The Buffalo Bulls suffered a gut-wrenching defeat in Week 4. Clinging onto a 17-0 lead as home favorites over Troy headed into the third quarter, it felt like a waiting game for an inevitable Buffalo victory. Instead, disaster struck in a multitude of ways.
Buffalo lost starting quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson due to a lower leg injury in the third quarter on a QB keeper, one play before he handed it off to Al-Jay Henderson for a 22-yard touchdown. Then in the fourth quarter, Troy eradicated the 17-0
deficit and rattled off three-straight touchdowns to produce a 21-17 comeback victory.
Buffalo head coach Pete Lembo provided an update on Roberson’s status heading into another home non-conference matchup Saturday vs. UConn.
“He didn’t practice today, so we’ll see where he’s at later this week,” Lembo said in his Tuesday press conference. “I would put him in the doubtful category at this point.”
Roberson was replaced by backup Gunnar Gray who guided five full possessions against Troy. Gray initially led a field goal drive to extend Buffalo’s advantage to 17-0. His next three drives each resulted in three-and-outs as the Trojans quickly stormed back to take the lead. The quarterback then received one final opportunity at the win, maneuvering Buffalo down to the Troy 29-yard line. With one final shot at the end zone, Gray’s heave to Chance Morrow was broken up by Joe Lott, securing a Trojan victory.
He finished 5-of-13 for 49 yards in his most substantial action to date.
“If Gunnar’s gotta play, we have total confidence in him,” Lembo said. “He’s played a fair amount of football. He’s certainly taken a lot of reps with the twos and the ones. In terms of how he played last week, I’d say he played solid. Any time you have a backup come into the game particularly at quarterback, but really at any position, what’s critical is that everybody else steps up and is at their best when that moment comes. I don’t think we particularly did that on offense last week. We’ll see with a week of practice and preparation if Gunnar does go if Ta’Quan’s not ready, hopefully the rest of our offense will rally and put their best foot forward.”
Gray only threw a pass in one contest last season — Buffalo’s 47-3 loss at UConn, where completed 4-of-11 passes for 41 yards an an interception. Surprisingly, the quarterback has never taken a rushing attempt before, not even a sack. Running the quarterback is a focal point of the Bulls’ offense with Roberson in the game, and Lembo stated it remains an essential component even if Gray takes the reins this weekend.
“You have to play to the strengths of the guy that’s in there, but I also think to have a fighting chance, you have to be able to run the quarterback in certain situations against anybody you play,” Lembo said.
Buffalo hopes Roberson returns to the field in the near future. The seventh-year senior quarterback is two games removed from setting his career high as a passer, delivering 318 yards on Kent State in the MAC opener win. In addition, Roberson ranks second on the team in rushing with 155 yards and two touchdowns. Lembo was pleased about the former Penn State, UConn, and Kansas State quarterback’s development prior to exiting Saturday with an injury.
“I thought Ta’Quan was making really, really nice progress before he had to exit the game with an injury,” Lembo said. “Just looked more and more comfortable keeping his eyes downfield, making some plays when he scrambled, making some really nice throws on shorter, intermediary, and deeper routes.”
Buffalo hosts UConn on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+, concluding its 2025 non-conference slate.
