Bulls Shock Owls With Hail Mary Finish

Roosevelt catches 35-yard touchdown pass on final play to lift Buffalo to 30-28 victory

Watch the Temple Postgame Press Conference

Naaman Roosevelt

BUFFALO, NY – It was perhaps the most miraculous play in Buffalo football history. Considering there were more than 400 former football players there to witness it – part of UB's football reunion weekend – and it was the opener of the Mid-American Conference schedule, the timing couldn't have been much sweeter.

Flanker Naaman Roosevelt hauled in a 35-yard "Hail Mary" pass from quarterback Drew Willy to stun Temple and turn UB Stadium on its ear with bedlam. The play capped a remarkable final three minutes that saw the lead change hands three times.

Temple had taken the lead with :38 to go on a touchdown pass from Adam DiMichele to Bruce Francis to set up one of the craziest finishes in UB's long football history.

“Thank the Lord,” said head coach Turner Gill, of his immediate reaction to the play. “Great win for our program. Great win for our community. Great win for this university. I’m proud of our players. You always talk about believing. You always talk about not giving up, you always talk about finishing. Our theme is about being relentless to the finish. This was a classic example of how to finish. You practice that play almost every week. You know you only get the opportunity like that once or twice a season. The guys didn’t panic. Just like in practice, everyone kept doing what they’re doing. I’m proud of our players and it’s a great win for our program because of the way we won today’s game.”

Said quarterback Drew Willy, “I was on a sprint out to the right. We practice this play every week. Three receivers go down. I made sure Naaman got down there so he saw it come out of my hands. I threw it high so he could look at it. He made an amazing catch. I was just hoping that when he went down he held on to it and didn’t let them rip it out of his hands. It’s the most memorable play I've ever been apart of and congrats to the whole team. It was a once in a lifetime play and I’m glad I was a part of it. ”

Drew Willy

That play capped an edge-of-your seat final three minutes. The Bulls broke a 21-21 tie with 2:27 left when sophomore A.J. Principe booted a 25-yard field goal. The Owls would respond by driving 74 yards in nine plays and taking the lead with :38 left. That set up Willy and Roosevelt's heroics.

The Bulls got the ball at the 40-yard line after Temple kicked it out of bounds. Willy then hit Roosevelt for a clutch 20-yard pickup before sending UB Stadium into delirium with the TD throw to the junior flanker.

The Owls came out flying in the firt half, stopping the Bulls on the first possession and then driving to the Bulls' six-inch line before the Bulls made an incredible goal line stand. The Bulls did not allow an inch on four straight cracks at the goal line with Buffalo taking over at their one-yard line.

Defensive tackles Anel Montanez and Ronald Hilaire helped repel two quarterback sneak attempts and on fourth down sophomore linebacker Tom Drewes met running back Joe Jones helmet to helmet and drove him back.

The Bulls, however, could not convert a first down and had to punt from their own end zone, setting the Owls up at their own 49-yard line after an excellent 48-yard punt by freshman Peter Fardon. From there, the Owls drove 51 yards for the opening touchdown of the game as Adam DiMichele hit Dy'Onne Crudup from one-yard out. After the PAT, Temple led 7-0 with :38 left in the first quarter.

Sophomore tailback Brandon Thermilus spelled starter James Starks on UB's third series and the move paid immediate dividends. Thermilus ran six times for 38 yards and finished the drive off on a fourth-and-one play by rambling three yards into the end zone to cap a 78-yard drive.

The Owls regained the lead on a one-yard touchdown run by Joe Jones to cap a 13-play, 65-yard drive with 3:40 remaining in the half.

Buffalo responded immediately on their next drive, driving 69 yards on just six plays to tie the game for the second time. Willy connected on five of six passes on the drive, including the payoff when he hit senior flanker Ernest Jackson on a nine-yard slant pattern that Jackson caught in heavy traffic with just :54 left in the half.

Justin Winters

The Owls took advantage of a huge momentum swing at the end of the first half. The Bulls forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff as senior Alex Pierre forced a fumble by returner Travis Shelton that Domonic Cook fell on it at the Owl 38-yard line.

