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By Tom Gaffney
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 02:34 p.m. EST, Nov 25, 2008
Somehow, it does not seem enough merely to say that the University at Buffalo won the championship of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference.
Perhaps it is more appropriate to say that the Bulls earned the championship.
UB (7-4, 5-2) needed a total of six overtimes in the past two weeks to beat the two other legitimate contenders, the University of Akron and Bowling Green.
Local fans will long remember the four-overtime loss to Buffalo 43-40 on Nov. 13 in the Rubber Bowl finale. Bulls fans will long remember the fourth-quarter comeback and two-overtime triumph over the host Falcons 40-34 on Nov. 21 that clinched the title.
''Our guys have been relentless to the finish. That's what we have been all about,'' UB coach Turner Gill said. ''Our guys have been doing a great job of executing at the appropriate time when you need it the most.''
In the Bulls' first 11 games, the outcome was not decided until the final play in six of them. Four of the games went into overtime, which ties an NCAA mark for one team set by Northwestern in 2004.
In the Bowling Green game, Buffalo trailed the entire way until senior quarterback Drew Willy engineered a 20-point fourth quarter that tied the score at 27-27.
He threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Brett Hamlin with 2:29 left to get his team to 27-20. Buffalo then recovered an on-sides kick, and Willy connected from 5 yards to Naaman Roosevelt with 32 seconds left to tie the score.
Both teams scored in the first overtime, but UB stopped BG in the second one. Junior tailback James Starks then scored from 25 yards on UB's first play to win it.
''Excitement, joy, proud,'' said Gill when asked about his emotions about the victory. ''It was a phenomenal game and, really, a phenomenal season.''
The title climaxed a resurgence for a Bulls team that was 12-79 overall and 8-56 in the MAC from 1999-2006.
''The word is 'belief.' We talked about it in a deep way to our players and our coaching staff,'' said Gill, whose squad was 5-7 in 2007. ''Our guys have believed. They have faith in each other.''
The Bulls will meet the West Division champion in the MAC title game Dec. 5 at Ford Field in Detroit. The Bulls also secured in one of the three MAC bowls berths: Motor City, GMAC or International.
In other MAC developments:
Toledo (3-8, 2-5) — Tailback Morgan Williams, a Canton McKinley graduate, set a Rockets' single-game rushing record Friday in a 42-14 victory over Miami. Williams, a redshirt freshman, ran for 330 yards on 28 carries and scored three touchdowns. That broke the record of 304 yards set by Casey McBeth in 1994 against the University of Akron. He had runs of 86, 58, 30 and 25 yards. The yardage was a Glass Bowl record and was the sixth-best in MAC history. Williams now has rushed for 857 yards in 2008.
Central Michigan (8-3, 6-1) — Junior quarterback Dan LeFevour moved into fifth place on the MAC career list in total offense on Nov. 16 in a 31-24 loss to Ball State. LeFevour had 420 yards (345 passing and 75 rushing) against the Cardinals. That gave him 11,004 for his career, moving him past Joshua Cribbs of Kent State (10,839) into fifth. The all-time leader is Byron Leftwich of Marshall (12,084).
Eastern Michigan (2-9, 1-6) — Junior quarterback Andy Schmitt could be excused if he complains about a sore arm this week. In a 55-52 loss to Temple on Saturday, Schmitt set MAC records for pass attempts (76) and completions (50). He also set a school record for yards passing (484).
Temple (4-7, 3-4) — The Owls, who joined the MAC in football in 2007, are ensured of having their 18th consecutive losing season. Temple was last above .500 with a 7-4 mark in 1990.
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
Somehow, it does not seem enough merely to say that the University at Buffalo won the championship of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference.
Perhaps it is more appropriate to say that the Bulls earned the championship.
UB (7-4, 5-2) needed a total of six overtimes in the past two weeks to beat the two other legitimate contenders, the University of Akron and Bowling Green.
Local fans will long remember the four-overtime loss to Buffalo 43-40 on Nov. 13 in the Rubber Bowl finale. Bulls fans will long remember the fourth-quarter comeback and two-overtime triumph over the host Falcons 40-34 on Nov. 21 that clinched the title.
''Our guys have been relentless to the finish. That's what we have been all about,'' UB coach Turner Gill said. ''Our guys have been doing a great job of executing at the appropriate time when you need it the most.''
In the Bulls' first 11 games, the outcome was not decided until the final play in six of them. Four of the games went into overtime, which ties an NCAA mark for one team set by Northwestern in 2004.
In the Bowling Green game, Buffalo trailed the entire way until senior quarterback Drew Willy engineered a 20-point fourth quarter that tied the score at 27-27.
He threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Brett Hamlin with 2:29 left to get his team to 27-20. Buffalo then recovered an on-sides kick, and Willy connected from 5 yards to Naaman Roosevelt with 32 seconds left to tie the score.
Both teams scored in the first overtime, but UB stopped BG in the second one. Junior tailback James Starks then scored from 25 yards on UB's first play to win it.
''Excitement, joy, proud,'' said Gill when asked about his emotions about the victory. ''It was a phenomenal game and, really, a phenomenal season.''
The title climaxed a resurgence for a Bulls team that was 12-79 overall and 8-56 in the MAC from 1999-2006.
''The word is 'belief.' We talked about it in a deep way to our players and our coaching staff,'' said Gill, whose squad was 5-7 in 2007. ''Our guys have believed. They have faith in each other.''
The Bulls will meet the West Division champion in the MAC title game Dec. 5 at Ford Field in Detroit. The Bulls also secured in one of the three MAC bowls berths: Motor City, GMAC or International.
In other MAC developments:
Toledo (3-8, 2-5) — Tailback Morgan Williams, a Canton McKinley graduate, set a Rockets' single-game rushing record Friday in a 42-14 victory over Miami. Williams, a redshirt freshman, ran for 330 yards on 28 carries and scored three touchdowns. That broke the record of 304 yards set by Casey McBeth in 1994 against the University of Akron. He had runs of 86, 58, 30 and 25 yards. The yardage was a Glass Bowl record and was the sixth-best in MAC history. Williams now has rushed for 857 yards in 2008.
Central Michigan (8-3, 6-1) — Junior quarterback Dan LeFevour moved into fifth place on the MAC career list in total offense on Nov. 16 in a 31-24 loss to Ball State. LeFevour had 420 yards (345 passing and 75 rushing) against the Cardinals. That gave him 11,004 for his career, moving him past Joshua Cribbs of Kent State (10,839) into fifth. The all-time leader is Byron Leftwich of Marshall (12,084).
Eastern Michigan (2-9, 1-6) — Junior quarterback Andy Schmitt could be excused if he complains about a sore arm this week. In a 55-52 loss to Temple on Saturday, Schmitt set MAC records for pass attempts (76) and completions (50). He also set a school record for yards passing (484).
Temple (4-7, 3-4) — The Owls, who joined the MAC in football in 2007, are ensured of having their 18th consecutive losing season. Temple was last above .500 with a 7-4 mark in 1990.
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
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