Looking at the offense
Buffalo is fresh off a 2-9 season and their offense did next to nothing last year, but there is a bit of optimism for 2005. 20 seniors, 44 letter
winners, and 14 starters overall return this fall for the Bulls. It's definitely the most experienced team that Jim Hofher has had in his five years
as UB head coach.
The problem? The Bulls had serious quarterback issues last year, and the position still isn't completely settled heading into 2005. Whomever the
starter is, he won't be a senior, as the four guys in the running are either sophomores or juniors. Chris Moore, who saw action in 3 games as a
true freshman last year (and started once) is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. JUCO transfer Tony Paoli enters his first season in
the Bulls program, and Stewart Sampsel hasn't taken a snap for the Bulls yet after transferring from Toledo two years ago. Datwan
Hemingway, who played in four games at QB last season, didn't even play in the spring game due to an academic issue. There are a lot of
question marks, and few answers, at quarterback for the Bulls.
The running game is also unsettled, but the situation in the backfield is much different because the guys they have competing for the starting
job are actually all pretty good. The likely starter is Steven King, who rushed for 445 yards and 7 TDs last fall while splitting time with three
other guys. He's the biggest of the returning running backs (at 6'0 / 210 pounds) and has the potential to be a solid feature back. Whether he'll
get the chance to handle the lion's share of the carries remains to be seen. Chris McDuffie and Jared Patterson, both juniors, will get the
remaining carries that King doesn't take, and both had their moments in 2004. Buffalo's running game was an enigma in 2004. There were some
games where they were very good on the ground, and King, McDuffie, and Patterson all proved to be capable backs. But then there were times
when they failed to show up. The passing game will be mediocre at best this fall, so it's imperative for the backs to step up and carry the
offense.
The quarterback woes coincide with the wide receiver woes for the Bulls. The guys throwing the ball weren't particularly good, and the guys
trying to get open to catch it...well, they weren't very good either last year. Terrance Breaux showed some promise as a true freshman last
season, catching 23 passes for 330 yards. He'll be the go-to receiver for the Bulls this fall. Running back Dave Dawson is gonna make the move
to receiver for his senior season. He's small ( 5'7 / 182 ) but his speed and quickness should really be a boost to the receiving corps, and will be a
nice complement to Breaux, who is a bigger receiver at 6'2 / 210. After these two, jobs are there for the taking. No receiver after Breaux had
more than 13 catches last year, so somebody needs to step up in a hurry.
The offensive line is capable of doing a decent job. Zack Love, who is a big boy at 6'4 / 324, has made 35 career starts and he's back for his
senior season. Mike Schifino is another senior coming back, and he's made 25 straight starts at guard. Leroy Auguste rounds out the group of
returning linemen. Sophomore Jon Burgio isn't slated for a starting position, but at 6'9 / 344, he's certainly an intriguing guy to have on the
sidelines available to step in.
Looking at the defense
The experience that Buffalo returns on defense makes them somewhat of an intriguing team. They've got a lot of depth on the defensive line,
and even last year, despite the woes of the offense, the defense wasn't completely horrific. While the offense finished 2nd worst in the nation,
the defense was a semi-respectable 90th out of 117 teams. It's all relative obviously, but there IS some talent on this side of the ball.
Senior defensive end Phil Jacques leads the Buffalo defense up front, and he's started all 35 games in his Buffalo career. Aaron Sanders is
another senior that plays on the opposite end, and he started every game last year for the Bulls. In fact, the entire D-line is composed of
seniors. They helped lead a defense that was tied for 6th (out of 14 MAC teams) in rushing defense / yards per carry last fall. They had a hard
time containing Josh Cribbs in the Kent State game, but they weren't the only defense to be shredded by the elusive Cribbs.
A lot of linebackers see action for Buffalo, but they rotate often in their 4-2-5 set. Bryan Cummings and Rich Sanders are seniors, and they
were both in the top 5 in tackles for the Bulls last fall.
The secondary has a good amount of experience as well, and with senior Aaron Leeper returning from injury (he missed all of last year), the unit
becomes even better. Gemara Williams had a nice season in '04, finishing 3rd on the team in tackles and leading the secondary in passes broken
up. James Vann started every game as a sophomore last year.
