"No, none whatsoever...I'm a competitor, I play to win, coach to win and it doesn't feel good right now."
These words from Bulls head coach Turner Gill sum up the reality of Saturday's loss to Syracuse. There are no more moral victories for this team, there can't be if it believes it can win the MAC East division.
Though Syracuse has the name recognition and tradition that Buffalo does not yet have, the Orange was a 1-6 team who had already lost to fellow MAC competitor Miami of Ohio, who, by the way, just lost to Temple Saturday.
This is a game that Buffalo could have won and should have won. However, an offense that had scored 73 points over its previous two games failed to put the ball in the end zone against a Syracuse defense that had allowed less than 35 points only once this season.
A major reason for Buffalo's deficient offense was James Starks' lack of opportunities in the second half. Starks only carried the ball four times for seven yards over the final 30 minutes of the game. Buffalo's offense is at its best when the running game is controlling the offense and Willy and the passing game are a compliment. Gill strayed away from the game plan in the second half and panicked because the Bulls were down 14 points.
Over the last two games Starks had been on fire, rushing for over 400 yards and five touchdowns. In Syracuse's three previous games they had failed to hold the running game of their opponent to under 228 yards. That is what you call a weakness going up against a strength.
The point is that Starks and company should have carried the ball 40 times. Eventually, the porous Orange defense would have broken down. Instead, Willy took to the air almost exclusively in the second half, which is exactly what Syracuse wanted Buffalo to do.
Even with the lack of a running game, the Bulls had every chance to win the game and continually shot themselves in the foot. Whether it was the fumbled snap on third and one, or the two personal foul penalties that killed drives in which the Bulls were in Syracuse territory, Buffalo could not get out of its own way.
These penalties are the reason the Bulls managed to rack up almost 400 yards of offense and still fail to score a touchdown. Late in the game it seemed as if the end zone had a magnetic force around it. Buffalo carved up Syracuse's defense on these two drives that lasted over 10 plays, in which they converted several key fourth downs, and yet both ended at or near the 20-yard line with made field goals.
The Bulls did not have the finishing gear in this game. Well, actually they did, they just didn't use it. Starks is second in the MAC with 12 touchdowns and scored at least two touchdowns in four straight games. However, Starks was not given the ball in or near the red zone on either of these final two drives.
Yes, time was not in the Bulls favor, however, the clock stops after each first down, and the Bulls had all three timeouts. Starks has been Buffalo's own touchdown machine so far this year, and Buffalo did not give him the opportunity to help the team beat Syracuse. Instead, they lived and died on the arm of Drew Willy. Willy did have a school-record 32 completions. However, in the end it was not enough.
All of this is not to knock the Bulls or to say that they are back to their losing ways. This season, the Bulls have turned the corner and are competing for their first Bowl game in school history. This is why they need to go into the game expecting to win. As Drew Willy said, there are no more losses used for learning experiences. Well, starting now there are no more learning experiences. The lesson from the Syracuse game was giving James Starks the ball.
"Yes, it definitely feels like a loss. We came in here to win," Willy said. "We know they are a BCS team or whatever, but they had a good day. We expect to win every game we play. So we know what we have to do to get back to work."
At least the team has the right attitude heading into the rest of the season.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
