Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Bulls on the Brink -- Can it work in Buffalo?
4:14 AM | 
Posted by
Nick Mendola
Pardon me if I rip yours and my sporting mind away from Losman/Edwards for 10 minutes, but I need to know — Can it work here?
No, this isn't about the Bills. It isn't about the Sabres. It's not about Bass Pro, a thousand-level casino downtown or a mass-transit system.
It's about Division I football (I know, I know — go play intramurals, brother).
After my traditional mid-afternoon siesta, I peeled myself out of bed for some dinner, but not before I checked my email. In my inbox was a link to the latest of ESPN's 2007 Bowl predictions, and here's how it read:
International Bowl, MAC No. 3 vs. Big East No. 4:
Ivan Maisel: Ball State vs. UConn
Mark Schlabach: Buffalo vs. Cincinnati
Never mind that I have no idea who the heck Mark Schlabach is, I've been thinking about this since the Bulls strung together back-to-back home wins against Ohio and Toledo, but seeing it in print made it all the more real. Admittedly, I have a vested interest in the idea — UB is my alma mater (go English department, go) and I work on the radio broadcast, but it feels so close. Even the Cubs/Sabres/Bills fan in me is hopeful that Turner Gill has done enough to bring the Bulls to the national spotlight this quickly in his head coaching career, and not just as successor to Tom Osborne at Nebraska.
UB travels to Miami of Ohio, a traditional Mid American Conference power, for a 3 p.m. Saturday showdown on WGR, and a win would go a long ways toward clinching the MAC East, inserting the Bulls in a post-season game, if not a bowl. The Mid American Conference has three bowl bids — its champion goes to the GMAC Bowl in Alabama, another team to the Motor City Bowl in Detroit, and a third to the International Bowl in Toronto.
This season more than any previous, I've heard UB football talk in random places, and this time it isn't because of an early schedule game against Syracuse, a new coach coming to town or Smash Mouth performing before the home opener, with Tony Hawk to follow at halftime.
It seems, in essence, to be the perfect storm. The Bulls had a road game scheduled with Penn State that had blow-out written all over it, but the kids responded by staying competitive late into the contest with the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley. They've won all but one game in conference, a thrashing at the hands of the MAC's top team, Ball State, and had every single chip fall in their favor in division. They play the two teams that stand in their way in consecutive weeks: first, Miami, followed by Bowling Green in UB's home finale, after a bye week to heal up and prepare for the Falcons.
On top of all this, several of their top players are not only young, but from the area. Niagara Falls' James Starks has been a freak at running back, after spending his high school under center. Starks has 12 touchdowns and over 1,000 combined yards rushing and receiving. He's been explosive at home and on the road. St. Joe's product Naaman Roosevelt is the team's leading receiver, hauling in 43 balls for 489 yards and two scores, while also lining up under center on occasion.
Junior quarterback Drew Willy's quarterback rating is 134.8 (the numbers in college are a little different, but believe me, they're still impressive). An opportunistic defense has improved each week, posting 11 interceptions and 17 sacks, including eight by senior captain Trevor Scott, who was a tight end until his junior year. Both Scott and center Jamey Richard have pro potential. Thirty percent of voters at the conference web site picked UB in a web poll, and the question wasn't, "Which team are you most likely to stomp on?" (For the record, it asked who would win the MAC East).
In the end all these positives will be tested under fire in November. Three of the Bulls four wins have come at home, and all in October. They've faltered —bowing to an underwhelming Syracuse team after back-to-back wins at home.
The Bulls are in absolutely unchartered waters for the program, and will be in the house of a program that's been there, and recently, winning the title in 2003 and 2004. Miami retired Ben Roethlisberger's jersey just last week, and the Redhawks program is considered the "Cradle of Coaches," with Paul Brown, Sid Gillman, Woody Hayes, Ara Parseghian, Weeb Ewbank and Bo Schembechler all coming through Miami. Bowling Green's no patsy, either.
Still, what does it all mean? Certainly, athletic director Warde Manuel and Coach Gill have done enough to ensure that this program is worth talking about, if not taking a peek at, but perhaps UB's at the fault of its own good marketing. Prospective fans bought in with the hiring of Syracuse staffer Jim Hofher, and were rewarded for the faith with a bevy of losses and ineptitude.
In a certain sense, fans have taken a "fooled me once" approach, not necessarily in interest, but in attendance at the Bulls' first four home games:
22,676 against Baylor
10,755 against Ohio
12,529 against Toledo
10,142 against Akron
Gill has charisma, and I know I bought in early, coughing up the money for season tickets, and the folks I've gave the tickets to have had a great time watching a Buffalo team win, but what would it take for a college team to work in a seemingly pro town? Reggie Witherspoon and the Bulls had Alumni Arena sold-out and out-of-control a few years back, with a record 8,900 hoops fans, but that's a far cry from 30,000+ five times a year at UB Stadium.
I'll admit it — I'm nervous about the upcoming weeks when I look at the team objectively. When Willy's accurate, the Bulls are tough to beat, with a pass rush, secondary and rushing offense that's been on top of their game. They're still gouged occasionally against the run, and as I said, there's still the unchartered waters factor, which can't be understated.
But the biased alum and fan in me wonders what it would take to get folks on board. Can and will Western New York fully take to college football, or will it always be, "Nice to have the Bulls, but I've been rooting for Notre Dame, Michigan, or Ohio State since I was eight?"
I've come around. I'm a season ticket holder who can't wait for Saturdays.
