Week 13: Buffalo at Kent State

There’s no championship on the line here, no bowl bid possibilities, and no potential for a spoiler role. Two of the mid to lower tier teams in the MAC’s  East Division get nothing but a positive feeling going into the off-season out of this one, and that means plenty.

The Bulls, who have made significant improvement under second-year head coach Turner Gill, have the opportunity to finish conference play with a winning record for the first time since they joined the MAC in 1999. A 5-7 overall record would be cause for concern most places, but at Buffalo it will bring on a celebration because times have been so tough.

Gill, the former Nebraska quarterback whose name has been mentioned often in connection with the anticipated opening at his former school, has the Bulls on the verge of turning the corner.

“That’s what its all about here, to bring excitement in the Buffalo area about Division I football,” Gill said. “I’m proud of my football team. They’ve played hard. We still have one football game left and we have to be ready to play that game to the best of our abilities.”

The Bulls’ fortunes ride on the play of junior quarterback Drew Willy, who has established a number of school records in his third season as a starter. Equally important is the contribution of tailback James Starks, a sophomore who is on track to become Buffalo’s first 1,000-yard rusher since the Bulls moved back to Division I-A for the 1999 season.

Kent State has limped to the finish line this season, hobbled by a flurry of injuries. Head coach Doug Martin’s Golden Flashes have lost a number of close games in the MAC, and he has tried to put that in the best possible light due to the impact of all the injuries.

“I think what that tells, more than anything, is that our recruiting has been good here because we’ve not even been at full strength in those games, particularly our last three conference games, but we’re still right there with chances to win them,” Martin said.

“Our backup players are playing well enough now to give us a chance to win. When we’re at full strength, we are good enough to beat a good Iowa State football team. Our deal is, we just got to get through one of those seasons where were relatively healthy for the season like we were last year. We had a pretty successful season. It’s just one of those years.”

The Flashes will have to finish up with freshman quarterback Giorgio Morgan at the controls, since a season-ending injury claimed junior Julian Edelman. The bright spot offensively has been sophomore tailback Eugene Jarvis, who is taking a run at the career rushing mark, and proving that he can be a reliable workhorse despite his size (5-5, 158).

Kent State by 6