2010 Buffalo Bulls Football Preview

2009 Results: 5-7, No Bowl

Head Coach: Jeff Quinn (1st year @ Buffalo, 1-1 Overall)

Home Venue: UB Stadium (29,013), Buffalo, New York

2009 will go down as a disappointing footnote in the history of Buffalo football. Coming off of the school’s first conference championship in 2008, hopes were high for Turner Gill’s team to make a repeat run for the title. However, a serious turn of fortune in the turnover department submarined the campaign and that was followed by another sad twist of fate as Gill left for the greener pasture of Kansas and the Big XII.

Taking over for Gill will be former Cincinnati offensive coordinator Jeff Quinn, who led the Bearcats to their trampling at the hands of the Florida Gators in last season’s Sugar Bowl. Quinn inherits a team with a fair amount of experience, but will it be enough to allow the Bulls to compete in the deep MAC East?

OFFENSE

Quinn got a tough break upon arrival as last season’s starting quarterback, Zach Maynard (3,000 total yards, 19 total TDs in ’09), transferred to Cal in the offseason to play with some of his younger family members. That leaves Buffalo without any experience under center. The passing game looks to be in serious trouble after a strong campaign last fall because the wide receivers are also highly inexperienced, as junior Terrell Jackson (25 catches, 0 TDs) is the top returning pass catcher and he was only the 4th leading receiver on the team in ‘09.

Things aren’t completely gutted though, as the top two rushers from last season return. Seniors Ike Nduka (598 yards, 6 TDs) and Brandon Thermilius (560 yards, 4 TDs) split time last season and have the potential to be a very strong tandem. They’ll be running behind an experienced offensive line that brings back four starters from 2009. Led by senior guard Pete Bittner, who was a 2nd Team All-MAC choice last fall, I expect this veteran line to do well leading the running game.

Overall, the Bulls are going to be pretty predictable on offense without any proven parts in the passing game. With a new starter underclassman starter at quarterback learning a new system, I think that the passing game will take a while to get the kinks worked out. The good news is that the running game should be fairly productive this season and that will be the primary axis of attack for Buffalo. However, with the one dimensional nature of the offense, I think that the Bulls will struggle to match last year’s 24 points per game of production.

DEFENSE

One major success under Gill was the improvement of the run defense, which got better against the run in every season, finishing with the league’s 4th best ground unit. It will be interesting to see how the defense performs with a change in scheme to a 3-4 this season.

The D-Line is the least experienced unit on the entire defense, as only one starter returns up front. Senior Anel Montanez (35 tackles) is the early favorite to play the nose tackle but the ends are highly inexperienced and that’s a big concern. This group just doesn’t look big enough to occupy the blockers necessary to allow the ‘backers to make plays in the 3-4 set.

But the linebackers look pretty impressive. Senior Justin Winters (79 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 1 INT) was a solid performer last season and will be the unit’s leader in his 3rd year as a starter. Sophomore Steven Means (25 tackles, 5 sacks) was a 1st Team Freshman All-American last year and will join with Winters to form one of the league’s top tandems at outside linebacker. This looks like a very solid unit in all facets and should definitely overcome some of the D-Line’s shortcomings.

That said, the secondary might be the strongest portion of this defense. Senior Davonte Shannon (97 tackles, 2 INT) has been a 1st Team All-MAC choice in each of the last three seasons and is the most decorated player in school history. With a great pair of senior cornerbacks in Domonic Cook (55 tackles, 1 INT, 2nd Team All-MAC) and Josh Thomas (45 tackles), the Bulls might have the strongest pass defense in the conference.

Overall, this defense could be one of the league’s top units if the defensive ends can hold their spots on the corners and occupy their share of blockers. With a strong, mobile set of linebackers and a very veteran secondary that will slow down most passing attacks, the Bulls could compete to produce the league’s best scoring defense. However, the ends are just too big of a liability in my mind and that will push Buffalo back towards the middle of the pack in the conference.

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SCHEDULE

Buffalo’s non-conference schedule is rather fair, as their most difficult contests will come with visits to Connecticut and Baylor, neither of whom is a traditional heavyweight. Their two home games (they have six overall) come against D-1AA Rhode Island and C-USA East favorite Central Florida, meaning that a 2-2 split is will be tough but not impossible. Meanwhile, the MAC schedule sees them avoid an improved Kent State squad while drawing terrible Eastern Michigan from the West. If they can earn a 2nd non-conference win, the Bulls have a reasonable shot to end up bowl eligible.

OUTLOOK

There are plenty of things to like about Quinn’s first Buffalo squad. First of all, the defense appears to be pretty solid and could turn out to be among the best in the conference if the D-Line comes through. Furthermore, the Bulls will be able to play ball control football this season with a solid tandem of runners and a veteran O-Line. However, their ineffective passing game is going to force them to be one dimensional and that will allow opposing defenses to stack up against the run. Furthermore, I don’t see Buffalo overcoming many deficits this season if they’re forced to throw the football.

Overall, this is a solid, middle of the pack team in the MAC but I’m afraid that one glaring inadequacy on each side of the football will be their undoing. I think that the Bulls will need to pull an upset out of MAC play to earn bowl eligibility this season and I just don’t see them beating anyone but Rhode Island in the early going. Unfortunately, that means that 2010 will be another season short of bowl eligibility. The Buffalo Bulls are my choice to finish 4th in the MAC East Division in 2010.

PREDICTED RESULT: 5-7 (4-4 MAC)