What looked like the Bulls perhaps taking the lead at intermission, however, quickly swung the other way when Willy was sacked and fumbled with Temple recovering at their own 41-yard line. The Owls took full advanatge of the turnover as DiMichele hit Bruce Francis for a 23-yard touchdown with just :06 remaining in the half. The Owls went to halftime with a 21-14 lead.

The Bulls came storming out of the gates in the second half to tie the game. They stopped the Owls on their first drive and promptly drove 58 yards on 12 plays to tie the game. Willy hit junior tight end Jesse Rack for gains of 26, 7 and 9 yards on the drive and eventually connected with Brett Hamlin for a six-yard strike to tie the game at 21-21.

Jesse Rack

Buffalo's defense continued to swarm the Owls and it appeared the Bulls would take the lead late in the third quarter. An 11-yard pass from Willy to halfback Mario Henry – who would chip in with 40 yards rushing on seven carries – a 20-yard connection to Jackson and a 21-yard hookup with Rack. However, just when it appeared the Bulls would take their first lead of the game, Willy was intercepted on the first play of the fourth quarter by Jamal Schulters.

The game would remain tied after Temple's field goal kicker missed a 43-yard attempt and the Bulls would drive down for the go-ahead score. Willy had a clutch fourth-and-one completion to Rack to keep the drive alive, and then hooked up with Roosevelt for gains of 20 and 17 yards to set up the field goal to give UB a 24-21 lead with 2:27 remaining.

That, however, was just the beginning of two of the wildest minutes in UB's football history. No doubt, many of the hundreds of football alumni and the fans at UB Stadium will be talking about for years to come.

BULL-etins: Buffalo’s stop in the first quarter at the one-yard line marked the second time this year that the Bulls’ denied an opponent scoring in the red zone. Buffalo intercepted UTEP in the end zone in the opening game at UB Stadium...Buffalo is now 12-1 lifetime against Temple, including their third straight win. Head coach Turner Gill is 3-0 against the Owls, including two dramatic wins at UB Stadium (overtime in 2006)...Buffalo has started 2-0 at home for the first time in its I-A era. The Bulls last won their first two home games in the 1998 season (Lock Haven and Morgan State)...the win today was Buffalo’s seventh home win under Turner Gill. Prior to Gill, Buffalo had won just six home games as a I-A. The Bulls are now 7-5 at home under Gill, prior to his arrival Buffalo was 6-29...sophomore tailback Brandon Thermilus scored his fourth touchdown of the season in the first quarter. Thermilus has now scored in each game of the 2008 season...with his three touchdown passes on Saturday, quarterback Drew Willy now has nine on the season. Willy had just four touchdown passes in his first six games last season, before recording 11 of them in his final six games last year. Willy has now thrown a touchdown pass in seven straight games dating back to 2007. Will also moved into solo place on the career charts tor touchdown passes with 35 moving by Joe Freedy (32), who he entered the game tied with...tight end Jesse Rack set a new career high with six catches for 75 yards...linebacker Justin Winters recorded a career-high 12 tackles...Drew Willy threw for a career-high 348 yards in the game. He also threw for over 200 yards for the sixth straight game and completed a touchdown pass for the seventh straight game. Ina ddition, 10 different Bulls caught passes...Naaman Roosevelt has now gone over 100 yards receiving in three straight home games dating back to last year (147 vs. Bowling Green, 154 vs. UTEP and 132 vs. Temple today). He now has nine career touchdown receptions...Ernest Jackson had his first touchdown of the season and the eighth of his career...Drew Willy now has four 300+ yard passing games, only two other UB quarterbacks in the I-A era have accomplished that feat once (Randall Secky and Joe Freedy). The Bulls are 2-2 in games that Willy has thrown for 300 or more yards...sophomore tight end Kyle Brey made his first catch of the season in the first quarter. It was the third catch of his career for the primary blocking fullbaack and tight end. He would go on to record a career-high 3 catches for 21 yards...senior defensive end Andrae Smith recorded his first sack since 2005. That sack was for a safety at Toledo...flanker Brett Hamlin – after recording no touchdown receptions in his first 25 games, has now caught a TD pass in three of his last four games, including back-to-back weeks – 39 yards out vs. Pittsburgh last week and a six-yarder today...the Bulls rushing offense went over 100 yards for the third straight game...defensive tackle Dane Robinson was credited with a pair of quarterback hurries.