UCF 19, Buffalo 10

UCF 19, Buffalo 10
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Tavaris Capers returned a punt 52 yards for a touchdown and Central Florida's ground game made up for the absence of quarterback Ryan Schneider as the Golden Knights beat Buffalo 19-10 Saturday night.
UCF (2-3, 1-1 Mid-American) rushed for 298 yards, the most in coach Mike Kruczek's five-plus seasons. Alex Haynes ran for a career-high 165 yards.
Quarterback Jon Rivera, making his first career start, rushed for 89 yards. He completed 6 of 14 passes for 59 yards, the fewest ever under Kruczek.
Schneider's string of 34 consecutive starts was snapped after suffering a shoulder injury last week in a loss at Kent State. This was just the second time in the last 13 seasons that a UCF quarterback has missed a game due to injury.
Buffalo (0-6, 0-2) lost its 16th straight game, the program's longest skid since dropping 18 in a row from 1998-2000.
The Bulls had 216 yards of total offense in the first half, but only 55 after intermission. Dave Dawson led Buffalo with 83 rushing yards.
Capers broke open a close game midway through the third quarter by breaking right after catching a high kick, finding a wall of blockers and diving into the end zone before he could be pushed out of bounds. It was the third time Buffalo had surrendered a punt return for a touchdown this season.
The Knights took a 12-10 lead into halftime following Prater's 38-yard field goal as time expired. Earlier in the quarter, Prater hit a 27-yarder to bring UCF within a point.
P.J. Piskorik's 1-yard quarterback sneak gave the Bulls a 10-6 lead less than a minute into the second quarter -- the latest Buffalo has led in a game this season. Dawson set up the touchdown with a 62-yard run down to the UCF 18.
UCF went ahead 6-3 on Dee Brown's 26-yard touchdown run with 49 seconds remaining in the opening quarter, but Rob Schroeder blocked the point-after try with a strong rush up the middle.
The Bulls also blocked Prater's 33-yard field goal try in the fourth quarter.
UCF's chronic turnover woes continued early, when Dontavius Wilcox fumbled at the goal line on what would've been the game's first score. The Knights entered the game with a takeaway margin of minus-15, worst in the nation.
Buffalo cashed in the gift on Dallas Pelz's 43-yard field goal with 4:29 remaining in the first quarter.