Louis Palmer each recorded a sack for the Chippewas, and CMU was credited with five tackles-for-loss. Walton also forced a fumble.
Linebacker Justin Cherocci finished with nine total tackles including five solos to lead CMU, while Annese finished with five tackles.
Buffalo reached the red zone (inside CMU's 20-yard line) just once, and that came after Devin Campbell returned the second-half kickoff 69 yards.
The Chippewas lead the MAC in total defense (338.2 yards per game), pass defense (206.6) and interceptions (12), and rank second in rushing defense (131.7).
CMU also remains second in the league in time of possession at 33:19, just three seconds behind first-place Buffalo.
Kicking game
CMU punter Ron Coluzzi turned in a solid performance despite the stiff breeze.
He averaged 47.2 yards on four punts with a long of 54 (his carer-best is 57). He averaged 57 yards on his four kickoffs with one touchback.
Chippewa placekicker Brian Eavey missed his first extra-point try of the season and is now 23-for-24 on PATs. He did not attempt a field goal on Saturday.
Cleaning it up
CMU was penalized eight times for 49 yards in the game, but just one of those flags (for nine yards) came in the second half.
Buffalo was penalized three times for 40 yards.
CMU is the second-least-penalized team in the MAC, averaging 46.4 yards per game.
The series
Saturday marked the first time that Dan Enos has faced Buffalo as CMU's coach.
The Chippewas lead the all-time series, 6-1, and have won four straight over the Bulls.
CMU has won six of its last eight conference games dating to a three-game win streak to end the 2013 season. CMU is 12-6 in its last 18 MAC games.
Next up
The Chippewas go to Eastern Michigan for a MAC game on Saturday, Nov. 1.
The Eagles lost, 28-17, at home Saturday to Northern Illinois and are 2-6 overall, 1-3 MAC. Eastern held a 17-14 lead over the Huskies early in the fourth quarter.
The Chippewas have won four of their past five starts against Eastern, including two straight.
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Titus Davis has built a sensational resumé of highlight-reel plays and historic accomplishments as a wide receiver at Central Michigan.
On Saturday, he added to his legacy.
The senior from Wheaton, Ill. caught six passes for 100 yards and a touchdown in CMU's 20-14 road win over Buffalo.
Davis' 7-yard TD reception with 8 minutes, 8 seconds remaining broke a 14-14 tie and proved to be the winning score. It gave Davis 29 career TD receptions, the most in CMU history.
"It's been a goal since the end of last year when people brought it to my attention," Davis said. "It feels good to finally break it. I'm happy it's behind us now. I think it's a great accomplishment and it feels even better because we got the win."
Davis' 100-yard day upped his career receiving yardage total to 3,322 and he moved past Reggie Allen and into second place on the school's all-time list. Allen had 3,242 yards from 1995-98.
Bryan Anderson (2006-09) tops the chart with 3,648 yards. Anderson is the man that Davis passed on the TD receptions list.
Davis has 181 career receptions, which ranks sixth in school history. Fifth on the list is Bryan Schorman, who had 187 catches from 1995-98.
"Can't say enough about him," CMU coach Dan Enos said after Saturday's game. "We had him open about four more times and we had pressure (on the quarterback) and couldn't get him the ball. People can't cover him in this league."
While Davis' fourth-quarter TD catch is the most memorable of his six receptions in Saturday's game, his first catch also carried major importance.
CMU's leading rusher, Thomas Rawls, went down with an injury after being thrown for a 2-yard loss in the first quarter.
On the next play, the Chippewas faced a fourth-and-9 at the Buffalo 26. A field goal try, which would have measured 43 yards, was out of the question at that point as CMU was driving into a stiff breeze.
Quarterback Cooper Rush found Davis for a 22-yard gain and a first down at the 4. One play later, the Chippewas scored to seize a 7-0 lead.
Running-back depth
Junior running back Saylor Lavallii and sophomore Martez Walker found themselves in the spotlight when Rawls, who entered the game as the Mid-American Conference's leading rusher, went out with a knee injury.
"First off I was like, I hope he's OK," Lavallii said. "I don't want any of my teammates to get hurt. That hits home with me.
"I looked over at Tez and I was like, 'We've got to step up. Let's do it.'"
They did. The pair combined for 137 yards rushing on 37 carries. Lavallii finished with 80 yards, Walker with 57. Lavallii scored on runs of 4 and 9 yards.
It was an injury to starter Zurlon Tipton in the 2013 season opener that opened the door for Lavallii. He started eight games a year ago, rushing for 807 yards.
"Football's a physical game," Lavallii said. "At any point in time, somebody can go down and the next guy has got to be ready. Or in this case, guys have got to be ready.
"The offensive line did a good job up front today and I think Tez and I did a pretty good job of finding the holes."
Next man up
Losing Rawls may have had a galvanizing effect on the Chippewas.
"Any time you lose a player like Thomas Rawls it's big, and it's going to be hard to fill those shoes," Davis said. "We all knew that we needed to step up, that's all there is to it.
"The game of football is going to keep going. We knew we had backs who were ready to step up and we were able to do that today."
Enos, like all coaches, knows how critical backups are to the success of a football team, and he has said that he and his staff constantly plan for such scenarios, at every position.
