The UB football team didn’t get discouraged after its loss at No. 6 Missouri. Instead, the Bulls fought back on both sides of the ball in a 34-3 win over Massachusetts on Saturday — and on offense, they proved they can make big strides both on the ground and in the air. UB completed passes of 31 and 40 yards on its first drive, the latter a touchdown to wide receiver JJ Jenkins. Then, in the first minute of the second half, UB quarterback CJ Ogbonna threw a 34-yard pass to Taji Johnson that put the Bulls in UMass territory. UB’s defense held the run at bay until late in the third quarter, when a long gain brought the Minutemen to the UB 8-yard line, but the Bulls answered with Marquis Cooper’s 100-yard pick-six that extended UB’s lead to 27-3.

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

UB coach Pete Lembo said during the week that the Minutemen would be a better opponent for the Bulls than Lafayette or Missouri. On Saturday, playing against a Group of Five opponent (and future Mid-American Conference rival), the Bulls showed they are versatile on offense and strong on defense. The running game got a late boost from Lamar Sperling, who seemed to dominate UB’s final scoring drive. That could help the Bulls tune up even further 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 on the road, including trips to NIU, Connecticut, Ohio and Akron.