(WGR 550) -- We here at WGR Sports Radio 550 have asked each of our staff members to submit their opinions on their five most memorable events or moments in this decade of Buffalo sports history. The hope was to create a Top Ten. Actually, hope is a terrible choice of word. The probability of getting it done is 100 percent. So, the votes were weighted (No. 1 vote worth five points, No. 2 worth four, etc.) and the number of individual mentions were used as tiebreakers. We hope you enjoy this trip down (mostly) Broken Heart Lane.
Moment No. 7 was a tie between the Bills acquiring Drew Bledsoe and a moment included in more staff Top-Fives than any save our poll's No. 1. Positivity reigns for a day in our Top Ten. The author unabashedly admits he is a UB alum.
7. (tie) The UB Bulls win the MAC Championship with a stunning upset win over No. 12 Ball State -- December 5, 2008
One of the greater arguments for the 2008 UB football team's place in history is how it ressurrected one of the finest forgotten stories in NCAA history. While pundits and fans were celebrating Turner Gill's meteoric turnaround of the Bulls from a tomato can to a gutty prize fighter, reporters were unearthing stories of the 1958 Buffalo squad that showed what defines a team.
But before we worry about that, there's this thing on the field that folks like called football, and UB had a heck of a team rolling into Detroit for the 2008 Mid American Conference Championship. Their task as a program was relatively epic -- beat an undefeated team eyeing up a BCS Bowl, and do it in your first championship game. Oh, by the way, you've never beaten your opponent in the history of your program, let alone a ranked team.
Seriously, UB? Who were they to think they'd do anything against No. 12 Ball State, a team that hadn't really played a close game all year? Only one of the Cardinals' 12 wins that year was by less than 12 points, a 31-24 road victory at a very good Central Michigan team. Ball State had quarterback Nate Davis, a signal caller being viewed as a lock to leave school early and find a home in the National Football League.
Perhaps the great naivete of the program played a big part. Most of the Bulls players, coaches, administrators and fans didn't know any better. In a season that saw a win on a Hail Mary, three overtime victories and comeback stories Hollywood wouldn't touch, the community seemed to have the mindset of "%^&$ it, we're here, so let's do this. Why not?"
Why not?
The Bulls had a couple of pocket aces, though. Athletic director Warde Manuel and head coach Gill had done this dance before, Manuel as a defensive end under Bo Schembechler at Michigan and Gill as a Heisman-hopeful quarterback under Tom Osborne at Nebraska. They may not have known any better as first-time men-in-charge, but they didn't seem to care all that much about predictions. They did, after all, agree to take over a Division-I football program that had been deemed all but a monumental flop in Western New York.
Which brings us full circle to that 1958 team. Say what you will about Buffalo moving forward, but the Bulls athletic department would have to be considered progressive. UB was the only D-I school with a black athletic director (Manuel), head football coach (Gill) and head men's basketball coach (Witherspoon) -- the latter of which had captured the campus with a gritty group of hoopsters in 2005.
That willingness to hire the best man for the job honored the '58 boys, a team that turned down an invitation to The Tangerine Bowl because the event wouldn't let Buffalo's two African American players participate in the game. That honorable sting wasn't fixed with the next winning season and a more reasonable bowl committee -- Buffalo wouldn't be bowl-eligible for 50 years.
So, you'd say bless the aforementioned naivete at first glance. How would these players, barely noticeable on a national scale after a 7-5 season, take down a conference giant they'd never vanquished?
Well, unlike most Buffalo teams, they'd get bounces. Playing with the trademark brash and reckless abandon of their coach, the Bulls unleashed their physical game on a nationally-televised scale, hanging tough for a nice story as the first half ended with the Bulls trailing, 10-7. When local product Naaman Roosevelt snagged a 39-yard touchdown pass from Drew Willy to give the Bulls a 14-10 lead, Ball State came right back and punched the upstart Bulls in the gut with a compassionless seven-play, 65 yard touchdown drive capped off by a Miquale Lewis touchdown run.
17-14, Cardinals.
Two plays later, the Bulls appeared on the verge of folding to this team that had beaten them seven times in seven tries. Buffalo fumbled the ball away to the Cardinals, who marched down the field in a hurry. From the 1-yard line, the only certain thing was the crying. Would it be Lewis again? Would Davis pull out some trickery? How would Ball State secure their undefeated campaign for another month?
Davis ran left and got his proverbial highlight reel ready, taking to the air to reach the Buffalo goal line. Only problem is, Josh Thomas popped him pretty good, and safety Mike Newton was gone... 99 yards gone. Three-and-a-half minutes later, Sherrod Lott scooped up another Cardinals fumbled and raced 74 yards for the score. By the time Niagara Falls native James Starks scored late in the fourth quarter, the Bulls held a 42-24 lead.
The win came with all the glorious accoutrements we don't see here in Buffalo, and one you don't really see anywhere, as a teary-eyed, voice-shaking Gill addressed the world.
"These guys... I'm just proud of them, man," Gill said, his voice wavering while being interviewed by ESPN's Rob Stone, who asked him where the moment ranks in his big-moment-filled career.
"The greatest.. just because of this program was at, and these guys come through in three years and become MAC Champs. I talked about becoming champions, and they did it... they did it. I'm proud of them."
Then, in a moment too emotional to recapture in words, the camera did the talking. Gill met Manuel a few yards away, and two grown men too large for life wept in victory.
Gill's gone to Kansas now, and Manuel's due to get a big call sometime soon, but no one can take that moment from Buffalo.
Huge moment in the 2,000s! What a year for the Bulls. I was actually at the Central Michigan game @ CMU and I watched the Bulls fight and try to comeback and win. Driving down the field with less than @ min left, for a touchdown then recoving an onside kick and then Shanking a 40 yarder off the right field goal post! I was there right in the endzone! Ill never forget watching the Championship Game! what an awesome feeling!
12/22/2009 9:52AM
The Best
If not the most memorable, it was the happiest moment I can think of for the decade.
12/22/2009 10:38AM
Agreed.
I know a few non-UB grads who wouldn't rank this as the 7th most memorable just because of other school loyalties, but it is definitely the happiest one of the decade for me. Go Bulls.
12/22/2009 11:53AM
THANKS!
Nice to see yuo giving UB some love. I think we forget how important this Univsersity is to our community and the future of WNY's revival.
12/22/2009 1:32PM
Greatest time
Going to Detroit with my father and mother and seeing UB hoist the trophy brought tears to my eyes. Seeing Ball State fans before and after the game was awesome because its usually Buffalo teams that choke.
12/22/2009 2:53PM
Not even close
I am a huge college football fan but this is not even close. UB won the most useless and irrelevant conference in college football. And the only reason they won is because UConn fumbled about 9 times inside the redzone. No one cares about the MAC and no one cares about UB.
12/22/2009 2:59PM
Re: Not even close
UB's season was incredible. They beat the #12 TEAM IN THE COUNTRY. They are the first team to win a real championship since the 64-65 Bills. Thank you UB. Thank you Turner Gill. They had a truly remarkable season. No one cares about UB? I disagree.
12/22/2009 11:23PM
Re: Not even close
Just Give it up all ready, David Letterman
12/24/2009 4:15PM
Not Even close
To show how irrelevant the win was I didnt even know it was Ball State and I watched the game. Now that Gill is gone UB will slide right back to where usually are.
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