
Bulls Win Bahamas Bowl in 26-7 Blowout
UB Bulls football put a cap on one of the most successful seasons in school history with a win in the Bahamas Bowl. The team ran up a 26-0 lead on the Liberty University Flames, before finally allowing a garbage-time TD in the fourth quarter. They started slow, with three field goals in the first half, including a 52-yarder by Upton Bellenfant in the opening minutes. The offense scored its first TD in the third, with a 45-yard run by Al-Jay Henderson, and Red Murdock returned an interception 31 yards for a TD in the fourth.
The Bulls dominated on all sides of the ball, with 359 yards of offense to Liberty’s 242, including an astonishing 222 yards rushing. The defense allowed only six completed passes, and sacked Flames QB Ryan Burger four times, before he was pulled in favor of Nate Hampton, who threw the interception to Murdock (and Liberty’s lone TD pass.)
Henderson was the offense’s clear MVP, with 119 yards rushing, and 36 receiving (35 of which came on C.J. Ogbonna’s longest pass of the day). Ogbonna went 9-of-19 for 137 yards, and Victor Snow led all receivers with 4 catches for 41 yards. Red Murdock had a huge day for the defense — besides his TD-scoring INT, he led the team with 9 solo tackles and 4 assists, while also forcing two fumbles.
The game was the Bulls’ seventh bowl game in the program’s history, and their second Bahamas Bowl (they beat Charlotte 31-9 in 2019’s game). It’s their first-ever win against the Flames, who they’ve lost two three times over the years. And the win gives UB their third 9-win season in history, having won 10 in 2018, and 9 in 1986 (when the program was still Division III). It’s a massive turnaround for a team that went 3-9 last year, and a resounding success for head coach Pete Lembo, who took over the program this year.