PHILADELPHIA — The details remain clear-cut. There have been so many victories, so many celebrated times forced in between that exhilarating day and the first anniversary that slipped by.

There was the narrow win against Army and the first win over Miami (Ohio). The showdown at

defending Mid-American Conference champion Central Michigan and, of course, Ball State, the

one that brought home the league title. But the triumph that started it all, the one that gave

the team conviction and helped change the downbeat perception of University at Buffalo

football was the last-second, 35-yard Hail Mary pass from Drew Willy to Naaman Roosevelt that

lifted the Bulls over Temple.

UB and Temple open conference play at noon today at Lincoln Financial Field.

"That victory was a turning point for the program," said senior safety Mike Newton. "That

game helped us win the MAC championship. When it came down late in the season, it was a very

important win."

If it didn't turn around the program, the Bulls' 30-28 win proved it had changed. The

standard, the expectations had been elevated.

Before the championship, before all the awards and accolades, the Bulls began conference

play with a pulsating, last-second win and ever since that Sept. 13, 2008 victory, they

considered only a championship good enough.

"That was the first thing that blew the program up," Roosevelt said. "That was the big

first step for us."

But the transformation of the Bulls did not begin with the win against the Owls. That is

when the change became public and palpable. The Bulls changed the season before when events

altered the team into champions-in-waiting, and a program into one that would accept nothing

less.

The previous season, Turner Gill's second as coach, the Bulls won a share of the East

Division title. They finished the regular season 5-3 in league play, a run that raised

expectations. But they finished 5-7 overall and were left out of bowl consideration after

late-season losses on the road to Miami and at home to Bowling Green, leaving them hungry for

more and determined to carry the season into December and January.

"Bowl or bust," quarterback Drew Willy said before the season.

The year began with promise. A blowout victory over Texas-El Paso was followed by a strong

showing in a loss at Pittsburgh. Next came Temple, which UB welcomed into the MAC the season

before with a 42-7 thumping on the road. The Owls played the entire afternoon like they

remembered what happened that afternoon in Philadelphia.

A field goal by A.J. Principe with 2:27 left gave UB a 24-21 lead but the Owls weren't

finished. They responded by driving 74 yards in nine plays and taking the lead with 38 seconds

left on a touchdown pass from Adam DiMichele to Bruce Francis. The Temple sideline erupted.

Finally, it appeared, a win over Buffalo.

"At that moment, I was disappointed, especially with the defense because we had just given

up a score," Newton said. "The offense had done such a good job so there was a lot of

disappointment."

Said cornerback Domonic Cook, "I looked at the scoreboard — that was kind of tough."

On the UB sideline, the offense gathered in a tight circle. A blue and white storm was

brewing with Willy in the eye.

"We are going to score," he said. "Let's go ahead and do this."

The Bulls caught a break when the drive started on the UB 40 because the kickoff went out

of bounds. Willy threw two incompletions intended for Brett Hamlin but on the second, Temple

was called for defensive holding, moving the ball to the 50.

Willy completed a 20-yard pass to Roosevelt to the Temple 30, then spiked the ball to stop

the clock. After another incompletion, Willy hit Gary Rice for 11 yards to the Temple 19. Wait

a minute. The play was wiped out because of illegal motion on the Bulls' Brandon Thermilus.

Third-and-15 from the Temple 35. Five seconds. Time for one play.

Willy was in the shotgun with Hamlin, Ernest Jackson and Roosevelt to his right. He took

the snap, immediately rolled to the right hash mark, planted and let fly. The recipient of the

pass in the end zone was Roosevelt in front of three Temple defenders.

"It was a crazy play," Roosevelt said. "When I got down to the end zone, it felt like 20

people were down there but when I went up in the air it was like me by myself. It was pretty

crazy."

Owls coach Al Golden later told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Roosevelt, "caught it like a

punt. That's how bad it was defended."

"It was a play that we practiced, but it's something that you don't find too often in

college football," Newton said. "To be part of something like that is something special."

Five more last-second or overtime games followed. The Bulls won two games in a combined six

overtimes on the road, and although they would eventually lose to Connecticut in the

International Bowl, the Bulls made a statement that things had changed.

Asked to reflect on last year's game, Gill true to his nature, said, "What's happened in

the past, happened in the past. It has no reflection on this year's game. There's different

people playing in some spots and that's what makes every season a unique deal."

Indeed, there's a different culture at UB. It all started with a win over Temple.