Bulls Hope to Make History Against Huskies

UB has a chance this weekend to go where no Bulls football team has ever gone before.

With a victory over the very solid University of Connecticut Huskies (5-4, 2-3 Big East), the Bulls could raise their win total to three games this season, which would be the highest win total in UB's Division I-A history.

If Buffalo plans to make history, however, it will have to replicate the stellar performance they put together against Central Michigan last week. In the last home game of the season, UB dazzled the crowd with its domination of Central Michigan in all aspects of the game on the way to a 36-6 blow out victory.

"It frustrates you to a point when in consecutive weeks your results are so different," said Head Coach Jim Hofher. "But it shows what we are capable of doing as a team when we play with a bit of consistency."

The Bulls dominated CMU thanks to a strong effort from the defense.

UB's defense has been by far the most consistent area of the 2004 Bulls squad. All season they have done everything they can to keep the Bulls within striking distance. In the Central Michigan game, the Bulls took their game to a new level.

Buffalo will need that level of play to carry over against a very potent UConn offense that is lead by one of the premier quarterbacks in the Big East.

UConn's Dan Orlovsky is the centerpiece of a Huskies offense that averages 28.2 points and 421.7 yards per game. Orlovsky's arm is responsible for 285.3 yards of that offensive production. On the season, he has completed 63.5 percent of his passes and he has gained 2,568 yards through the air while connecting 17 times for a touchdown.

Orlovsky is not a one man wrecking crew, however. He is joined in the backfield by an emerging rusher in sophomore Cornell Brockington.

Brockington has provided the Huskies with an alternative option to Orlovsky's arm this season. If he lives up to his 104.1 yards per game average, Brockington should surpass the 1,000-yard plateau.

This season, he has seven touchdowns and is just 63 yards away from the first 1,000-yard season of his career.

The emergence of the offensive duo has been the main reason for UConn's quick rise as a Big East power and their 18-7 record over their last 25 games.

"UConn is a very complete team with a great leader and passer who gets the players around him to play above themselves," said Hofher. "Brockington is a great compliment to their quarterback so we don't want to concentrate too much on the passing aspect because of the balance their offense possesses."

The UB defense will try to figure out the Huskies' offense in the same way they picked apart the Chippewas' offense. The Bulls' defensive unit demonstrated a near perfect performance against CMU, holding the Chippewas to a measly 56 yards on the ground.

Time after time, the Buffalo defense quickly stuffed the Chippewas' attempts, therefore taking the advantage in field position. The hard work paid off in the second quarter when UB scored 28 unanswered points thanks to a suffocating defense that gave the UB offense a short field.

Buffalo's defensive dominance was lead by great pressure on the quarterback. The UB defensive unit recorded eight sacks on Central Michigan's Kent Smith. The tandem of Rich Sanders and Aaron Sanders will again be counted on to stuff the rushing lanes and to disrupt the rhythm of UConn's Orlovsky.

Rich Sanders had a remarkable defensive effort against CMU. He made tackles on six plays, including three tackles, two solo tackles for losses, two sacks, and UB's first safety since the 2002 season against Rutgers. Aaron Sanders is the UB leader in both sacks and tackles for losses, with 5.5 and 11 respectively.

Getting pressure in the backfield should take some pressure off the Bulls' secondary, which is led by J.J. Gibson. Gibson is one tackle away from being the first Bull to record 100-plus tackle seasons twice in his career since Craig Guest. In addition to his tackles, the All-MAC candidate has two interceptions and three fumble recoveries.

If and when the defense does stop the Huskies, the Bulls still need to score points on the other side of the ball.

Just as they did against Central Michigan, UB quarterback P.J. Piskorik and the UB offense need to cash in on the opportunities that the UB defense provides. Piskorik played his best game of the season, and possibly his career, showing his guts and his ability to lead an offense that was able to consistently move the ball.

"P.J. gave us another weapon in the ground game," said Hofher. "He didn't have a great game accuracy wise, but he was able to use his legs to make plays to keep drives going and that's what you need to win football games."

Piskorik gained a total of 205 yards against CMU, 85 of those yards on the ground. His 34-yard dash that led to the Bulls' first touchdown of the game sparked a UB running game that gained 223 yards and scored four touchdowns.

The Bulls offense is reliant on the running game and it will ultimately need Piskorik and the running back committee to keep its drives moving and to keep UConn's offense off the field.

The final game of the season for the Bulls is set to start at noon on Saturday. It will be played on the Rentschler Field in Storrs, Conn. The game will be the final time UB will enjoy the services of seniors Michelin Ambroise, Sagan Atuatasi, J.J. Gibson, Matt Knueven, Terrance Miles, Brian Miller, Dan Minocchi, Rodney Morris, Casey Russell, Randall Secky, Eric Weber, Tyrone Wilson and Erik Zeppuhar.

"Our seniors have given so much," said Hofher. "I am glad that we gave them at least one more memory at home and have one more chance to leave them with another one with a win versus UConn."