UB takes No. 3 spot in poll in stride
Taste of winning spurs desire for more
DETROIT — The way the players see it, the University at Buffalo didn’t finish the 2007 season with enough accolades to walk around with a swagger. While the Bulls made an unforeseen run at the Mid-American Conference East Division championship and earned a share of the title, they didn’t create the notion that UB football has a dynasty in the making.
“We haven’t done anything,” said senior quarterback Drew Willy during MAC media day Tuesday at Ford Field. “If anything, we got the program going into the right direction, but there’s a lot of guys who are hungry to show that this program is for real.”
As the Bulls’ summer winds down and they prepare for training camp, which begins Saturday, and the season opener at UB Stadium against Texas El-Paso on Aug. 28, the memories of finishing under .500 and not making a bowl appearance remain fresh. And so is the education on the pains of building a program.
“This team has seen we can beat a lot of the teams around the MAC,” Willy said. “We’ve done it now. There’s no more, what if? They’ve seen it, we’ve seen it. We’re more comfortable and confident going into the games.”
The Bulls were in the thick of the MAC East race until the final weeks of last season, when they dropped back-to-back games to Miami (Ohio) and Bowling Green before a stunning overtime win over Kent State on the road to end the season.
“That’s going to give us an edge going into the season,” said senior defensive tackle Ronald Hilaire. “We’ve never been in a position like that before so it’s going allow us to perform better and go out there with more confidence. Every year, our coaches come up with the best game plans, the best techniques and we’re always fine-tuning everything.”
The Bulls don’t have a lot of experience at playing as a favorite. Last season’s 5-7 record was the school’s best since 1996 when it was still playing Division I-AA football, but one season does not build a tradition. The Bulls were selected in the MAC News Media Association poll to finish third in the East Division behind Bowling Green and Miami, their highest predicted finish since joining the league in 1999.
But it didn’t seem to be anything special to people from UB, which had been picked to finish in the cellar in every previous season. Turner Gill, the league’s 2007 Coach of the Year, said Tuesday, “No one has ever given out awards for preseason.” Willy didn’t know where the Bulls were selected until after a reporter told him — four hours after the poll was released to the media.
“Every year in the MAC seems to be a little bit different,” Willy said. “Miami came out and won the East and they were 2-10 the year before. Anything can happen so we have to stay focused and remain humble.”
Said Hilaire: “Being picked third really doesn’t mean anything. Everything is decided on the field.”
Yet it is an indication that some don’t see the Bulls as a one-and-done product, and perhaps will play a huge role in shifting the balance of the league. They got three first-place votes and one vote to win the MAC Championship Game on Dec. 5.
“Last year was a big turnaround in the program, and you can see with coach Gill’s attitude toward all the players and the belief he has in all the players,” Willy said. “There’s a lot of belief going into our season.”
Gill’s message to the players hasn’t wavered since he became coach in December 2005.
“The expectations are the same since I got here: We will win someday,” he said. “We will win a championship at some point and time. You have to have expectations, you’ve got to set a vision, you have to visualize your success. Our guys got a little taste of it last year so it’s kind of where I hoped we wanted to be, sniffing around for a championship.”
The players understand the message. Most remained in Buffalo for the summer, working on seven-on-seven drills and taking part in a rigorous strength and conditioning program that Gill said will increase his team’s overall speed.
“We went back to the basics, lifting, running and getting stronger and faster,” Hilaire said. “We had a sense that this year could be really special so we gave a lot of intensity during our workouts. We want to give the City of Buffalo something to cheer about.”
