A record-tying marathon in Buffalo

Mendenhall’s Cavs are off to fast start

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jarvion Franklin scored from 12 yards out to give Western Michigan a 71-68 victory over Buffalo on Saturday in a record-tying seven overtimes.

Buffalo had just converted on a 25-yard field goal to open the door for the Broncos who scored in just four plays. This was the fourth game in FBS history to go into seven overtimes.

Missed, made and blocked field goal attempts made the difference in this game. Buffalo’s Adam Mitcheson nailed a 34-yarder to tie the game at 31 with 34 seconds left in regulation. Western Michigan’s Josh Grant attempted a 52-yarder as time expired but Jarrett Franklin blocked it. Grant also missed a 29-yard attempt that would have been a game winner in the third overtime.

Jon Wassink threw for five TDs and Franklin ran for 176 yards and three scores for Western Michigan (4-2, 2-0 MAC). Drew Anderson threw for 597 yards, a Buffalo (3-3, 1-1) record, with seven TD passes and a touchdown run. The Bulls set an FBS record for the most points in a losing effort.

By the numbers

366: Consecutive games scoring by Florida.

200: Career victories by Tulane coach Willie Fritz following a 62-28 rout of Tulsa.

11: Years of Cornell’s losing streak to Harvard before beating the Crimson 17-14.

8,204: Career passing yards by Samford’s Devlin Hodges to break the school record.

Saturday takeaways

■ West Virginia quarterback Will Grier came up on the short end of another close game, this time against No. 8 TCU on Saturday, but the Florida transfer’s play has been even better than advertised this season. Southern Cal’s San Darnold and UCLA’s Josh Rosen get most of the hype when it comes to QBs and the NFL draft, but Grier could be a first-rounder, too — if he decides to leave school early.

■ Most surprising start? Virginia is 4-1 under Bronco Mendenhall, a former Lobo defensive coordinator, after winning two in his debut season last year.

Unheralded stars

■ Caleb Evans, Louisiana Monroe, threw for a career-high 433 yards and three TDs in a 45-27 win over Texas State.

■ Taryn Christion, South Dakota State, threw four firsthalf TD passes in a 49-14 win over Southern Illinois.

■ Vincent Sellers, Tennessee State, returned two interceptions for TDs in a 45-21 win over Eastern Kentucky.

■ Jason Driskel, Florida Atlantic, scored four of the Owls’ school-record eight rushing touchdowns in their 58-28 victory over Old Dominion.