7. (tie) The UB Bulls win the MAC Championship with a stunning upset win over No. 12 Ball State -- December 5, 2008

One of the greater arguments for the 2008 UB football team's place in history is how it ressurrected one of the finest forgotten stories in NCAA history. While pundits and fans were celebrating Turner Gill's meteoric turnaround of the Bulls from a tomato can to a gutty prize fighter, reporters were unearthing stories of the 1958 Buffalo squad that showed what defines a team.

But before we worry about that, there's this thing on the field that folks like called football, and UB had a heck of a team rolling into Detroit for the 2008 Mid American Conference Championship. Their task as a program was relatively epic -- beat an undefeated team eyeing up a BCS Bowl, and do it in your first championship game. Oh, by the way, you've never beaten your opponent in the history of your program, let alone a ranked team.

Seriously, UB? Who were they to think they'd do anything against No. 12 Ball State, a team that hadn't really played a close game all year? Only one of the Cardinals' 12 wins that year was by less than 12 points, a 31-24 road victory at a very good Central Michigan team. Ball State had quarterback Nate Davis, a signal caller being viewed as a lock to leave school early and find a home in the National Football League.

Perhaps the great naivete of the program played a big part. Most of the Bulls players, coaches, administrators and fans didn't know any better. In a season that saw a win on a Hail Mary, three overtime victories and comeback stories Hollywood wouldn't touch, the community seemed to have the mindset of "%^&$ it, we're here, so let's do this. Why not?"

Why not?

The Bulls had a couple of pocket aces, though. Athletic director Warde Manuel and head coach Gill had done this dance before, Manuel as a defensive end under Bo Schembechler at Michigan and Gill as a Heisman-hopeful quarterback under Tom Osborne at Nebraska. They may not have known any better as first-time men-in-charge, but they didn't seem to care all that much about predictions. They did, after all, agree to take over a Division-I football program that had been deemed all but a monumental flop in Western New York.

Which brings us full circle to that 1958 team. Say what you will about Buffalo moving forward, but the Bulls athletic department would have to be considered progressive. UB was the only D-I school with a black athletic director (Manuel), head football coach (Gill) and head men's basketball coach (Witherspoon) -- the latter of which had captured the campus with a gritty group of hoopsters in 2005.

That willingness to hire the best man for the job honored the '58 boys, a team that turned down an invitation to The Tangerine Bowl because the event wouldn't let Buffalo's two African American players participate in the game. That honorable sting wasn't fixed with the next winning season and a more reasonable bowl committee -- Buffalo wouldn't be bowl-eligible for 50 years.

So, you'd say bless the aforementioned naivete at first glance. How would these players, barely noticeable on a national scale after a 7-5 season, take down a conference giant they'd never vanquished?

Well, unlike most Buffalo teams, they'd get bounces. Playing with the trademark brash and reckless abandon of their coach, the Bulls unleashed their physical game on a nationally-televised scale, hanging tough for a nice story as the first half ended with the Bulls trailing, 10-7. When local product Naaman Roosevelt snagged a 39-yard touchdown pass from Drew Willy to give the Bulls a 14-10 lead, Ball State came right back and punched the upstart Bulls in the gut with a compassionless seven-play, 65 yard touchdown drive capped off by a Miquale Lewis touchdown run.

17-14, Cardinals.

Two plays later, the Bulls appeared on the verge of folding to this team that had beaten them seven times in seven tries. Buffalo fumbled the ball away to the Cardinals, who marched down the field in a hurry. From the 1-yard line, the only certain thing was the crying. Would it be Lewis again? Would Davis pull out some trickery? How would Ball State secure their undefeated campaign for another month?

Davis ran left and got his proverbial highlight reel ready, taking to the air to reach the Buffalo goal line. Only problem is, Josh Thomas popped him pretty good, and safety Mike Newton was gone... 99 yards gone. Three-and-a-half minutes later, Sherrod Lott scooped up another Cardinals fumbled and raced 74 yards for the score. By the time Niagara Falls native James Starks scored late in the fourth quarter, the Bulls held a 42-24 lead.

The win came with all the glorious accoutrements we don't see here in Buffalo, and one you don't really see anywhere, as a teary-eyed, voice-shaking Gill addressed the world.

"These guys... I'm just proud of them, man," Gill said, his voice wavering while being interviewed by ESPN's Rob Stone, who asked him where the moment ranks in his big-moment-filled career.

"The greatest.. just because of this program was at, and these guys come through in three years and become MAC Champs. I talked about becoming champions, and they did it... they did it. I'm proud of them."

Then, in a moment too emotional to recapture in words, the camera did the talking. Gill met Manuel a few yards away, and two grown men too large for life wept in victory.

Gill's gone to Kansas now, and Manuel's due to get a big call sometime soon, but no one can take that moment from Buffalo.

See the highlights and interview mentioned here: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=283402084

Email: nick@wgr550.com