Roosevelt has career-best 154 receiving yards as Bulls offense sparkles
UB stomps UTEP to begin season
Bulls leave little doubt, overpowering Conference USA opponent in opener
After the University at Buffalo's convincing 42-17 triumph over Texas-El Paso on Thursday night, Miners coach Mike Price was asked about their next opponent, the No.‚11-ranked Texas Longhorns. He talked about "making everything right" in the biggest game in school history.
Then almost under his breath, Price said, "Man, I hope they're not as good as Buffalo."
He was kidding, right? While the Bulls aren't ready to be mentioned in the same sentence as the Longhorns, Thursday's season-opening victory over the Miners before 16,656 in UB Stadium was arguably the most impressive win in the three seasons under coach Turner Gill.
"I'm very, very excited about our program, very excited about our student body, excited for our players because it was a great win," said Gill, now 2-1 in season openers. "It showed everybody that our program is moving forward and in the right direction."
Quarterback Drew Willy started his senior season by throwing for 221 yards and a career-best four touchdowns, the most by UB quarterback in its Division I-A era, while tailbacks James Starks (Niagara Falls) and Brandon Thermilus combined for 281 yards. Willy threw two touchdown strikes to Naaman Roosevelt (St. Joe's), who finished with career-high 154 yards, and one each to Bryan Kisabeth and Gary Rice.
"We ran the ball, we passed it, the defense played great, it was truly a team win," Willy said. "Our offensive line did a great job protecting me, and giving James and Brandon holes. I'd like to give the game ball to them because they kept telling us, 'Keep running that rock, keep running that rock,' and coach kept calling it."
The Bulls' defense, who had to replace three all Mid-American Conference performers for this season, was dominant at times. UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe completed 20 of 37 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown, but was picked off three times, twice by linebacker John Syty (Clarence), and was sacked three times.
The Miners, who play in Conference USA, averaged 33.6 points a game last season, but the Bulls held them scoreless in the second half.
"We were where we needed to be," said linebacker Justin Winters, who led the Bulls with 10 tackles — three for a loss — plus a sack and an interception. "We practice all week for it and we were there."
There were some anxious moments until the start of the fourth quarter. With UB leading, 28-17, cornerback Sherrod Lott broke up a pass in the end zone that was picked off by Syty.
"That was a great job by Syty," Gill said. "If they score there maybe some things happen because they have an explosive offense. I might have had to change some of my play-calling if they scored. That was a big turnaround."
The Bulls then marched 80 yards on nine plays and scored on a 2-yard run by Thermilus. It was only then that the Bulls could breathe easier.
UTEP (0-1), coming off back-to-back losing seasons, has lost its last seven consecutive games. It didn't matter that the Miners were 4-8 last season and are currently experiencing a tumultuous stretch. The victory was significant for the Bulls, who are now 2-7 in nonleague games under Gill and travel to play No.‚25 ranked Pittsburgh next weekend.
"This is a great start," Gill said, "but we can't get excited about one game."
