Call it a blessing in disguise that Buffalo coach Turner Gill didn’t get the head coaching job at Nebraska.
After the end of 2007 season, Nebraska fired Bill Callahan, and the search for a new coach came down to Gill, who was a star QB for the Huskers in the 80s before spending more than a decade at his alma mater as an assistant coach, and LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini, who formerly held the same position at Nebraska.
Pelini was given the job, and you know what? That’s the best-case scenario for Gill and the Buffalo football program.
No, this isn’t me not advocating a little ambition, but now Gill can see the full fruits of his hard work, instead of leaving with the turnaround not complete.
While 5-7 equals the exit door in Lincoln, 5-7 equals the beginning, the tip of the iceberg for Buffalo, a program that is still searching for its first winning season as a member of the NCAA’s top level.
The move up to I-A wasn’t a very positive one for the first seven seasons before Gill came along. From 1999 to 2005, the Bulls won a total of 10 games, with their best record being a 3-8 showing in 2001.
Gill was hired in December 2005 to replace Jim Hofher, and his first season saw the Bulls finish a lowly 2-10. Par for the course, pretty much. Even before stepping up to I-A, the Bulls had only five winning seasons in the 22 years since resurrecting their football program in 1977.
Four of those winning seasons came in the 13-year tenure of Bill Dando (1980, 1983, 1984, 1986), who led the program from 1977-89, before giving way to Sam Sanders, Jim Ward, Craig Cirbus, and Hofher, whose combined win total from 1990-2005 (39) was lower than the 59 wins Dando compiled in his tenure.
However, last season showed that building a winning tradition at Buffalo is far from impossible, as things started clicking in Gill’s second season at the helm.
2007 started out ‘normally’ as UB lost four of their first five games, though that opening stretch saw them face Rutgers, Penn St., and Ball State on the road.
After a 19-14 loss at Ball State, the Bulls won two in a row, and with a 26-10 win over Akron, bested their previous high win total from 2001 and into first place in the MAC East.
Though losses to Miami (31-28) and Bowling Green (31-17) knocked them out of the MAC title hunt, the Bulls finished on a positive note, beating Kent State 30-23 in overtime to end the season at 5-7 overall and 5-3 in the MAC.
As close as they came to a winning record and a MAC East title last season (three losses were by 8, 5, and 3 points), this looks like the year for the Bulls to really break out. Gill’s 2008 team returns 18 total starters on offense and defense, and has the pieces to excel on both sides of the ball.
Making few mistakes is key to success, and with the experienced Drew Willy (2,572 yards, 15 TD, 6 INT) under center, the Bulls won’t make many on offense. Willy completed 68.4% of his passes last season, and didn’t throw an interception in the last seven games (11 touchdown passes in that span), which was a key reason for the improved results over that span. He had at least two touchdown passes in four of the last six games, and finished the season by throwing for a career-high 334 yards in the win over Kent State, so his confidence should be high heading into his senior season.
The Bulls have one of the best returning running backs in the conference, in junior James Starks, who accounted for 1,414 all-purpose yards last season (1,103 rushing, 311 receiving) and 14 touchdowns (12 rushing, 2 receiving), and was named second-team All-MAC thanks to his big season.
The receiving corps also has an all-MAC performer, in third-team selection Naaman Roosevelt, who caught 63 passes for 766 yards and four touchdowns as a sophomore last season. Senior Ernest Jackson (53-645-6) gives the Bulls a solid 1-2 punch, and throw in Starks, junior wideout Brett Hamlin (38-415-1), and junior tight end Jesse Rack (15-191-1), and Willy has a wealth of options to spread the ball around to.
The offense averaged a modest 24.2 points and 347.9 yards per game last season, which was a big improvement over the numbers from Gill’s first season (18.3 points, 268.2 yards per game), and should go up again this season.
On defense, a unit that also saw improvement in the points department (27.6 points allowed, down from 35.9 in 2006 - 3rd best in the MAC) should be one of the MAC’s better defenses once again, even though there are some notable holes to fill.
Converted tight end Trevor Scott had a monster senior season at defensive end, which resulted in him being drafted in the sixth round by the Oakland Raiders. He’ll be missed greatly, but three other starters are back along the line, led by tackle Ronald Hilaire (45 tackles, 4 for loss, 1.5 sacks) and end Chris Callahan (34 tackles, 7 for loss, 1.5 sacks).
Linebacker takes the biggest hit, as two starters in third-team All-MAC selections Larry Hutchinson and Kareem Byrom, but there are guys ready to step up, like seniors David Hubbard (23 tackles in 2007) and Adekunle Akingba (46 tackles), along with sophomore Fred Branch (26 tackles as a freshman).
The secondary should be one of the best in the MAC, as safety duo Davonte Shannon and Mike Newton will make plenty of plays all over the field. Shannon had a tremendous freshman campaign last season on the way to being named a first-team All-MAC pick, as he led the team with 123 tackles, had 10 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 3 forced fumbles. Newton finished tied for third on the team with 86 tackles and was the team leader in interceptions with four, which gives him nine picks in two excellent seasons.
If everything comes together, the Bulls could post their first winning season on the I-A level, go to their first bowl game, and seriously contend for the MAC championship.
If he can continue to steer the program towards being a regular contender, Gill’s time will certainly come. He’ll land that big-time job elsewhere if he wants it.
However, he still has plenty left to accomplish and look forward at Buffalo, starting with a season that has the chance to be very special.
Where do I have the Bulls fitting into the picture in the MAC this season? Check out my predictions in the first part of my MAC preview.
