Frank Sinatra once said, "Orange is the happiest color." On Saturday, when the Bulls take on the Orange of Syracuse, Buffalo hopes to change Sinatra's saying, at least for one day.
Is it finally time for Syracuse (1-6) to be knocked from the title as New York's College Team?
Coming into this weekend's game with the Orange, Buffalo (3-4, 3-1 Mid-American Conference) has been on a roll. The Bulls are on a two-game winning streak, including last weekend's 43-33 victory over the Rockets of Toledo. Syracuse is coming off a loss, falling to Rutgers 38-14 on their homecoming weekend.
Head coach Turner Gill knows that prosperity is something to which the team is not accustomed.
"Now we are in some uncharted waters," Gill said. "Guys here have not experienced winning on a consistent basis. We are trying to educate them how they need to handle this. They're going to have a lot of outside distractions, and there is a way to handle them and still being able to perform at a high level."
Along with the distractions, Gill knows the team needs to stay motivated to keep up their high level of play. A letdown is possible if the team starts to take their success for granted.
"We got to keep doing what we're doing," Gill said. "I have a plan, and I'm going to stick to the plan that we have."
The last time these two teams played was the year before Gill arrived in Western New York. Syracuse went 1-10 that season, but was able to slaughter the Bulls 31-0. Buffalo finished the season 1-10 as well.
Gill sees a big difference from the team he inherited to the team that is now in first place in the MAC East.
"They're enjoying playing football. They're energized and they're willing," Gill said. "When they walk into this building, they're ready to work. Before, they might not have been quite as ready to come to work. Now, they're listening to what we have to say, and then they go on the practice field and go out on the game field and produce."
One of the biggest changes this season from prior years is the team's quality running game. Sophomore running back James Starks has run for over 400 yards and five touchdowns over the last two games.
"It's fun to see that the people around us are starting to support us, but the big thing is that as a team, we support each other," Starks said. "We've got more confidence in each other, and we push each other everyday."
Starks will have a couple of familiar faces watching him this weekend in Syracuse, as teammates on his Niagara Falls High School basketball team play for the Syracuse basketball squad. He knows that he can't worry about them when preparing for the game.
"I know my cousin went to Syracuse and (Syracuse forward Paul Harris goes there). They're all going to be at the game, but right now I'm going to focus this week and practice harder than I've ever practiced to try to perform at a high level," Starks said.
With Starks and the whole Buffalo squad focused on taking down the Orange, they know that they are in no position to overlook adversity. Gill knows that Syracuse still has a good amount of talent on their squad.
"I see that they have talent on both sides of the ball. We just hope that they don't click here one more week," Gill said. "We're going to have to play our best game to get this one done, and we feel like we can."
Playing their best game should be hard with the superior running game and the receivers that have racked up stats over the last two games. Both junior wide receiver Ernest Jackson and sophomore wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt have totaled over 100 yards receiving during the two-game winning steak.
Gill has seen Jackson make steady progress over the course of the year, and the combination of he and Roosevelt is intimidating for any defense.
Kickoff is on Saturday at the Carrier Dome at 4 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU (Campus Cable channel 14).
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
