Buffalo Bulls Football

Taking a look at 2006, Turner Gill's first class, he had to scramble, but did well in long-term quality with some outstanding immediate impact players.

3 enrolled in Jan 06- http://www.ubathletics.buffalo.edu/football/news/ftb01-18-2006-signees.shtml

The press release for Feb 06- http://www.ubathletics.buffalo.edu/football/news/ftb02-01-2006-signings.shtml

3 came late- http://www.ubathletics.buffalo.edu/football/news/ftb08-03-2006-recruits.shtml

1 (Brandon -Thermilus) came very late, and I cant find the link.

Where Are They Now?

All-MAC at this point-(1)Naaman

Possible 4 year starters.-(2)Bittner, Jordan (who should be back as a starter next year)

Possible 3 year starter(1)-Montanez

4 year contributor/sometime starter-(4)Storr, Brey, Drewes,Thermilus

Some impact/a few starts-(1)Hubbard

Should play as upperclassman-(4)Kelly, Hagg, Richberg, Nduka

Long gone-(6)Ferere, Flanagan, Williams, Smith, Pinson, Newill

Gone but helped out-(2) Packwood, Perry

 
The Class

Bittner, Peter DL 6'4" 290    
-Former poster on ubfan.com and member of Cage Crazies. WNY D player of year. Entering second year as starter at Guard and could achieve
  All-MAC Status and a 4 year starter, after redshirting with back injury.

Brey, Kyle TE 6'2" 250
-Redshirted, second string at TE and FB, who just got his first catch vs Temple.Great things ahead. Could end up back at FB as replacement for Sharon.

Drewes, Tom LB 6'1" 245
-Has played LB and DE. Started some as a true frosh, RS as soph.Currently out(knee?)
Looked Big 10 bound but bad shoulders did him in. A rough and tumble MLB if he stays healthy.

Ferere, Richard LB 6'1" 205
?

Flanagan, Brandon OL 6'2" 300
-Highly touted, turned down NC and Duke. Moved to DT after RS frosh year. Quit team in camp 08 after move to back center.

Hagg, Skyler WR 5'11" 185
-PAC 10 bound till bad injury. Still coming around but gives WR and return depth. Has played little this year.

Hubbard, David LB 6'0" 235
-JUCO who came with 3 years left. 
Originally offered by Urban Meyer at Utah. Gave UB 2 decent years as back up with a few starts.This year not in the mix.
 
Jerrold, Jordan OL 6'8" 285
-Started most of first two years.(7 as frosh) Lost starting spot to Andrew West in camp 08. Is hurt, using his RS year. Good chance of starting next year.

Kelly, Brian OL 6'6" 305
-Came with Con USA offers. Lost RS frosh year to grades. In 2008 Oline depth mix, but gets his time at LS.In the mix down the line.

Montanez, Anel DL 6'0" 285
-Short, but a scrapper. One of those "bowling ball"DT who can move. Played as true frosh. Redshirted as soph and starter this year.

Newill, Derek OL 6-4, 313
-Left for a d2 school.

Nduka, Ike RB 5'11" 215
-Jan 07. At the time,The jewel of this class. An  explosive fullback. BCS schools shied away because of grades. Took a bit to qualify. In the mix down the line.

Packwood, Taylor, K
-Got an opportunity young. Had some problems. Thank the lord for AJ Principe.

Perry, Keon DB 5'9" 170 JUCO
-Played his junior year.Started one game vs Miami of Ohio. Not on roster for first game of 2007(Rutgers)

Pinson, Patrick LB 6'1" 245
-Played at ECC, whereabouts unknown.Could show up in Jan?

Richberg, Solomon OL 6'4" 300
-Came in Jan.07 Redshirt frosh. Gives UB a huge backup on Dline. In the mix down the line.

Roosevelt, Naaman QB 6'0" 185
*What can you say? The Man. He was headed to NH as a QB. All MAC as a soph.Great receiver who could be MAC Offensive player of year next year.
At times looks so much better than anyone else. Should play in NFL. TGills first recruiting visit. A record breaker.

Smith, Kwaheen DB 5'10" 175   
?

Storr, Chris DB 6'0" 180
-Quality depth/impact player in Def. backfield.Played a bunch as true frosh starting 3 games. If we werent so strong at that spot, would be a bigger name. Comes in very handy.

