TLDR: Elijah Holmes is out with a knee injury, so Buffalo is handing its offense to a sophomore who's started exactly zero college games — today, on the road, against a…
Buffalo is walking into Beaver Stadium today with a first-time starter at quarterback, and it's not by design. Pete Thamel reported that sophomore Jason Wright will get the nod against No. 14 Penn State after Elijah Holmes was ruled out with a knee injury and won't even dress for the game.
Pete Thamel@PeteThamelSources: Buffalo will start sophomore Jason Wright at quarterback at No. 14 Penn State today. It will mark Wright’s first career start, as starter Elijah Holmes (knee) will not dress for the Bulls.
This isn't a total leap into the unknown for Buffalo. Wright already got a real audition last week against FIU, stepping in for an injured Holmes in the second half and going 13-for-27 for 185 yards and 2 touchdowns, both to Chance Morrow. The Bulls trailed 21-6 at the break before Wright helped spark a comeback push that ultimately came up short in a 33-20 loss.
That kind of performance is exactly why Buffalo isn't panicking about the injury. Thamel noted Wright is a dual threat who played in 4 games last season while still redshirting, so the staff has had a look at him in limited action before this ever became an emergency.
Pete Thamel @PeteThamel · Wright is a dual threat who took over against FIU for Buffalo last week when Holmes was injured. He threw two touchdown passes. He played four games while redshirting last year.
Now it's not an emergency relief appearance — it's a full start, on the road, against a Penn State defense that's a different animal than what Wright saw off the bench in Miami. Beaver Stadium is not where you want to hand a kid his first career start, but Buffalo doesn't have much choice with Holmes sidelined.
The Bulls enter at 1-1 after that FIU loss, and a road trip to a ranked Big Ten team was already going to be a tall order with a healthy starter. With Wright making his first career start instead, it becomes as much about seeing what the future at quarterback looks like in Buffalo as it does about the final score.