Bulls Receive Kudos From ECAC

Bulls finish in Top 10 among ECAC schools while Shannon earns individual honors

Davonte Shannon

BUFFALO, NY – Fifty years after earning the ECAC's Lambert Cup, emblematic of the top small school in the East, the Bulls of Buffalo returned to the end of season rankings for the first time at the Division I level.

The Bulls finished the season ranked 10th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in the ECAC's final Lambert Cup rankings with Penn State earning the crown for the 2008 season. Connecticut, who the Bulls faced in the International Bowl in Toronto, finished seventh in the final poll.

In addition, sophomore strong safety Davonte Shannon became the first modern-era Bull to be named to the ECAC Football Bowl Subdivision All-Stars. Shannon, who finished the season with 121 tackles to rank second on the team, was named as one of four defensive backs alongside Penn State's Anthony Scirotto, Connecticut's Darius Butler and Rutgers' Courtney Greene.

Shannon, who became Buffalo's first FBS player to record back-to-back 100-tackle seasons, has been a first-team Mid-American Conference selection in his first two seasons. Shannon led the Bulls with 70 solo tackles, added six tackles for loss, had four breakups, an interception, a fumble recovery, a forced fumble and a blocked kick.

Two of his best performances came against other ECAC schools, as he recorded a career-high 20 tackles in an overtime win over Army and had 15 tackles and blocked a kick against UConn in the International Bowl.

Here is the final ECAC Lambert Cup standings:

Rank	Team	Record	Votes
1.	Penn State	11-2	100
2.	Cincinnati	11-3	88
3.	West Virginia	9-4	77
4.	Pittsburgh	9-4	72
5.	Rutgers	8-5	57
6.	Boston College	9-5	53
7.	Connecticut	8-5	40
8.	South Florida	8-5	31
9.	Navy	8-5	19
10.	Buffalo	8-6	13