Thermilus, Brandon RB 5'11" 210  
-Looked like a Big 12 signee until bad knee injury. Turning in to the type of explosive power back not often seen in MAC. Has had some great games this year.
Should be starter as senior.

Williams, Zach DL 6'3" 240
?

Not many people have heard of him, but Buffalo Bulls WR Naaman Roosevelt is a name that many people will know within the next few years.

Roosevelt is a native of Buffalo, New York and was the Western New York record-holder for most touchdowns thrown in a single season. He threw 35 during his senior year at Saint Joseph's Collegiate Institute in Kenmore, New York.

When Roosevelt moved on to college, he changed his primary position from QB to WR, as the second string QB during his first two seasons. He was also the primary return guy for the Bulls his freshman season.

During his freshman year at UB, Roosevelt caught 31 passes for 429 yards and two touchdowns.  He also had 11 punt returns for 144 yards, and 28 kick returns for 724 yards.  He also returned a kickoff for a touchdown against Bowling Green State, getting him special teams player of the week.

In his sophomore campaign, Roosevelt caught the ball 63 times for 766 yards and four touchdowns.  He also had 10 punt returns for 76 yards and 21 kick returns for 471 yards.

Roosevelt is currently in his junior season and is having a great year thus far.  He has 68 catches for 954 yards and eight touchdowns.  One of his touchdowns won the "Pontiac Game-Changing Performance of the week" award as he caught a "Hail Mary" pass with time expired against Temple, to win the game. 

His play is also up for the Pontiac Game-Changing Performance of the year award.  With two games left in the regular season, Roosevelt is expected to finish off the year with 82 catches for 1145 yards and 10 touchdowns.

It is not very often that a receiver coming out of the Mid-American Conference drafts high in the NFL Draft or even makes an NFL team, but everyone needs to keep an eye on this young talent.

After he graduates next year he will get drafted anywhere between the fifth and seventh round.  And, at the very least, could be a key special teams player in the NFL within the next few years.

In the last game ever at the Rubber Bowl, the fans and the teams never wanted to leave. The game was sent into four OTs before Buffalo defeated Akron 43-40 on a A.J. Principe 40-yard field goal after Buffalo recovered an Akron fumble.

Buffalo got off to an early 10-0 lead on a Drew Willy 24 yard pass and a Principe 28 yard field goal. Akron answered with a Dennis Kennedy 57-yard touchdown reception.

Buffalo then gave James Starks the ball, and he scored from three yards out before Akron capped off the first half with a 49-yard field goal.

In the first half, Akron missed 27- and 50-yard field goals and only punted once. Buffalo went 4-4 on fourth down, held the ball for 22:39 and also only punted once.

In the second half, Akron tied the game with a 24-yard Kennedy run. Buffalo then turned to Starks once again, and this time he took it in from five yards out. Kennedy then tied the game with a one-yard run with 23 seconds to go to send the game into overtime.

From, there chaos ensued. Here are the scoring plays in each overtime.

OT1: Buffalo scores on Willy one yard sneak on fourth down.

        Akron scores on a Mike Newton tipped ball that was caught by Dashan Miller.

OT2: Akron kicks 42 yard field goal.

        Buffalo kicks 24 yard field goal.

OT3: Buffalo scores on Starks one yard run. Buffalo tries a fade to Naaman Roosevelt for 2 but fails.

        Akron scores on Kennedy one yard run. Akron tries to throw a curl route but ball was forced to be thrown into ground.

OT4: Akron fumbles exchange on play action pass and Buffalo recovers.

        Buffalo runs the ball three times and kicks 40 yard field goal to win.

In the end Starks had 241 yards of total offense, including 151 rushing yards on 37 carries.

Kennedy has 142 yards on 25 carries and caught five passes for 121 yards. Willy went 27-of-39 for 252 yards while his counterpart Chris Jacquemain went 20/38 for 295 yards.

Buffalo improves to 6-4 (4-2) and has gained sole possession of first place in the MAC East, become bowl eligible for the first time as a Division 1-A program and will win the division with a win next week against Bowling Green.

Akron falls to 5-5 (3-3) and has to hope Buffalo loses to both Bowling Green and Kent State (and Bowling Green loses to Toledo) in order for them to have a shot at going to the MAC Championship game in Detroit.

