by Sports Network

From The Sports Network

By John Agovino, College Football Staff Writer

2003 SEASON IN REVIEW: In their fifth season of I-A football, the Bulls were unable to reach the two-victory plateau for the second straight season. Not much went right for the Buffalo in 2003 as the squad was outgained by MAC opponents by a margin of 162.4 ypg. The schedule was not particularly easy for a school that managed one win in its previous season, as the Bulls were slated to face Toledo and Northern Illinois from the West Division. Buffalo opened the season with a tough 24-10 loss at Rutgers which was followed by an embarrassing 56-7 defeat in Iowa. It did not get any better for the Bulls as they allowed 621 total yards in a 38-15 loss to I-AA power Colgate, dropping the team to 0-3. After a decisive 38-7 loss at the hands of Connecticut the Bulls continued their downward spiral, dropping four straight contests against MAC opponents, including an overwhelming 59-3 loss to Miami-Ohio. With 18 straight loses under their belt, the Bulls recorded their first victory since week two of the 2002 season with a 26-17 win over the Ohio Bobcats, but that would be the lone bright spot in an otherwise horrible season. Jim Hofher?s squad dropped its final three games of the season, leaving the coach with little room for error in the upcoming campaign.

2004 ANALYSIS:

OFFENSE: In six of the team's 12 games last year the Bulls were held to just 10 points or less, which shows the ineffectiveness of the offensive unit. P.J. Piskorik returns as the starting quarterback after replacing Randall Secky after third game last season and threw for only 824 yards, while rushing for 252 yards before sitting the final three games with a bruised shoulder. The rushing attack has several options coming into the season, but Dave Dawson, who ran for a team-high 678 yards last season, looks to be the starter. Junior Aaron Leeper will also take some carries for the Bulls this year, as Leeper finished the '03 season with 522 yards and two scores. At receiver, Matt Knueven looks to be the only reliable player at the position. Knueven led Buffalo last year with 47 receptions, 622 yards and four scores, the closest player to those numbers at receiver was freshman DeSean Larmond, who racked up just 14 catches for 161 yards. On the offensive line, the Bulls return four of five starters from last season and seven of the top 10 players overall, giving the team a solid core on the line for this season.

DEFENSE: The Buffalo defensive unit struggled mightily last season, allowing a league-worst 37.1 ppg, and also allowed 454 total ypg, which was third worst in the MAC. The front line was mutilated as opponents rushed for 5.3 yards per carry and averaged 223 rushing ypg, the team's worst performance since joining I-A football. This season six of the top eight players from last year are back in the fold, including tackle Rob Schroeder, so improvement is possible. Bryan Cummings is the lone returnee to a linebacking corps that was less then impressive last season. On the inside Rodney Morris will replace Chris Clifton who led the squad last season with six TFLs. Although the defensive backfield is returning three of the four starters, they will be without their best player in FS Matt Graham, who led the team with 84 tackles and three sacks last season. J.J. Gibson will fill the vacancy at free safety and should fare well considering he recorded 101 tackles at the position in '01. Hopefully the Bulls will do no worse than they did in '03, but this is a team with just two wins over the past two seasons so anything is possible.

SPECIAL TEAMS: The Bulls come into the season without placekicker Dallas Pelz and punter Dominic Milano. Pelz departs as the all-time school leader in field goals with 35, but freshman Gerry McGroarty, who nailed a 64-yarder in high school, should do just fine as the Bulls' kicker. Freshman Ben Woods, who averaged 43.1 yards per punt in high school, will begin the season as the punter, but if he struggles look for redshirt freshman Jeff Moss to handle the workload.

OUTLOOK: Despite returning 16 players the Bulls still have a long way to go before actually contending for any spot in the MAC other than last place. Luckily for the Bulls their schedule is much lighter as they draw Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan from the West Division. Also, last season the Bulls' three non-conference opponents were Iowa, Rutgers and Connecticut and although the Bulls will play a road game against UConn this fall, their other two opponents are Nevada and Syracuse. Buffalo could benefit from an easier schedule and post as many as three victories this season, but most likely they will achieve no more then two and that might not be enough for coach Hofher to keep his job.