MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) -- Tyree Jackson threw for a touchdown and ran for another and freshmen running backs Kevin Marks and Jaret Patterson had career days to lead Buffalo to a 34-24 win over Central Michigan on Saturday.
Jackson had a 6-yard scoring pass to Tyler Mabry in the first quarter and ran 5 yards for a touchdown in the second, helping the Bulls (5-1, 2-0 Mid-American Conference) take a 17-3 lead.
Then the freshmen took over to help Buffalo, off to its best start since 1996, pile up more than 300 yards on the ground.
After a touchdown run for the Chippewas (1-5, 0-2) with 5:24 left in the third quarter, Marks, a redshirt freshman who finished with 167 yards, broke off a 70-yard scoring run on the next snap. Patterson, a true freshman who had 121 yards, answered the next Central Michigan score with a 14-yard scoring run. Both backs had 18 carries as Buffalo had a pair of 100-yard runners in the same game for the first time since 2014.
Jackson finished 10 for 20 for 127 yards.
Buffalo, which had lost four straight in the series, picked off Tommy Lazzaro four times.