In order for that to occur, Akron would also have to beat Ohio and Temple in their last two games. 

Drew Willy lit up the scoreboard at UB Stadium on a night where history was made for the blue of the Buffalo Bulls and the blue of the Democratic Party. In the Election Day-inspired Red vs. Blue battle, the Buffalo Bulls defeated the Miami (OH) RedHawks 37-17.

The teams traded scores to begin the game, with Buffalo striking first on a Willy one-yard touchdown run. The RedHawks answered with a 39-yard field goal, which the Bulls answered with a 34-yard bomb from Willy to Naaman Roosevelt in the corner of the end zone, extending the lead to 14-3 at the end of the first quarter.

Miami came out in the second quarter with a touchdown drive that was capped by a seven-yard touchdown run by redshirt freshman quarterback Clay Belton. Willy answered the touchdown with another bomb, this time only 25 yards, which found Brett Hamlin in the middle of the end zone to give the Bulls a 21-10 halftime lead.

Miami started the second half with a touchdown drive that ended with J.R. Taylor's three-yard touchdown run. Unfortunately, the RedHawks defense failed to stop the Bulls' march down the field, and James Starks added to the Bulls' lead with a one-yard touchdown run. A.J. Principe missed the extra point off the left upright, and the Bulls led 27-17 after the third quarter.

However, the Bulls controlled the fourth quarter. Principe added a 34-yard field goal to begin the Bulls' monumental fourth quarter. After a Miami fumble, Starks put the game away with a 52-yard touchdown run, thereby, giving the Bulls their first win against the RedHawks.

Buffalo coach Turner Gill made some very gutsy calls to begin the game. He went for it on 4th-and-2 from the Miami 39 on the Bulls' first drive and faked a punt on the second drive. Fortunately for Buffalo, both plays resulted in first downs. This definitely set the tone for the game.

The Bulls offense accumulated 476 yards of total offense and only punted three times. Willy went 18-20 for 245 yards, and Starks ran for 177 yards on 26 carries.

Miami, on the other hand, gained a respectable 383 yards of total offense but fumbled twice, punted twice, missed a field goal, and turned the ball over on downs twice inside the red zone. In the end Belton went 17-30 for 178 yards, and Taylor ran for 69 yards on 16 carries to lead the RedHawks in rushing.

The Bulls move into sole possession of first place in the MAC East for the time with a 3-2 conference record to go along with their 5-4 overall record, one win shy of the Bulls' first bowl eligible season in their I-A history. Miami falls to 2-7 overall and 1-4 in conference.

If you thought Buffalo would be frazzled by the Tuesday night ESPNU-broadcasted game, then you were way off. The visiting Bulls looked as good as can be in the first half against the Ohio Bobcats, racing out to a 14-0 with rushing touchdowns from James Starks and Brandon Thermilus in an eventual 32-19 victory in Athens.

After Ohio cut the lead to 14-7, Drew Willy found Naaman Roosevelt to extend the lead to 21-7. A.J. Principe added a field goal at the end of the first half to get the Bulls to halftime with a 24-7 lead.

After a scoreless third quarter, Boo Jackson ran in from eight yards out to cut the lead to 24-13, but the Bulls blocked the extra point and took it back for two, giving them a 13-point lead, 26-13. Following a Buffalo punt, Ohio scored another touchdown, but Barrett Way missed the extra point, which still allowed the Bulls to maintain a seven-point lead, 26-19.

The Bulls didn't take too long to answer the call, however. Following the Bobcats touchdown, James Starks and the Bulls answered with a 52-yard touchdown run, but the extra point was blocked and Buffalo held a 32-19 lead with seven minutes to go.

Ohio tried to answer with a deep pass. The pass was caught, but a fumble gave the Bulls the ball and they kept it to end the game and walk out of Athens with the 32-19 win.

The Bulls turned the ball over just once, a fumble early in the first quarter. Meanwhile, the Bobcats turned the ball over five times, on four fumbles and an interception. Ohio was lucky it wasn't more, as the Bobcats fumbled the ball six times but regained possession on two of those occasions. Ohio outgained the Bulls in yardage, 417-393, but Buffalo ran the ball for a season-high 278 yards. James Starks ran for 185 yards on 30 carries and scored two touchdowns.

