The UB football team didn’t get down on itself after falling to No. 6 Missouri. Instead, the Bulls fought back on both sides of the ball in a 34-3 win Saturday against Massachusetts — and on offense, they proved they were capable of big gains on the ground or through the air. UB connected passes of 31 and 40 yards on their opening drives, the latter a touchdown to wideout JJ Jenkins. Then, in the first minute of the second half, UB quarterback CJ Ogbonna hit Taji Johnson for a 34-yard pass that put the Bulls inside UMass territory. UB’s defense held off the run until late in the third quarter when a long gain put the Minutemen at the UB 8, but the Bulls responded with Marquis Cooper’s 100-yard pick-six that extended UB’s lead to 27-3.

Trending up? Shaun Dolac’s sack of Taison Phommachanh about five minutes into the third quarter seemed like the capstone to an already dynamic day for the West Seneca East linebacker. Dolac had 15 tackles at that point, and he finished with 16, including a sack and two tackles for loss. Dolac also led a run defense that allowed the Minutemen just 72 yards on 37 carries. Trending down? Special teams. The Bulls lost real estate on a pair of punt returns in the first half by letting the ball bounce; they started at the 32 after a collision at midfield between Victor Snow and Clevester Hines III late in the first quarter; and Jalen McNair was penalized for holding midway through the second quarter. (On the plus side, though, punter Ethan Duane helped the UB defense by dropping three punts inside the UMass 10-yard line.)

UB coach Pete Lembo said this week that the Minutemen would be a better matchup for the Bulls than either Lafayette or Missouri. On Saturday, playing a Group of Five opponent (and future Mid-American Conference rival), the Bulls showed that they are versatile on offense and strong on defense. The run game got a late spark from Lamar Sperling, who appeared to dominate on UB’s final scoring drive. That could help the Bulls fine-tune their schedule as they prepare to open their MAC schedule next Saturday at No. 25 Northern Illinois, their second-ranked opponent in three weeks. Four of the Bulls’ next six games will be away games, including trips to NIU, Connecticut, Ohio and Akron.