The special teams have a solid unit (punting) and a shaky one (placekicking). Ben Woods averaged 41.2 yards per kick as a true freshman last
year, and his leg got a serious workout as he kicked it away 72 times. He should be one of the better punter in the MAC this fall, but the Bulls can
only hope he won't have to approach 70+ attempts again. Micheal Baker made only 5 of 13 field goal tries in 2004, and was just 1-5 from 30-39
yards. The Bulls can't afford to waste scoring opportunities this year, so he's going to have to improve on his sub-50% accuracy.
Summary
For the first time in many years, there's a reason for at least a LITTLE optimism for the Buffalo football program. They've taken some serious
lumps after jumping to 1-A. Young guys were really thrown into the fire, but a lot of those players are now seniors and have a lot of experience.
This would be a very intriguing, almost dangerous, team if they had a better offense, especially at quarterback and receiver. Their running
backs are more than capable of being productive. But the passing game is gonna really struggle. The defense should be good enough to keep
them in a lot of games, but if the offense can't generate yards and points, it might all be for naught.
Still, there's something intriguing about this group. After the men's basketball team made a jump from almost worst to first, can lighting strike
twice for UB sports? That answer is an emphatic NO, but they should be much better than last year, even if they don't improve much on their
2-9 record. The non-conference schedule is competitive but not brutal. Most MAC teams open up with big-time power conference opponents, but
the Bulls have three regional rivals to open the year (at UConn, at Syracuse, home to Rutgers). While it's really a stretch to "expect" a win in
any of the first three, they have a chance to be competitive in each one, considering UConn is replacing Orlovsky, Syracuse is rebuilding, and
the Rutgers game is at home.
The MAC schedule is a little unkind, though, because they play the three best teams (Bowling Green, Toledo, and Miami) all within a 4-game
stretch, and only the BG game is at home. There should be some opportunities to make money back the Bulls as significant dogs this year. They
are --- slloooowwwlllyyyy -- heading in the right direction.
Buffalo is fresh off a 2-9 season and their offense did next to nothing last year, but there is a bit of optimism for 2005. 20 seniors, 44 letter
winners, and 14 starters overall return this fall for the Bulls. It's definitely the most experienced team that Jim Hofher has had in his five years
as UB head coach.
The problem? The Bulls had serious quarterback issues last year, and the position still isn't completely settled heading into 2005. Whomever the
starter is, he won't be a senior, as the four guys in the running are either sophomores or juniors. Chris Moore, who saw action in 3 games as a
true freshman last year (and started once) is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. JUCO transfer Tony Paoli enters his first season in
the Bulls program, and Stewart Sampsel hasn't taken a snap for the Bulls yet after transferring from Toledo two years ago. Datwan
Hemingway, who played in four games at QB last season, didn't even play in the spring game due to an academic issue. There are a lot of
question marks, and few answers, at quarterback for the Bulls.
The running game is also unsettled, but the situation in the backfield is much different because the guys they have competing for the starting
job are actually all pretty good. The likely starter is Steven King, who rushed for 445 yards and 7 TDs last fall while splitting time with three
other guys. He's the biggest of the returning running backs (at 6'0 / 210 pounds) and has the potential to be a solid feature back. Whether he'll
get the chance to handle the lion's share of the carries remains to be seen. Chris McDuffie and Jared Patterson, both juniors, will get the
remaining carries that King doesn't take, and both had their moments in 2004. Buffalo's running game was an enigma in 2004. There were some
games where they were very good on the ground, and King, McDuffie, and Patterson all proved to be capable backs. But then there were times
when they failed to show up. The passing game will be mediocre at best this fall, so it's imperative for the backs to step up and carry the
offense.
The quarterback woes coincide with the wide receiver woes for the Bulls. The guys throwing the ball weren't particularly good, and the guys
trying to get open to catch it...well, they weren't very good either last year. Terrance Breaux showed some promise as a true freshman last
season, catching 23 passes for 330 yards. He'll be the go-to receiver for the Bulls this fall. Running back Dave Dawson is gonna make the move
to receiver for his senior season. He's small ( 5'7 / 182 ) but his speed and quickness should really be a boost to the receiving corps, and will be a
nice complement to Breaux, who is a bigger receiver at 6'2 / 210. After these two, jobs are there for the taking. No receiver after Breaux had
more than 13 catches last year, so somebody needs to step up in a hurry.