The Bulls moved to 4-4 (2-2 MAC) and gained a share of the MAC East lead. Ohio fell to 2-7 (1-4 MAC) and now sits in last place of the East. Buffalo will host Miami (Ohio) on Election Night on ESPN2; Ohio next plays Bowling Green on Nov. 8.

Friends and former colleagues facing off

Just before Halloween, in what could be a frightening game, the Buffalo Bulls football team travels to Athens, Ohio to face off against conference foe the Ohio Bobcats. The spooks and goblins are sure to be out in force. With temperatures potentially plunging, conference divisional rivalries could heat things up.

Will Ohio quarterback Boo Jackson be scary? Will Buffalo Drew Willy knock 'em dead or draw a blank?

History from Huskerland

Tom Osborne hired former Husker standout fullback and state high school championship coach Frank Solich to coach his freshman team. Osborne recruited eventual Heisman finalist quarterback Turner Gill. After a Canadian CFL career cut short when Gill followed medical advice, and a brief stint in minor league baseball, Turner joined the Huskers on the sidelines.

Two former Husker assistants: a former running backs coach and later head coach versus a former quarterbacks coach, assistant head coach, and later receivers coach. Both are Mid-American Conference Eastern Division (MAC) head coaches now. After 152 weeks on the same sidelines, now they face off annually.

Meet the coaches

Frank Solich is in his fourth year leading the Bobcats of Ohio. Solich was an Ohio standout running back before setting records at Nebraska.

Third-year Buffalo Bulls head coach Turner Gill is looking up and being mentioned for other openings. The Mid-American Conference would hate to lose him.

Rushing Keys

Both had 1,000-yard rushers last year. Solich's Kevin McRae rushed for 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons. Gill's James Starks became the Bulls’ first 1,000-yard rusher since jumping to the I-A division.

McRae graduated, and Starks is a junior with a chance to match McRae's feat. Bobcat's Dante Hardin is not on pace through six games to reach that goal this year.

Passing Keys

Junior Boo Jackson leads the Bobcats with over 1,100 yards passing and another 129 on the ground. His favorite targets are Taylor Prince, Lavon Brazill, and Andrew Mooney. The Bobcats have connected with redshirt freshman Hardin coming out of the backfield to keep defenses honest.

Drew Willy has all of the Bulls' passes thrown this year. Naaman Roosevelt is his favorite target, and he has connected with wide receivers Hamlin and Jackson as well as tight end Rack 10 or more times so far. Bulls rushing leader James Starks has slipped out of the backfield for eight catches as well.

Special Teams

Both Ohio and Buffalo have one kickoff return for a touchdown this year.

Defense

The Bobcats’ eight interceptions this year are twice as many as the Buffalo Bulls' four.

Record

As of today the Bobcats have a 1-5 record with losses to two ranked opponents (Northwestern and Ohio State). The Bulls are 2-3 with a loss to top five Missouri.

Each has two more games before they face off. Buffalo could win against Western Michigan and Army to be 4-3 at kickoff. Ohio may be able to dispatch Kent State and Temple to own a 3-5 record by October 28.

Ohio's 42-21 loss to Western Michigan was filled with miscues. Comparing this week's Buffalo's results to them may not show the likely outcome.

Yuck. Missouri's 42-21 victory over Buffalo inspires that kind of reaction, despite what the boxscore might tell you. It was like Mizzou was playing the role of the matador, taunting the Bulls by giving them turnovers, only to prove to be too much in the end.

But a win is a win, and on a day when this team did everything it could to give away the game, Mizzou came out on top. That can only be good

But this game was special for me in particular. It was my first time ever watching the game from field level, and I was watching it through a camera. Filming the game for MUTV, the student station at Missouri, I was on the field or in the press box for the whole game, and the experience was truly amazing.

I cannot even begin to describe the atmosphere on the field at the beginning of the game. Sure, it was Buffalo, but the Missouri faithful piled over 65,000 fans into Memorial Stadium, and everyone of them was screaming as the players warmed up. I was just a member of the media, but I was nervous and excited.

Setting up on the Missouri sideline, I initially played the role of "chaser", running up and down the field about 10-20 yards ahead of the line of scrimmage, filming every play. That was for one quarter. For the second quarter I got to watch the game from the press box, while my two teammates (one being B/R's own Matt Schiffman) shot from the field.

