2008 Buffalo Bulls football team
Encyclopedia
The 2008 Buffalo Bulls football team represented the University at Buffalo
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, also commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university and a "University Center" in the State University of New York system. The university was founded by Millard Fillmore in 1846. UB has multiple campuses...

 in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS college football season
2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on August 28, 2008, progressing through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game in Miami Gardens, Florida on January 8, 2009, where the #2...

. 2008 was a season of firsts for the Bulls. With a 40-34 double overtime win over Bowling Green
2008 Bowling Green Falcons football team
The 2008 Bowling Green Falcons football team represents Bowling Green State University, which will celebrate its 90th season of collegiate football in the 2008 season. The team's head football coach is Gregg Brandon...

 on November 21, the Bulls won the MAC East division and gained a berth to the MAC Championship for the first time. The Bulls won their first-ever conference championship by beating #12 ranked and previously undefeated Ball State
2008 Ball State Cardinals football team
The 2008 Ball State Cardinals football team represented Ball State University in the Mid-American Conference during the 2008–2009 college football season. Brady Hoke, in his sixth season at Ball State, was the head coach until December 15, when he resigned to become the head coach at San Diego State...

, 42-24 on December 5. The win was also Buffalo's first-ever against a ranked opponent and ensured a winning season for the first time since Buffalo returned to the top-level of college football in 1999. They earned an invitation to the International Bowl
International Bowl
The International Bowl was a National Collegiate Athletic Association collegiate American football bowl game played in Toronto from 2007 through 2010...

 at the Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...

 in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, their first trip to a bowl game in their history, exactly fifty years after the Bulls turned down their only previous bowl bid, to the Tangerine Bowl
Capital One Bowl
The Capital One Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Orlando, Florida at the Citrus Bowl, and previously known as the Tangerine Bowl and the Florida Citrus Bowl...

, when they were told by the bowl's organizers that their two black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 players would not be allowed to play. The Bulls also received their first-ever votes in the USA Today Coaches' Poll after winning the MAC Championship when UTEP
2008 UTEP Miners football team
The 2008 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the college football season of 2008-2009. The team's head football coach is Mike Price...

 coach Mike Price
Mike Price
Mike Price is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach at the University of Texas at El Paso , a position he has held since 2004...

 voted the Bulls #23 on his ballot. On December 16, Buffalo announced head coach Turner Gill
Turner Gill
Turner Hillery Gill is an American football coach who most recently served as the head coach at Kansas from 2010-2011, and was one of 11 African-American head coaches in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision at the time of his hiring.-College:Gill graduated from Arlington Heights High...

 agreed to a contract extension and a raise. Gill's contract now runs through 2013 and makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in the MAC. The ending of the season was bittersweet as the Bulls lost to the Connecticut Huskies
2008 Connecticut Huskies football team
The 2008 Connecticut Huskies football team represents the University of Connecticut in the 2008 college football season as a member of the Big East Conference...

 38-20 in the International Bowl, but the Bulls were able to give about two dozen members of the 1958 Bulls team the bowl experience they missed by inviting them to be honorary captains for the game.

Notable players

  • Drew Willy
    Drew Willy
    Drew Willy is an American football quarterback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2009...

    , Quarterback
  • Naaman Roosevelt
    Naaman Roosevelt
    Naaman Roosevelt is an American football wide receiver with the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League...

    , Wide receiver
  • James Starks
    James Starks
    James Darell Starks is an American football running back for the Green Bay Packers. He was selected in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, .-High school:James attended high school in Niagara Falls, New York...

    , Running back
  • Ronald Hilaire
    Ronald Hilaire
    Ronald Hilaire is a Canadian football defensive lineman who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders in the fourth round of the 2008 CFL Draft. He played college football for the Buffalo Bulls.-External links:*...

    , Defensive Lineman

Schedule and results

Rankings

Ranking Movement
Poll Pre Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Final
AP NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
Coaches NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 35 NR
Harris Not released NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
BCS Not released NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

External links

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