Buffalo Circling The Wagons

A little introduction about myself…I’m a 2003 Miami University alumnus who will never ever refer to my alma mater with the suffix “of Ohio”. We are the real Miami, dammit. That being said, I love the Mid American Conference. I make a point to get to at least a couple of Redhawk football games each year as well as a few hoops game and have enjoyed the MAC basketball tournament at The Q for the past 3 years. I also run my own blog, sexily titled, The Money Shot. Needless to say, I jumped at this opportunity quicker than Super Tecmo Bowl Thurman Thomas because this is a conference that I love to discuss. While my topics will heavily favor the Red and White, I look forward to my weekly column each and every Tuesday. But enough about me, let’s get going with some MAC Smack.

To channel my inner-Harry Doyle, “in case you haven’t noticed, and judging by the attendance, you haven’t,” the MAC East race will largely be decided this Saturday afternoon in the friendly confines of Yager Stadium. That’s right, the East has been flipped upside down this year as two of last season’s bottom feeders, Miami and Buffalo, will face off for the lead and the inside track to the MAC Championship game. Which led me to wonder: how in the hell is Buffalo up at the top? I did some research. Let’s compare the last 2 seasons on offense for the Bulls

2006: 163.5 yards passing/game, 7 TD’s, 9 INT’s.
81.5 yards rushing/game, 14 TD’s
Points for: 18.3 Points against: 35.9
2007: 205.3 yards passing/game, 11 TD’s, 6 INT’s
138.8 yards rushing/game, 15 TD’s
Points for: 24.0 Points against: 27.3

So what does this mean? This means that head coach, Turner Gill, has got good balance on the offensive side and has cut down on the mistakes that have doomed this program for years. Drew Willy has been the QB for the past two years and James Starks is still the feature back. So they have both seen the lows and are now finally experiencing the highs. And luckily for them, the talent is finally there. Hell, they are averaging 100 yards more per game this season! That’s right, Buffalo has finally built up a stockpile of talented players that Gill has meshed into an effective offensive unit. Willy is not running for his life this year and the results are staggering. He is not having to force throws. WR Namaan Roosevelt is making plays all over the field. And the holes for Starks have allowed the Bulls offense to sustain drives and keep their undersized defense off the field.

The defense is lead by a couple of rock solid safeties in Mike Newton and Davonte Shannon. Now I have not seen a lot of the Bulls this year, but the proof is in the box scores. This defense is vastly improved. While they may not be suffocating, the Bulls defense can come up with 3 and outs when needed. That is something that could not be said in the pre-Gill days.

And that brings us to head coach Turner Gill. For my money, this is the coach of the year in all of college football thus far. If you can get Buffalo to 4-5, you are doing something right. You know how to coach. You know how to recruit. You know how to motivate. You know how to build confidence in a place where losing has been the norm. If you think Tom Osborne is not following the Bulls sitting high atop his throne in Lincoln, NE, you are crazy. We could all be looking at the next Cornhuskers head coach right in western New York.

But can the Bulls keep the winning streak going in Oxford on Saturday (in my mind, not bloody likely)? We will have to wait and see. I would never bet against a team this hot and playing with such emotion like Turner Gill has them playing with now. Win or lose, Gill has been a miracle worker and will soon be rewarded with a well deserved promotion and a handsome pay day.