At halftime, I had to leave early for the field, as we actually filmed a young student from "Tigers Lair", the Missouri student section, PROPOSING TO HIS GIRLFRIEND. I'm not exaggerating when I say he was wearing no shirt, body paint, and a sports hat, while his new fiancee was in a black sports bra, more body paint, and soccer shorts. Congratulations to both of them.

For the second half, I shot from the "endzone" position, literally camping out in the back of the endzone and filming any scoring that Missouri did. That was definitely easier, and I got a little break. To cap it all off, I filmed the post-game conference and then got to interview any notable Tigers that played in the game.

It was a seriously amazing experience, and the whole day confirmed that this is definitely what I want to do with my life. While drenched in sweat and watching my team play like complete garbage, I was still having a blast on the sideline.

But enough about my day. Let's get to the game itself.

-Chase Daniel was robbed by his teammates. He was 35/44, for 431 yards and two TDs, but he should have had more. THREE times, the Tigers fumbled the ball on the Buffalo side of the field. I don't expect that to happen again this year, but it was ugly, and Daniel could have had 500 yards and four TDs.

-Derrick Washington defended his spot as the top scorer in the Big 12. Just thought I'd remind you he's a beast.

-Another short one: three fumbles is unacceptable. The team said all the right things after the game, but this should never happen again.

-Among the list of reserved seats in the press box was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I'm not sure who they were at the game to watch, but Sean Weatherspoon definitely enhanced his draft status. He had 19 tackles, including a couple of bonecrushing hits. Plus, he's a hilarious interview.

-It's amazing how fickle even media fans can be. Sitting in the press box after Buffalo made it 17-14, "this defense f***ing sucks". That's a joke! At that point in the game, the defense hadn't even given up true points yet. The only reason why Willy threw a TD there was because Missouri DE Brian Coulter was blocked into the Buffalo punter and the refs blew the call.

My point is, the Missouri defense is still getting better. Only 14 points that they gave up was actually the fault of the defense. They gave up 287 total yards on the day without their best defensive player. They'll be fine against Nebraska.

-I'm not sure if I believe Danario Alexander's claim that "he's officially back", but he is obviously making strides, and we saw that with his 27-yard TD. He looked hurt in the first quarter, but it appears that his injury was more mental then physical. The sooner he gets 100% comfortable, the better.

-If I'm true freshman Kenji Jackson with time expired in the fourth quarter, I take that interception the other way for six points. If Buffalo wants to try to score an extra TD as the game ends, it's fair game for Missouri to put some points of their own on too.

-Jeff Wolfert missed his first field goal this season, a 53-yarder from the left hash, after not missing one since last year's week four game. That was an NFL quality kick, so he obviously has nothing to be ashamed of. But hey, I gotta report right?

-All week gearing up for the game, there was one thing on my mind: Don't pull a Charlie Weis. From the sideline, I almost got hit twice. Once was by Tommy Saunders on his long pass up the sideline. Had he not cut back to the middle of the field, I was on target to get lit up.

The second time happened on a fade route to Danario Alexander later in the fourth quarter. Plainly put: if I hadn't moved, I would have been hit by Super Danario and the two guys guarding him.

Although it was a bad game, it was still a win. I'm happy the Tigers are 4-0, and the off week before Nebraska should really help. Now the games are even more crucial. Conference play is underway, and the Tigers have to win in Lincoln for the first time in 30 years.

If I would have told you that Buffalo would have caused Missouri to cough up the ball twice in the red zone in the first half and would only be down 20-14 at the half, would you have believed me?

Chances are, you wouldn't have, but that's exactly what happened in Missouri's 42-21 doubling of Buffalo.

The game started off as expected as Missouri cruised to a 10-0 lead in their first two drives but the momentum and energy was sucked out of Missouri when Ernest Jackson ran the kickoff back 97 yards untouched and brought the Bulls to within three.

Buffalo then snapped Missouri's 15-drive scoring streak when they forced the Tigers to punt late in the first quarter. Jeremy Maclin ran in a 16-yard touchdown to put the Tigers ahead 17-7.

