Fire in the Sky

When asking anyone associated with football as to what wins games and championships, there is one sure answer. Defense.

However, for the Buffalo Bulls (0-6, 0-2 Mid-American Conference) football team, they'll need some more offense for that defense to hold its own against the RedHawks of Miami (OH).

After an impressive performance at the Citrus Bowl against the University of Central Florida in which the defense held UCF to only 12 points, UB will look to duplicate that feat this weekend on the road against Heisman candidate Ben Roethlisberger.

If you haven't heard, Roethlisberger is leading a passing offense that is ranked sixth in the nation in total passing offense while Roethlisberger himself is fifth in the nation in passing yards with 1,679. Roethlisberger has thrown nine touchdowns but has given up seven interceptions so far this year while yielding a quarterback rating of 141.5. That's quite a resume, and UB head coach Jim Hofher realizes the hype around Roethlisberger.

"They've (Miami) got one of the premier quarterbacks in the conference - if not the country," said UB head coach Jim Hofher at the Bulls' weekly press conference this past Tuesday. "He's playing very well. He's a Heisman Trophy candidate and he's playing like one."

Roethlisberger had another impressive outing last week against the Akron Zips in which he threw for 369 yards and passed for two touchdowns while running in for two of his own. Miami is riding a four game winning streak after their opening day loss to No. 15 Iowa 21-3.

Roethlisberger was also named MAC East offensive player of the week. This is the second time this year that he has received this award and the seventh in his career with the RedHawks (4-1, 1-0 MAC).

"I think he had another one of his stellar performances," said RedHawks' head coach Terry Hoeppner during Monday's MAC teleconference. "He is just so in control of our offense. Right now, he's playing about as good as a quarterback can play. He's our team leader and the rest of the guys enjoy following him."

So how does a defense that is giving up 35 points a game even start to compete with a RedHawk offense that is tallying 35 points a game and is also 15th in the Anderson & Hester/Seattle Times Poll (a key indicator for the Bowl Championship Series)?

Right now, the UB defense is playing as good as it has all season and Hofher and the members of the UB defense expect more of that.

"What teams need to do is to continue to improve during the course of the season," Hofher said. "I think in the last two weeks we have shown some improvement - certainly on defense. We've got to keep trying to do that."

"Our defense is growing as a team," said Bulls' defensive tackle Rob Schroeder at UB's weekly press conference. "We're learning from our mistakes. We're just trying to play good football and out hit the other team. If we limit our mistakes that will increase our opportunities to stop our opponents."

After Miami's white wash of Buffalo at UB Stadium last season, the Bulls will need everyone on the same page in order to muster a chance in upsetting the RedHawks.

"We just have to execute," said Bulls tailback Dave Dawson. "Everyone has to be on the same page on every play and the more we do that the closer we'll become to winning games."

With last year's 49-0 dismantling of Buffalo, Miami rolled up a total of 487 yards, 251 of which were passing. As a sophomore Roethlisberger threw for 228 yards on 16 of 24 attempts with three touchdowns, one of which was a 39-yard TD to Mike Larkin (three touchdowns this year) who returns this year as one of Roethlisberger's favorite targets along with sophomore Martin Nance who leads the team with 492 receiving yards and also has two touchdowns on the season.

Miami was also very effective with the ground game as the RedHawks tallied a total of 236 yards on 43 carries.

Cut and dry, the RedHawks dominated Buffalo last year in every aspect of the game. However, Miami (OH) head coach Terry Hoeppner (31-20, fifth year) isn't overlooking the RedHawks' match up with the Bulls, and notes that Buffalo is playing at a competitive level.

"Coach Hofher has done an incredible job keeping those guys playing at the level that they are playing at," Hoeppner said. "There are good players on that team. Their execution - at times - is excellent. I'm really impressed with the spirit that they play with."

Starting UB quarterback P.J. Piskorik is entering his fourth game at the helm and is looking better and better each game. Hofher notes his experience but also says that Piskorik must respond in a manner suitable for tight situations.

"He's got to keep trying to apply the experience he has gained from before to the next game so as he goes into his fourth game he knows a little more about defense, opponents, our offense," said Hofher. "But he knows a little more about himself and how he responds in the heat of the battle and the heat of the moment."

One aspect that Bulls must fix to stay in the game is their inability to stay competitive for four quarters.

"We've had our moments, our spots against good teams but we got to be able to do it for the entire game," said Hofher.

Buffalo squares off against the RedHawks 2 p.m. this Saturday at Oxford, Ohio.