Bulls Excited for Season Opener at UTEP

UB looks to dominate while UTEP seeks revenge

Brandon Thermilus

BUFFALO, NY- "It's good that game week is finally here," said head coach Turner Gill in anticipation of Saturday night's season opener at UTEP.

A season after winning the MAC championship and appearing in a bowl game for the first time in school history, the University at Buffalo football team has high expectations going into the 2009 football season.

The march towards another MAC Championship and a bowl game begins on Saturday night at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, TX. The Bulls are looking to repeat their dominant performance from a year ago when they beat the Miners, 42-17, at UB Stadium.

The Bulls return a horde of starters from last year's squad, including four All-MAC players.

"We have playmakers on both sides of the ball," said Gill.

Returning for the Bulls this season are two first-team All-MAC honorees, safety Davonte Shannon and wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt. Along with second-team honoree, safety Mike Newton, and third-team selection, linebacker Justin Winters, the Bulls are poised and are ready to start making plays.

With the graduation of quarterback Drew Willy, the Bulls will look to first year starting quarterback Zach Maynard to take the reins. The sophomore signal caller appeared in eight games last year as a true freshman and after a strong camp, Gill feels he is the man for the job.

"Zach has the ability to get things done, he's well prepared," said Gill.

Maynard is not the only new starter on the offense. With the loss of first-team All-MAC running back James Starks, the Bulls have two capable running backs in junior Brandon Thermilus and senior Mario Henry.

"I will bring energy to the offense," said Thermilus, "I'm just going to do what I need to do and play football. Now I have to step it up."

Thermilus has already shown he can bring energy and explosiveness. Last season against UTEP, while splitting carries with Starks, he ran for a career-best 102 yards and scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to help seal the win for the Bulls.

However, UTEP is looking to avenge last season's loss. The Miners return 16 starters to a team that many predict will win Conference USA's West Division.

The Miners are led by quarterback Trevor Vittatoe who threw for 3,274 yards and 33 touchdowns last season. He leads a high-octane offense that averaged 32.9 points per game in 2008.

Saturday's game kicks off at 9:00 pm (EST) and will be televised on CBS College Sports (Time Warner Buffalo- Ch. 130, UB Campus - Ch. 64, Direct TV - CH. 613, Dish Network - Ch. 152). The game can also be heard on WECK 1230 AM with Paul Peck and Lou Piccone calling the action.

Written by Zach Ruske