AMHERST, N.Y. - The Buffalo Bulls are sailing in uncharted waters.
A 7-1 record, undefeated in the MAC, bowl eligible, and blazing a trail for what they hope is sustained success for the program moving forward, but that’s the big picture.
In the more immediate, the team is preparing for Miami of Ohio on Tuesday night. Head Coach Lance Leipold knows it won't be an easy evening under the lights at UB Stadium.
“(Miami's) Gus Ragland is one of the best quarterbacks in this conference," Leipold explained. "Their offensive staff schematically does a lot of great things, a lot of great, difficult plays to defend. They’ve been dynamic for a long time. To me, definitely one of the people I thought that would be contending for a conference championship this year.”
“The offense, they’re very good," linebacker Kahlil Hodge elaborated. "The quarterback is supposed to be very good, and the running back is also very quick and fast, so we’re just trying to trust Coach Borland’s game plan and execute and get a win.”
By the time the ball is in the air, it will have been ten days since the Bulls walked off the field at the Glass Bowl. While Coach Leipold had expressed hope the extended gap between games might help some of the injured players heal, it’s still unclear if defensive end Chuck Harris will be able to go. Cornerback Cam Lewis was also limited Sunday.
Their next three games will all be mid-week, so they’ll also now have to adjust to a change in what has been a winning routine, and for all their second half resilience, the offense has gotten off to its share of slow starts since exploding for 35 first half points in the win at Rutgers.
“Obviously we want to start fast so we’ve emphasized that a little this week and we’ve talked about it," said wide receiver K.J. Osborn, "but like we just talked about it with Coach, we’ve got to get out and we’ve got to go. We can’t keep trying to come back in the second half, as we play better and better teams that may not always be an option.”
Despite the bumps, the season the Bulls have put together has been remarkable. That success has brought with it unfamiliar attention and praise, but the team sounds determined to keep the focus solely on the task at hand.
Coach Leipold is confident in his team's approach. “I think they’ve handled it extremely well," he said. "First of all, they’re still hungry. They know we have a lot to play yet. They’ve been through that, again when I talk about those veterans in our program. We have a lot more we want to accomplish yet, so I don’t know when that day will be but maybe we’ll look back and reflect a little bit more, but hopefully we can keep playing the way we have been.””
For Osborn, it's, “Just tunnel vision. Just taking it one day at a time. I was even telling my teammates, it’s tough because we’re almost at our goal. We’re winding down to the end of the season. We see that we’re in control.”