Quarterback Ryan Kramer finished 28 of 42 for 218 yards with two interceptions, but threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Francis with 2:03 remaining to put Fisher in the lead.  Francis finished with nine catches for 74 yards and the score, and Ryan Schmidt had 11 grabs for 60 yards.  Dave Vosburgh led a tenacious Cardinals’ defense with 10 tackles, including seven solo stops.

 
Fisher (1-0) totaled 331 yards of total offense, including 218 in the air and 113 on the ground.  Buffalo State (0-2) totaled 260 yards, but only 116 came in the game’s final 53 minutes.

 
After Buffalo State forced a Fisher three-and-out on the game’s opening possession, the Bengals marched 80 yards on nine plays, and took a 7-0 lead with a 26-yard scoring strike/.

 
After another defensive stop, Buffalo State’s offense moved the ball again, going 64 yards on nine plays, before the Cardinals’ Shawn Masood picked off a pass in the end zone, thwarting the Bengals’ scoring chance.

 
Fisher’s only points of the first half came on a 35-yard field goal from Chad Monheim with 5:06 left in the second quarter. The Cardinals nearly scored at the end of the half, but Kramer was intercepted in the endzone with 10 seconds left.

 
Fisher sustained a 12-play drive on its first touch of the second half, but again had to settle for a field goal by Monheim, this time from 25 yards.  The kick closed the gap to 7-6, accounting for the only points in the third quarter. 

 
Mason Judd sacked the Buffalo State quarterback (one of two on the night for the sophomore), pinning the Bengals deep in their own territory on their first possession of the fourth quarter and the Cardinals forced a punt.  Fisher moved the ball into Buffalo State territory, and had its first chance at taking the lead, but Monheim missed a 40-yard field goal try with 8:42 remaining on the clock. 

 
The Bengals went three-and-out again, and punted the ball right back to the Cardinals.  Fisher moved the ball quickly with a 17-yard run by Schmidt and a 15-yard completion from Kramer to David Kirchner on consecutive plays.  Buffalo State’s defense had an answer again however, and forced another field goal try.  Monheim missed again, this time from 38 yards, with 5:43 remaining.

Fisher’s defense allowed just one first down on the ensuing drive, before forcing Buffalo State to punt for a ninth time.  The Cardinals took over on their own 47, and needed just four plays and 57 seconds to take the lead on a 30-yard pass from Kramer to Francis into the left corner of the end zone.  The Cardinals’ two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the score at 12-7. 

Buffalo State returned the following kickoff 29 yards to give the Bengals’ the ball at the 50-yard line with 1:56 remaining.  After quarterback Ryan Lehotsky hit Caesarae Lewis for an 18-yard gain, he found Matt Pagano for 27 yards, giving the Bengals’ a first-and-goal from the Fisher 6.  After two negative plays and an incomplete pass, Buffalo State had one more chance from the 12, but Lehotsky’s pass was batted up the air and intercepted in the end zone by Zach Dolan. The Cardinals ran out the remaining 42 seconds with a knee.

 

Brenden Moore joined Vosburgh with 10 stops, while Travis Tones was in on eight tackles.   First-year players Nick LoBrutto and Mike Belluco each made seven tackles, with Belluco recording one of Fisher’s four sacks on the day. Chris Napolitano was also credited with a sack.

 

Joe Leavell made seven tackles and one interception.

 
FuQuan Borum rushed 15 times for 63 yards to lead the Cardinals on the ground.