Lost in the 12-team College Football Playoff are the other bowl games that added a bit of pride and reward for a successful season in Division 1. Some invites have gone too far with 6-6 teams showing up for some of these contests.

Others, who had fantastic turnarounds, were much more deserving. That was definitely the case with the University of Buffalo Bulls.

In the Bahamas Bowl over the weekend, UB dominated Liberty University in a 26-7 victory. According to the UB sports information department, Linebacker Red Murdock led a UB defense that forced three Liberty turnovers and held the Flames to just a fourth-quarter touchdown. Murdock finished with a game-high 13 tackles, two forced fumbles and a pick-six, and was named the Defensive Player of the Game.

Fellow linebacker Shaun Dolac, playing in his final game as a Bull, had nine tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. He finished the season with a school-record 168 tackles.

It was UB’s fourth straight bowl win and second Bahamas Bowl victory. The Bulls also won the 2019 Bahamas Bowl.

More importantly, it was the ninth victory of the season for a team that in 2023 had only three wins. That’s a major turnaround for a Western New York school that is often competitive in the Mid-American Conference.