Coming off a loss that eliminated their team from bowl contention, some teams would fold and look forward to the off-season. This was not the case for the Buffalo Bulls football team, who went to Dix Stadium in Kent, OH focused and proceeded to complete their most successful season in their young Division I history with a victory.
The Bulls (5-7, 5-3 Mid-American Conference) finished up their '07 campaign with a 30-23 overtime victory over Kent State (3-9, 1-7 MAC). This concluded a season in which the Bulls set many records, including finishing with a share of the MAC East title for the first time in school history.
Junior quarterback Drew Willy will head into his senior season on a high note; he finished the game 34-for-44 for 334 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. His performance against Kent State earned him MAC East Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Willy threw the ball to nine different receivers, including junior wide receiver Ernest Jackson, who had nine receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt had eight receptions for 90 yards. Roosevelt also had an 83-yard kickoff return to open the game.
Despite the early success, Buffalo struggled to score early as the team was down 13-3 to the Golden Flashes at the end of the first quarter. The Bulls added two field goals in the second quarter and went into halftime down 13-9.
After stopping Kent State on its opening drive of the second half, the Bulls made their first appearance in the Kent State end zone when Willy hit Jackson with a 41-yard strike, giving Buffalo a 16-13 lead.
Kent State answered with a touchdown in the fourth quarter to regain the lead and added a field goal later in the quarter to take a 23-16 lead with just under 10 minutes left in the game.
Willy then proceeded to lead the Bulls on an 11-play, 73-yard drive that was capped with sophomore receiver Brett Hamlin's first career touchdown, to tie the game at 23. Hamlin finished the game with five receptions for 60 yards.
Kent State responded by driving down the field to get a chance to make a 29-yard field goal attempt with less then two minutes remaining in the game. Playing in his final as a game as a Bull, senior defensive lineman Labinot Hakanjin made one of the biggest plays of his Buffalo career blocking the short field goal attempt, sending the game into overtime.
On their first possession of overtime, the Bulls took six plays to drive the 25 yards and score a touchdown. Freshman running back Brandon Thermilus plowed in from the one yard line to give Buffalo the 30-23 lead.
The Bulls defense stepped up to stop the Golden Flashes and give Buffalo their fifth win of the season. After Kent State gained only one yard on their first three plays, quarterback Anthony Magazu was sacked by senior linebacker Larry Hutchinson to finish the game and give his career a proper ending.
Buffalo finished the season with its best record since joining Division I in 1999. The Bulls also had a winning record at home for the first time since that year.
Buffalo will return 18 starters next year. However, their coaching position is up in the air as head coach Turner Gill is considered a top candidate for the head coaching job at his alma-mater, Nebraska.
Buffalo finished the year as co-MAC-East Champions along with the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks and the Bowling Green Falcons. Miami won games against both Buffalo and Bowling Green, and will be representing the East in the MAC Championship in Detroit.
This game marked the end of the careers of the Bulls' seniors, including Trevor Scott, Jamey Richard, Kareem Byrom and Larry Hutchinson. Hutchinson had 11 tackles, including three tackles for loss. He also had 1.5 sacks. Scott finished up his successful Bulls career with seven tackles and half of a sack. Byrom ended his career with eight tackles against Kent State.
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
