In the second overtime the Seawolves once again found their backs up against the wall, after Bull’s quarterback Joe Licata delivered a touchdown pass to Alex Neutz to give his team a 20-13 advantage.
But, the tandem of Negron and Eugene would once again rescue Stony Brook. Eugene caught a ten-yard touchdown pass from Negron, to tie the score at 20, and keep the game alive.
In overtime number three, Negron had a pass attempt picked off by Buffalo’s Dwellie Striggles. The Seawolves defense was able to pick up the offense on the Bull’s ensuing possession, by forcing a turnover of their own. Senior defensive lineman Junior Solace recovered a fumble on a poor handoff by Licata, to once again extend the contest.
Stony Brook had their best opportunity to win in the fourth overtime. After the defense forced another Buffalo turnover, on an interception by senior defensive back Winston Longdon, the Seawolves got the ball only needing a field goal to win.
After two short rushes by senior Marcus Coker, Ferrara was given a chance to end the marathon game, on a 37 yard field goal attempt. But, his kick went well wide to the left, resulting in a fifth overtime to be played.
Ferrara would somewhat redeem himself in the fifth overtime, giving his team a 23-20 lead on a 25 yard field goal kick. He finished 3 of 6 overall on field goal attempts on the day.
But, this time the Bulls would have a chance to respond, and the Stony Brook defense was unable to deliver a game saving stop. Licata put his team on the 6 yard line, after a 19 yard strike to Alex Dennison. And from there Taylor was able to find a hole for a game ending touchdown, much to the delight of the 24,000 at UB Stadium.
Despite the loss, Saturday’s game was filled with many impressive individual performances. After a relatively quiet first half, Negron ended up throwing for a career high 301 yards, along with two touchdown passes. It was the first 300-yard passing performance by a Stony Brook player, since 2004, when T.J. Moriarty did so against Albany.
There was also some bad on the day for Negron, as he threw the first two interceptions of his career.
Eugene also had a career day, finishing with 9 catches, for a personal high 110 yards. Junior Adrian Coxson had seven catches of his own for 107 yards.
Coker was unsurprisingly heavily involved on the day, rushing for 115 yards on 34 carries.
The defense was once again strong. A first quarter field goal by Buffalo put an end to streak of 72:48, that the Seawolves defense had held opponents scoreless to start the season.
Stony Brook struggled in converting on third downs on Saturday. They went 3-of-16 in the game, with their only three conversions coming on the last drive of regulation.
Despite coming up with some key plays late in the game, the team’s offensive execution left much to be desired. SBU scored just 10 points in regulation against a Buffalo team that had given up 110 points through its first two games.
Now the Seawolves will close out their opening three game road trip, with a contest against a Villanova team that they defeated in the first round of last year’s playoffs. The game will be at 3pm this Saturday.
