FOOTBALL FRIDAY
Bulls say they won’t relax today
The University at Buffalo has already wrapped up the Mid-American Conference East Division, secured a spot in the MAC Championship Game and a bowl berth, so the natural assumption is that the Bulls are looking ahead to more meaningful games than this afternoon’s matchup against Kent State. But that isn’t the Bulls’ approach.
“I’m a winner, I play to win,” said UB coach Turner Gill. “I haven’t taught these guys to go into a football game to take a play off, rest or plan on losing. We’re playing to win the football game. We’re full throttle ahead and preparing this football game like any other.”
That means, unless the game gets out of hand, expect to see plenty of James Starks, Drew Willy, Naaman Roosevelt and the other starters in the Bulls’ regular-season finale against Kent State (3-8, 2-5) at 2 p. m. today at UB Stadium. Buffalo is a nine-point favorite over Kent State. The Golden Flashes have lost their last three games to the Bulls, including last season’s finale in overtime, 30-23.
“Our guys are still ready to continue to play well,” Gill said. “We’re going to play this game like any other game. We’re here to try and win every single football game. We’re not going to stop here against Kent State.”
It would be easy for the Bulls (7-4, 5-2) to put the Golden Flashes in their rear-view mirror. They locked up the East Division title, and a spot in the MAC Championship Game next week in Detroit against undefeated Ball State (12-0, 8-0) with a double overtime win last week at Bowling Green. Winning the East Division automatically assures the Bulls of a bowl appearance, which more than likely will be in the International Bowl in Toronto on Jan. 3. But Gill is preparing the Bulls as if there’s something more than pride on the line.
“Each week, Coach Gill gives us a word to focus on and this week it’s ‘passion,’ ” said junior free safety Mike Newton. “You have to have passion for the game to go out there and play. We really want to win 10 games and that’s our big goal right now.”
Besides, there are still plenty of other objectives to reach. Another victory guarantees UB’s first winning season since 1996 and there’s still the possibility of the program’s first 10-win season. Bill Dando led the Bulls to a 9-2 record in 1986 and before Gill arrived, UB won a grand total of 10 games from 1999-2005.
“You always want to finish strong,” said junior receiver Brett Hamlin. “We’ve won five straight and you always want to win that last game. You don’t want to go into a championship, or another game with a losing attitude or a losing mentality. That will help us push through Kent State and get to Detroit.”
And the Bulls would love to send their 18 seniors off with a bang. Senior Day hasn’t been memorable since the Bulls moved into the Football Bowl Subdivision in 1999. UB’s lone victory came in 2004 when it blew away Central Michigan, 36-6.
“They have set a legacy, they have set an expectation now,” Gill said. “They left something here now that everyone can move forward and get excited about. They’ve started something here and no one can ever take that away. No one.”
This group is special. They started their careers with a 1-10 record and the uncertainty of a coaching change. They had only a one-game improvement as sophomores but over the last two seasons they’ve won a pair of divisional titles and boast a 12-11 record.
“It’s really special for our senior class because coming here five years ago, with all the losing and we didn’t know how to win football games and we weren’t used to it,” said senior fullback Chris Scharon. “To know that we had a part of building this program to what it is today, to leave a legacy like that is really special for all of us. It will be a good way to go out.”
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