Bulls Up for Challenge Against Pittsburgh

Panthers are just fifth BCS team to visit UB Stadium

Jesse Rack

BUFFALO, NY- Buffalo football fans will get their first chance to welcome back the 2008 Mid-American Conference champions when the Bulls host Pittsburgh in their home opener at UB Stadium on Saturday at noon.

The Bulls are coming off a nail-biting 23-17 win against UTEP, where Miners quarterback Trevor Vittatoe found James Thomas in the corner of the end zone with 14 seconds left only to see it all erased by two penalties, giving the Bulls the win in front of 35,213 disgruntled fans.

“It’s always something.” said running back Brandon Thermilus. “You never know what to expect with us.”

“No matter what happens, we just want to win,” said cornerback Domonic Cook.

That task will get tougher on Saturday when the Bulls host Pittsburgh of the Big East Conference. The Panthers are the just the fifth BCS opponent to play in UB Stadium in school history. UB is looking for its first home victory against a BCS opponent after playing Rutgers twice as well as Syracuse and Baylor.

The Panthers, the favorites to win the Big East, return starting quarterback Bill Stull, who led Pitt to four come-from-behind victories while throwing for 2,356 yards and nine touchdowns in 2008.

Pittsburgh is coming off a 38-3 win over Youngstown State on Saturday. Panther running back Dion Lewis ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

The biggest challenge for the Bulls will be Pittsburgh’s defense, which returns a number of starters from last year’s squad.

“They have quality players all over the defense, with great size and speed coming off the ball,” said head coach Turner Gill.

“It is going to be a very tough challenge; their front seven are the best we will face this season,” said Gill. “It’s going to be a fantastic challenge, and we are looking forward to it.”

After losing a tight contest to Pittsburgh at Heinz Field a season ago, tight end Jesse Rack and the rest of the Bulls are eager to get another crack at the Panthers.

“They’re a Big East team, but we feel we can compete with them,” Rack said. “We feel like we’re on the same plain as them and that last year’s game could have gone either way.”

Kickoff is slated for noon at UB stadium. Tickets are still available by calling the UB Ticket Office at 1-877-UB-THERE or online by clicking here.

The game will be televised on ESPN Regional across many parts of the country and locally on WNYO. As always, the game can be heard on 1230 WECK.