Where do you stand?
E-mail: nick@wgr550.com
(For all the bowl projections, click here.)
No, this isn't about the Bills. It isn't about the Sabres. It's not about Bass Pro, a thousand-level casino downtown or a mass-transit system.
It's about Division I football (I know, I know — go play intramurals, brother).
After my traditional mid-afternoon siesta, I peeled myself out of bed for some dinner, but not before I checked my email. In my inbox was a link to the latest of ESPN's 2007 Bowl predictions, and here's how it read:
International Bowl, MAC No. 3 vs. Big East No. 4:
Ivan Maisel: Ball State vs. UConn
Mark Schlabach: Buffalo vs. Cincinnati
Never mind that I have no idea who the heck Mark Schlabach is, I've been thinking about this since the Bulls strung together back-to-back home wins against Ohio and Toledo, but seeing it in print made it all the more real. Admittedly, I have a vested interest in the idea — UB is my alma mater (go English department, go) and I work on the radio broadcast, but it feels so close. Even the Cubs/Sabres/Bills fan in me is hopeful that Turner Gill has done enough to bring the Bulls to the national spotlight this quickly in his head coaching career, and not just as successor to Tom Osborne at Nebraska.
UB travels to Miami of Ohio, a traditional Mid American Conference power, for a 3 p.m. Saturday showdown on WGR, and a win would go a long ways toward clinching the MAC East, inserting the Bulls in a post-season game, if not a bowl. The Mid American Conference has three bowl bids — its champion goes to the GMAC Bowl in Alabama, another team to the Motor City Bowl in Detroit, and a third to the International Bowl in Toronto.
This season more than any previous, I've heard UB football talk in random places, and this time it isn't because of an early schedule game against Syracuse, a new coach coming to town or Smash Mouth performing before the home opener, with Tony Hawk to follow at halftime.
It seems, in essence, to be the perfect storm. The Bulls had a road game scheduled with Penn State that had blow-out written all over it, but the kids responded by staying competitive late into the contest with the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley. They've won all but one game in conference, a thrashing at the hands of the MAC's top team, Ball State, and had every single chip fall in their favor in division. They play the two teams that stand in their way in consecutive weeks: first, Miami, followed by Bowling Green in UB's home finale, after a bye week to heal up and prepare for the Falcons.
On top of all this, several of their top players are not only young, but from the area. Niagara Falls' James Starks has been a freak at running back, after spending his high school under center. Starks has 12 touchdowns and over 1,000 combined yards rushing and receiving. He's been explosive at home and on the road. St. Joe's product Naaman Roosevelt is the team's leading receiver, hauling in 43 balls for 489 yards and two scores, while also lining up under center on occasion.
Junior quarterback Drew Willy's quarterback rating is 134.8 (the numbers in college are a little different, but believe me, they're still impressive). An opportunistic defense has improved each week, posting 11 interceptions and 17 sacks, including eight by senior captain Trevor Scott, who was a tight end until his junior year. Both Scott and center Jamey Richard have pro potential. Thirty percent of voters at the conference web site picked UB in a web poll, and the question wasn't, "Which team are you most likely to stomp on?" (For the record, it asked who would win the MAC East).
In the end all these positives will be tested under fire in November. Three of the Bulls four wins have come at home, and all in October. They've faltered —bowing to an underwhelming Syracuse team after back-to-back wins at home.
The Bulls are in absolutely unchartered waters for the program, and will be in the house of a program that's been there, and recently, winning the title in 2003 and 2004. Miami retired Ben Roethlisberger's jersey just last week, and the Redhawks program is considered the "Cradle of Coaches," with Paul Brown, Sid Gillman, Woody Hayes, Ara Parseghian, Weeb Ewbank and Bo Schembechler all coming through Miami. Bowling Green's no patsy, either.
Still, what does it all mean? Certainly, athletic director Warde Manuel and Coach Gill have done enough to ensure that this program is worth talking about, if not taking a peek at, but perhaps UB's at the fault of its own good marketing. Prospective fans bought in with the hiring of Syracuse staffer Jim Hofher, and were rewarded for the faith with a bevy of losses and ineptitude.
In a certain sense, fans have taken a "fooled me once" approach, not necessarily in interest, but in attendance at the Bulls' first four home games:
22,676 against Baylor
10,755 against Ohio
12,529 against Toledo
10,142 against Akron
Gill has charisma, and I know I bought in early, coughing up the money for season tickets, and the folks I've gave the tickets to have had a great time watching a Buffalo team win, but what would it take for a college team to work in a seemingly pro town? Reggie Witherspoon and the Bulls had Alumni Arena sold-out and out-of-control a few years back, with a record 8,900 hoops fans, but that's a far cry from 30,000+ five times a year at UB Stadium.
I'll admit it — I'm nervous about the upcoming weeks when I look at the team objectively. When Willy's accurate, the Bulls are tough to beat, with a pass rush, secondary and rushing offense that's been on top of their game. They're still gouged occasionally against the run, and as I said, there's still the unchartered waters factor, which can't be understated.
But the biased alum and fan in me wonders what it would take to get folks on board. Can and will Western New York fully take to college football, or will it always be, "Nice to have the Bulls, but I've been rooting for Notre Dame, Michigan, or Ohio State since I was eight?"
I've come around. I'm a season ticket holder who can't wait for Saturdays.
Where do you stand?
E-mail: nick@wgr550.com
(For all the bowl projections, click here.)
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