???Even though Buffalo has been a member of the Mid-American Conference since 1999, Saturday will mark their first trip to Mt. Pleasant, Mich.
???The Bulls (2-2, 1-0 MAC) are gearing up for their second MAC game of the year as they take on Central Michigan, the preseason favorite to win the conference.
???Looking to start 2-0 in the conference for the first time since joining Division I-A in 1999, history is not on Buffalo's side, the Bulls 1-3 all-time against the Chippewas (2-2, 1-0 MAC).
???"[In] the MAC, it's not a win-lose-die situation, but it's important. It's an important game," said Bulls head coach Turner Gill. "It'll be good for us to get to 2-0 but if it doesn't happen, we'll still be ready to go in there [after the bye week] and do what we need to do."
???Buffalo is coming off a 42-21 loss to the then-fifth-ranked Missouri Tigers. The
Bulls were down by six points late in the third quarter until the Tigers pulled away.
???Senior quarterback Drew Willy threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns in the losing effort. He is ranked fourth in the MAC in passing.
???On the defensive side of the ball, the Bulls rushing defense ranks first, holding opponents to 108.2 yards per game on the ground.
???Last week, the Chippewas fell to Purdue 25-24 after giving up the game-winning touchdown with one minute left in the game. Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour produced 403 yards of offense, passing for 291. He also rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns.
???"[LeFevour is] their leading rusher on the football team and he will take off and run," Gill said. "They also have designed run plays for him so that's probably the added dimension we're going to have to make sure we're prepared for."
???The Chippewas' passing offense currently ranks third in the MAC, averaging 279.8 yards per game.
???"Central Michigan is a very good team. They run the same spread offense [as Missouri]. It's going to be a good challenge for us," said junior free safety Mike Newton.
???The Bulls had trouble stopping the similar spread offense that Missouri runs. Tigers quarterback Chase Daniel threw for a Big 12-record 439 yards against Buffalo. The Bulls put themselves in a position to upset by forcing fumbles, but failed to remain effective defensively for the full four quarters.
???"We must be even more physical than we were last week and continue to create turnovers. If we're off kilter even a little bit, this offense will exploit you and put points up on the board," Gill said.
???Gill is hopeful that junior running back James Starks will play but considers him "doubtful" and will evaluate his progress heading into Saturday. Starks was inactive for the Missouri game with a hip injury, junior Mario Henry and sophomore Brandon Thermilus sharing the workload in his absence. The two backs combined for 90 rushing yards on 29 carries.
???"We want the running game to be able to be a little bit better than last week and see if we can get that better established," Gill said.
???Gill believes that improving from game to game is the most important goal for his football team and will continue to focus on that in preparing for Central Michigan.
???"We measure against ourselves. You don't want to get caught up in trying to measure yourself against other opponents," Gill said. "We're more concerned about what we need to do and we need to get better in our execution on certain things. If we continue to do that every week, you're going to have a great opportunity to win ball games."
???Kickoff from Kelly/Shorts Stadium is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
