2008 Buffalo Bulls football team

The 2008 Buffalo Bulls football team represented the University at Buffalo in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. 2008 was a season of firsts for the Bulls. With a 40–34 double overtime win over Bowling Green on November 21, the Bulls won the MAC East division and gained a berth to the MAC Championship for the first time. The Bulls won their first conference championship by beating #12 ranked and previously undefeated Ball State, 42–24 on December 5. The win was also Buffalo's first against a ranked opponent and ensured a winning season for the first time since Buffalo returned to the top-level of college football in 1999. They earned an invitation to the International Bowl at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, their first trip to a bowl game in their history, exactly fifty years after the Bulls turned down their only previous bowl bid, to the Tangerine Bowl, when they were told by the bowl's organizers that their two black players would not be allowed to play.[1] The Bulls also received their first votes in the USA Today Coaches' Poll after winning the MAC Championship when UTEP coach Mike Price voted the Bulls #23 on his ballot. On December 16, Buffalo announced head coach Turner Gill agreed to a contract extension and a raise.[2] Gill's contract now runs through 2013 and makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in the MAC. The ending of the season was bittersweet as the Bulls lost to the Connecticut Huskies 38-20 in the International Bowl, but the Bulls were able to give about two dozen members of the 1958 Bulls team the bowl experience they missed by inviting them to be honorary captains for the game.

2008 Buffalo Bulls football
MAC champion
MAC East Division champion
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionEast
2008 record8–6 (5–3 MAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorTurner Gill
Home stadiumUniversity at Buffalo Stadium
(Capacity: 29,013)
2008 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
Buffalo x$  5 –3     8 –6  
Bowling Green  4 –4     6 –6  
Temple  4 –4     5 –7  
Ohio  3 –5     4 –8  
Akron  3 –5     5 –7  
Kent State  3 –5     4 –8  
Miami  1 –7     2 –10  
West Division
Ball State x  8 –0     12 –2  
Central Michigan  6 –2     8 –5  
Western Michigan  6 –2     9 –4  
Northern Illinois  5 –3     6 –7  
Toledo  2 –6     3 –9  
Eastern Michigan  2 –6     3 –9  
Championship: Buffalo 42, Ball State 24
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions

Notable players

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 287:00 pmUTEP*
TWCSNW 42–1716,656
September 66:00 pmat Pittsburgh*
ESPN+L 16–2742,494
September 1312:00 pmTemple
  • University at Buffalo Stadium
  • Amherst, NY
ESPN+W 30–2818,333
September 202:00 pmat No. 5 Missouri*
L 21–4265,566
September 274:00 pmat Central Michigan
L 25–2721,032
October 113:30 pmWestern Michigan
  • University at Buffalo Stadium
  • Amherst, NY
TWCSNL 28–34 OT15,025
October 183:30 pmArmy*
  • University at Buffalo Stadium
  • Amherst, NY
TWCSNW 27–24 OT21,719
October 287:00 pmat Ohio
ESPNUW 32–1910,042
November 47:30 pmMiami (OH)
  • University at Buffalo Stadium
  • Amherst, NY
ESPN2W 37–1716,058
November 137:00 pmat Akron
ESPNUW 43–40 4OT18,516
November 216:00 pmat Bowling Green
BCSNW 40–34 2OT13,284
November 282:00 pmKent State
  • University at Buffalo Stadium
  • Amherst, NY
TWCSNL 21–2413,754
December 58:00 pmvs. No. 12 Ball State
ESPN2W 42–2412,871
January 312:00 pmvs. Connecticut*
ESPN2L 20–3840,184
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from USA Today/Coaches Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in EST time

Rankings
See also: 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking Movement
PollPreWk 1Wk 2Wk 3Wk 4Wk 5Wk 6Wk 7Wk 8Wk 9Wk 10Wk 11Wk 12Wk 13Wk 14Wk 15Final
AP NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
Coaches NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 35 NR
Harris Not released NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
BCS Not released NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

References
  1. "All Or Nothing". ESPN. November 20, 2008. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved December 9, 2008.
  2. "Gill extended through 2013". ESPN. December 16, 2008. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2008.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.