Missouri fumbled the ball on their next two drives, and Ernest Jackson caught a 32-yard pass from Drew Willy and Buffalo was back in the game 17-14. Missouri added a Jeff Wolfert 48-yard field goal as the half expired to head into the locker room with a slim 20-14 lead.

Missouri came out and scored a quick touchdown to pull in front 27-14. On the ensuing drive Buffalo coughed up the ball inside their own 40, but on the next play stripped Jeremy Maclin of the ball and marched down to bring the game back to within six at 27-21.

After Missouri turned the ball over on downs, Buffalo had the ball at their own 39 with a chance to take the lead. They couldn't convert on the opportunity and had to punt. This punt happened to be one of the better punts Peter Fardon was able to get off for the Bulls.

Abysmal long snapping hurt the Bulls' punt game by only allowing time for Fardon to punt the ball 16 and 7 yards on two consecutive punts at a point in the game. Missouri then scored a touchdown on a Derrick Washington 3-yard run, but Missouri missed the two point conversion to give the Tigers a 33-21 lead.

Buffalo stalled on their next drive, leading to a punt that was turned into a Chase Coffman touchdown catch to extend the lead to 40-21. Missouri capped off the day with a safety after Fardon had to kick the ball over the endline to avoid a Missouri touchdown.

Heisman Candidate Chase Daniel went 36-of-43 for 439 yards and two touchdowns. Buffalo QB Drew Willy went 22-of-40 for 237 yards a INT and two touchdowns. Buffalo was held to 49 yards on the ground but were missing starting running back James Starks to a hip injury.

Once again, Buffalo comes out of a game against a major program with a moral victory. The major reason Buffalo isn't getting stomped into the ground is the coaching of Turner Gill.

Since Gill became the head coach, Buffalo has trailed by less than two touchdowns to No. 2 Auburn (2006), Pittsburgh (2008) and No. 5 Missouri (2008) after three quarters of play. However, on all three occasions, the Bulls have come up just short.  

I recall when Buffalo moved to I-A. Everyone's first response: Buffalo has a university? Everyone's second response: This university has a football team? Everyone's third response: Why on earth is a university that no one has ever heard of and their football program with no tradition moving to I-A?

Now according to this football site which every college football fan should reference, I am selling Buffalo's football program a bit short.

It appears that they have played about 550 football games in their history, and they have won about 43% of them. Still, they have been so bad since moving to I-A, that even their local paper suggested that dropping football altogether, should remain on the table. (Yes, Buffalo is one of the more than a few I - A football programs that actually loses money for the athletics program.)

And there is a reason for this: Buffalo has had ONE winning season since their "heyday" of sorts in the early to mid 1980s, during which time they had 3 of their 4 winning seasons since 1970. 

So the fact that Buffalo absolutely put it on UTEP 42-17 should be noted.

UTEP is not a powerhouse mid-major, but they are coached by Mike Price, who built Washington State into a PAC-10 contender before he foolishly left for Alabama.

Buffalo's head coach: Nebraska great Turner Gill, who won not a few Big 8 titles for the team as a QB and helped develop stars like Tommie Frazier, Scott Frost, and Eric Crouch as the Cornhusker's QB coach.

It's his third season as the Bulls Head Coach, and Gill has 18 starters back from a team that last year came oh-so-close from not only becoming Buffalo's first winning team in over 10 years, and their first as a I-A program, but also winning the Eastern Division of the MAC. 

Buffalo was actually good enough to have a winning record against mid-major competition last season, but unfortunately the need to have four "paycheck" athletic budgets, balancing games against BCS conference schools Rutgers, Baylor, Syracuse, and Penn State ruined any chance they had for a winning season.

That left them with no guaranteed victories against I-AA teams, they were faced with the task of needing to win 7 of 8 games against mid-major competition to have a winning record. With six of those eight being conference games, Buffalo was a couple of bad sequences against Miami and Bowling Green away from pulling it off!

So why should anyone care about this but Buffalo fans (all five of them), MAC football advocates, and maybe fans of Nebraska?

Well, Gill's ability to get a program that shouldn't be playing division I-A football, to nearly win a division in the MAC in his second season earned him a lot of notice. Gill interviewed at his Alma Mater Nebraska, and several other schools including Washington State requested to do so as well.

