4thand4cast

Search the site.

Try , , or .

Powered by Pagefind

Buffalo

Bulls · Mid-American

Head coach Pete Lembo Year 1 with Buffalo

Year-1 HCs (2015-2024) averaged -0.19 W vs SP+ expected · n=83

Season Projection · 2026 W0

10,000 sims
5.9
Expected wins
6-6
Proj record
3 to 9
Win range (90%)
#96 (74–118)
Final rank (90%)
0%
Make playoff
2%
Win conference

Path to Glory

Tap a win or a loss on each pivotal game to see how the playoff probability shifts. Leave any game unset to average across both outcomes.

Make the playoff

0%

Baseline projection.

  • vs UAlbany
    Home · Sep 3
  • vs Western Michigan
    Home · Oct 3
  • vs Bowling Green
    Home · Oct 24

Pivotal games are the 5 with the largest playoff-probability swing, ranked by the model. Math: chained Bayesian log-odds update from the conditional simulation set; gets the directionally right answer but won't perfectly capture cross-game correlations until the full Monte Carlo pipeline lands.

Returning production · 2025

66 PCI
  • Quarterback 60% (3/5 players)
  • Offensive line 75% (12/16 players)
  • Skill (RB/WR/TE) 68% (23/34 players)
  • Front 7 (DL/LB) 71% (24/34 players)
  • Secondary 73% (16/22 players)
  • Special teams 38% (3/8 players)

PCI weights returning production by position group (QB/OL heaviest). 70%+ is healthy continuity; 45-70% is a normal rebuild; below 45% is a meaningful turnover.

If QB1 is out (Ta'Quan Roberson)

GIE projects a -0.2 rating drop and a -0.9pp shift in playoff probability if Buffalo loses its QB1 for an extended stretch. (n=1 historical samples; pooled across recent seasons.)

Situational efficiency · 2025

FBS percentile rank
  • 3rd-down conversion 35.5% 39th — below avg
  • Red-zone TD rate 15.0% 53th — average
  • 4th-down aggression 31.0% 25th — below avg
  • Late & close 5.0 yds/play 49th — average

Percentile is across all FBS teams with play-by-play data for the season. "Late & close" is yards per play in Q4+ with a one-score margin — a proxy for clutch offensive performance.

Schedule

Full 2026 slate. Tap a row for the matchup breakdown.

Latest Stories

  • Recap

    Buffalo: 2025 Week 16 recap

    Buffalo sits at 5–7 after a 31–26 home loss to Ohio in Week 14, dropping the Bulls to a GIE rating of –7.5 and a ranking of 95th nationally. The defeat underscored persistent offensive inconsistency; Buffalo managed 26 points at home but…

More coming

Per-team pages get the full treatment in Phase 3: current rating, season projection histogram, schedule with win probabilities, and live overlays on Pylon stream days. For now, this page exists so stories and news have a permanent home as content rolls in.