The offensive line is capable of doing a decent job. Zack Love, who is a big boy at 6'4 / 324, has made 35 career starts and he's back for his
senior season. Mike Schifino is another senior coming back, and he's made 25 straight starts at guard. Leroy Auguste rounds out the group of
returning linemen. Sophomore Jon Burgio isn't slated for a starting position, but at 6'9 / 344, he's certainly an intriguing guy to have on the
sidelines available to step in.
Looking at the defense
The experience that Buffalo returns on defense makes them somewhat of an intriguing team. They've got a lot of depth on the defensive line,
and even last year, despite the woes of the offense, the defense wasn't completely horrific. While the offense finished 2nd worst in the nation,
the defense was a semi-respectable 90th out of 117 teams. It's all relative obviously, but there IS some talent on this side of the ball.
Senior defensive end Phil Jacques leads the Buffalo defense up front, and he's started all 35 games in his Buffalo career. Aaron Sanders is
another senior that plays on the opposite end, and he started every game last year for the Bulls. In fact, the entire D-line is composed of
seniors. They helped lead a defense that was tied for 6th (out of 14 MAC teams) in rushing defense / yards per carry last fall. They had a hard
time containing Josh Cribbs in the Kent State game, but they weren't the only defense to be shredded by the elusive Cribbs.
A lot of linebackers see action for Buffalo, but they rotate often in their 4-2-5 set. Bryan Cummings and Rich Sanders are seniors, and they
were both in the top 5 in tackles for the Bulls last fall.
The secondary has a good amount of experience as well, and with senior Aaron Leeper returning from injury (he missed all of last year), the unit
becomes even better. Gemara Williams had a nice season in '04, finishing 3rd on the team in tackles and leading the secondary in passes broken
up. James Vann started every game as a sophomore last year.
The special teams have a solid unit (punting) and a shaky one (placekicking). Ben Woods averaged 41.2 yards per kick as a true freshman last
year, and his leg got a serious workout as he kicked it away 72 times. He should be one of the better punter in the MAC this fall, but the Bulls can
only hope he won't have to approach 70+ attempts again. Micheal Baker made only 5 of 13 field goal tries in 2004, and was just 1-5 from 30-39
yards. The Bulls can't afford to waste scoring opportunities this year, so he's going to have to improve on his sub-50% accuracy.
Summary
For the first time in many years, there's a reason for at least a LITTLE optimism for the Buffalo football program. They've taken some serious
lumps after jumping to 1-A. Young guys were really thrown into the fire, but a lot of those players are now seniors and have a lot of experience.
This would be a very intriguing, almost dangerous, team if they had a better offense, especially at quarterback and receiver. Their running
backs are more than capable of being productive. But the passing game is gonna really struggle. The defense should be good enough to keep
them in a lot of games, but if the offense can't generate yards and points, it might all be for naught.
Still, there's something intriguing about this group. After the men's basketball team made a jump from almost worst to first, can lighting strike
twice for UB sports? That answer is an emphatic NO, but they should be much better than last year, even if they don't improve much on their
2-9 record. The non-conference schedule is competitive but not brutal. Most MAC teams open up with big-time power conference opponents, but
the Bulls have three regional rivals to open the year (at UConn, at Syracuse, home to Rutgers). While it's really a stretch to "expect" a win in
any of the first three, they have a chance to be competitive in each one, considering UConn is replacing Orlovsky, Syracuse is rebuilding, and
the Rutgers game is at home.
The MAC schedule is a little unkind, though, because they play the three best teams (Bowling Green, Toledo, and Miami) all within a 4-game
stretch, and only the BG game is at home. There should be some opportunities to make money back the Bulls as significant dogs this year. They
are --- slloooowwwlllyyyy -- heading in the right direction.
should be another solid season from UT, although that final game on the road against bg on national tv looms large... and the season hasnt even started, lol.