The guy can coach, and won't be at Buffalo much longer, as the Bulls has only two games against major schools (Pittsburgh and Missouri), they are almost guaranteed to manage a winning record. Although thanks to their conference, they will be unlikely to receive a bowl berth. 

Likely places to hire Gill? My guess is SYRACUSE. Syracuse's Athletics Director is a USC guy, and he felt that he could replicate USC's success with Pete Carroll by hiring another longtime NFL coach. Didn't work. (By the way, Pete Carroll was a very good college coach...had Curtis Martin not gotten hurt, Carroll would have won a Super Bowl in New England with Drew Bledsoe...people thinking that you can just hire any failed NFL head coach or career assistant and get a winning program ought to realize that Carroll was actually a capable NFL head coach and is better than many NFL head coaches right now.)

This was supposed to be a make or break year for the current Syracuse head coach, and he opened the year with a 20 point loss to NORTHWESTERN. So...Syracuse will be looking for a new coach by the end of the season.

Turner Gill will be a logical candidate. Why? Well...how far is Buffalo, New York, from Syracuse, New York? Precisely.

Also, Syracuse played Buffalo last year, and Buffalo lost by only 8 points. Don't think that the Syracuse people didn't notice. 

Turner Gill: next Syracuse head football coach. Think about it. It would be even better if Gill junks the pro-style offense that Syracuse will NEVER be able to recruit the right talent for, (making them no different from 90% of I-A programs, and 95% of them outside of Florida and Southern California...if schools like Oregon in the PAC-10 are now running some option that ought to tell these programs something!) and returns them to the run-oriented schemes that Dick McPherson used to build Syracuse into a winner—the same schemes that his predecessor, Paul Pasqualoni, refused to commit to and wound up getting himself fired as a result, even better! 

It would be good for Gill, who is unlikely to get a better opportunity anytime soon, good for Syracuse, good for the northeastern college football scene (which let us face it—isn't that hot and hasn't been for quite awhile), and good for the Big East.

It is bad for Buffalo, I admit, but I am still not convinced that they should be playing football to begin with. 

For the many years since 1999, when the Buffalo Bulls joined Division I-A football, the team was the joke of the town and the college football community.  UB stadium, which seats 31,000, was averaging crowds of 1,000, and the team was finishing seasons at 1-11.

When former Cornell University coach Jim Hofher was hired to be the head coach in Buffalo, his team continued to struggle, not only on the field, but at the recruiting level as well.

Then came December of 2005, and the UB Bulls found the best man for the job—Turner Gill, the Green Bay Packers assistant coach and former Heisman Trophy winner with great Nebraska teams.

Gill has turned the program around since his hiring.  The Bulls have competed with teams such as Auburn, Penn State, and Syracuse, and soon will be playing Boston College.  As a reward for his efforts, Gill was named MAC's 2007 Coach of the Year.

Gill has nabbed some of the best recruits locally.  Running back James Starks played high school ball in Niagara Falls, and Naaman Roosevelt played his at St. Joe's Collegiate Institute in Kenmore, NY.

Buffalo also has one of the best quarterbacks in the country—a very underrated player by the name of Drew Willy.

Willy, who is entering his senior season, and his fourth as UB's starting quarterback, is coming off his best season.  Last season he set a career mark with the highest efficiency passing rating in school history (135.7) and also threw for 2,572 yards and 15 touchdowns.  This year, he was nominated for the Johnny Unitas award, given to the best quarterback in the country.

Senior linebacker David Hubbard, along with defensive backs Davonte Shannon, who was voted first team ALL-MAC with 123 tackles and 3 interceptions and Mike Newton, come back to lead a physical and aggressive UB Bulls defense.  The team took great jumps under Turner Gill and defensive coordinator Jimmy Williams and staff.

Buffalo also has solid special teams with placekicker A.J. Principe , but will be looking for another great season season from the Aussi Peter Fardon

The UB Bulls schedule will really show what this team is made of.  Buffalo opens the season at home against Texas-El Paso on August 28, then faces Pittsburgh, Missouri, Central Michigan, Army, Miami (Ohio), which will be televised nationally on ESPN 2, and Bowling Green

Regardless of how this season plays out, Buffalo fans can finally rest at ease, knowing this program at UB is going places in a hurry.

For a complete look at the UB Bulls schedule and roster visit them at

http://www.ubathletics.buffalo.edu/football/