"I didn't feel like there was an emotional drop" when Rawls went out, he said. "I think our team believes in one another and I think they know that they are very capable."
The drive
The Rush-to-Davis 7-yard TD pass capped what, to date, is CMU's most memorable and, perhaps, most important drive of the year.
Starting at their own 2-yard line after a Brandon Greer interception, the Chippewas marched 98 yards in 16 plays and used 9 minutes, 29 seconds of game time.
They converted three third downs on the drive, including a 16-yard Cooper-to-Davis completion from their own 7-yard line.
They also converted on fourth-and-3 from the Buffalo 32 when tight end Deon Butler cradled a dart from Rush while sliding on his hip at the Bulls' 22. The TD pass came on third-and-5.
"I just felt the vibe," Davis said of the time-consuming drive. "It was like we knew we were going to go down and score. It was a good feeling. As we drove the ball, we just got more confident. We were able to get momentum. I think that was the biggest drive of the game."
The drive was CMU's longest of the season in number of plays, yards covered and time elapsed.
Almost as important was CMU's ability to run out the clock on the ground. After stopping Buffalo on downs at the CMU 41, the Chippewas took over at their own 41 with 1:28 remaining.
The Chippewas drove to the Buffalo 32 and, on fourth-and-1, Lavallii dove over the pile for a 2-yard gain and a first down. Rush took a knee on the final play.
"In my head, I'm thinking This is the game right here, we've got to seal this up," Lavallii said of his first-down pickup, adding that on the previous play, on which he was stopped for no gain, the Buffalo defensive linemen were dropping low in order to create a pile at the line of scrimmage.
"The play before they were all cutting up front so I said I'm going up and over this time," Lavallii said. "When I saw them all cutting, I just took off."
Defense
The Central Michigan defense was once again solid-to-stellar.
The Chippewas held Buffalo to 271 total yards including just 38 on the ground. Both totals are season-lows for the Bulls.
Buffalo running back Anthone Taylor finished with just 25 yards rushing, by far his season-low, on 14 attempts. He entered the game averaging 132.3 yards per game.
CMU picked up 21 first downs to Buffalo's 15 and held an almost 13-minute advantage in time of possession. Buffalo entered the game leading the MAC in average time of possession and the Chippewas were second.
CMU held a 341-217 edge in total yardage.
The Chippewas intercepted Buffalo quarterback Joe Licata twice, and CMU scored on the drives immediately following both picks.
Josh Cox and Greer recorded the interceptions, while Jason Wilson was credited with three of the Chippewas' seven pass breakups. Tony Annese had two.
It was the fifth career pick for Greer, the first for Cox.
Wilson, a cornerback, had tight coverage on Buffalo receiver Devon Hughes on the Bulls' final two pass plays, both of which fell incomplete.
Leterrius Walton and Louis Palmer each recorded a sack for the Chippewas, and CMU was credited with five tackles-for-loss. Walton also forced a fumble.
Linebacker Justin Cherocci finished with nine total tackles including five solos to lead CMU, while Annese finished with five tackles.
Buffalo reached the red zone (inside CMU's 20-yard line) just once, and that came after Devin Campbell returned the second-half kickoff 69 yards.
The Chippewas lead the MAC in total defense (338.2 yards per game), pass defense (206.6) and interceptions (12), and rank second in rushing defense (131.7).
CMU also remains second in the league in time of possession at 33:19, just three seconds behind first-place Buffalo.
Kicking game
CMU punter Ron Coluzzi turned in a solid performance despite the stiff breeze.
He averaged 47.2 yards on four punts with a long of 54 (his carer-best is 57). He averaged 57 yards on his four kickoffs with one touchback.
Chippewa placekicker Brian Eavey missed his first extra-point try of the season and is now 23-for-24 on PATs. He did not attempt a field goal on Saturday.
Cleaning it up
CMU was penalized eight times for 49 yards in the game, but just one of those flags (for nine yards) came in the second half.
Buffalo was penalized three times for 40 yards.
CMU is the second-least-penalized team in the MAC, averaging 46.4 yards per game.
The series
Saturday marked the first time that Dan Enos has faced Buffalo as CMU's coach.
The Chippewas lead the all-time series, 6-1, and have won four straight over the Bulls.
CMU has won six of its last eight conference games dating to a three-game win streak to end the 2013 season. CMU is 12-6 in its last 18 MAC games.
Next up
The Chippewas go to Eastern Michigan for a MAC game on Saturday, Nov. 1.
The Eagles lost, 28-17, at home Saturday to Northern Illinois and are 2-6 overall, 1-3 MAC. Eastern held a 17-14 lead over the Huskies early in the fourth quarter.
The Chippewas have won four of their past five starts against Eastern, including two straight.
Players Mentioned
DB
/ Football
TE
/ Football
LB
/ Football
K
/ Football
WR
/ Football
K
/ Football
DB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
DE
/ Football
RB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
DT
/ Football
DB
/ FootballJordan Kwiatkowski Post-Game Press Conference at Pitt
Saturday, September 06
Joe Labas Post-Game Press Conference at Pitt
Saturday, September 06
Matt Drinkall Post-Game Press Conference at Pitt
Saturday, September 06
Trey Cornist Insider 9.4.25
Thursday, September 04