University at Buffalo football coach Turner Gill made like Douglas MacArthur after the International Bowl, basically declaring that the Bulls will return, maybe to Toronto, maybe to a different bowl, but certainly to prominence within the Mid-American Conference.

That’s the ultimate beauty of UB’s electric season. While the Bulls will move on without record-setting senior quarterback Drew Willy, the cupboard is chock full of returning talent. Eight starters will be back on the defense, six on the offense. The biggest challenges in 2009? Ensuring that sophomore quarterback Zach Maynard is ready to step in for Willy, finding three replacements on the offensive line and filling two vacancies at defensive end, preferably with players who can restore the aggressive pass rush that was missing this season. One answer there could be Steven Means, the abundantly talented redshirt freshman out of Grover Cleveland who’s drawn rave reviews off practice.

Maynard’s presence will give the offense a new look. The Bulls tried to redshirt him this year but lost the opportunity when Willy went down in the game at Central Michigan. As it turned out, Maynard was needed for only one play that day. But Gill made sure to factor him into the offense the rest of the way, using him three or four plays in most games and allowing him to acclimate. It should pay dividends in ’09.

Unlike Willy, Maynard’s a multidimensional quarterback. He’s a strong-armed, highly mobile lefty who will enable the Bulls to run Gill’s preferred offense, the spread option. It’ll be a scary proposition for opposing defenses, especially if the Bulls occasionally utilize all- MAC back James Starks and his talented backup, Brandon Thermilus, in the same backfield.

Toss in the constant threat that’s all- MAC wideout Naaman Roosevelt, insert Brett Hamlin full time, and UB has big-play capability written all over it. And it’s advantageous that one of the returning offensive linemen is right tackle Andrew West, who’ll bear the responsibility of protecting Maynard’s back.

However, it’s the defensive side of the ball that should make the Bulls a championship contender again next season. They far and away have the best safeties in the conference in two-time all-MAC performer Davonte Shannon and Mike Newton, a second-team selection. All three starting linebackers — Raphael Akobundo, Tom Drewes and Justin Winters (third-team all-MAC) — were sophomores. Defensive tackle Anel Montanez showed a knack for penetrating opposing backfields late in the season. There’s no way the Bulls again rank in the bottom half of the MAC in defense, as they did this year. At the same time, they should be no less adept at forcing turnovers, their trademark during the run to the MAC title.

The MAC East should be no less competitive next season, although a new set of contenders could emerge. Temple and Kent State are on the rise, and Akron figures to regroup after the four-overtime loss to UB sent the Zips into a season-ending spiral. Two traditional powerhouses, Bowling Green and Miami (Ohio), may be in for a year of adjustment since both will be playing for new head coaches.

The Bulls know who’ll they’ll be playing non-conference next year — UTEP and Central Florida on the road, Pitt and Gardner-Webb at home. Worth watching is who they draw out of the MAC West when the schedule comes out in the next couple of months. Central Michigan returns second-team all-MAC QB Dan LeFevour and his top two receivers. Third-team all-MAC QB Tim Hiller is back for Western Michigan. They’ll be the division favorites.