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On Paper - this season has been an absolute success. A winning record, a new tailgate experience before games, good attendance, and a trip to a bowl game.
But paper does not give the total package. Congratulations to the Bulls team for beating the teams that should have been beat. I cannot congratulate the Bulls on winning any games that could have gone either way. Before you say Ohio, we saw that Ohio was living off its reputation (blown out by Bowling Green 49-0, beat 44 - 13 by Kent State, a loss to Central Michigan and beat the terrible teams from the MAC.)
Do you know who the Buffalo Bulls were this year. The declining middle class in America. The conference had very elite teams this season in Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, and Ball State. The conference had some middling's in Buffalo, Toledo, Ohio,and Central Michigan. Then the conference had the poor, the under belly of Div. 1 football with Akron, Kent State, UMass, Miami (OH), Eastern Michigan, and Western Michigan.
The stars were aligned for the Bulls and took advantage of a very down year for the MAC. A fortuitous MAC schedule helped the win total. But again, that is not the Bulls' fault. The Bulls also have faced a murderer's row in years past. Here is the rub for the season.
Chart Time:
#1 Schedule Difficulty (using Sagarin Ratings):
Year | Average Rating of Teams Faced | Season Record |
2003 | 70.3 | 1-11 |
2006 | 85.2 | 2-10 |
2008 | 88.9 | 8-6 |
2005 | 89.2 | 1-10 |
2011 | 92.3 | 3-9 |
2012 | 93 | 4-8 |
2002 | 94.8 | 1-11 |
1999 | 95.1 | 0-11 |
2009 | 101.7 | 5-7 |
2007 | 102.8 | 5-7 |
2000 | 105.2 | 2-9 |
2010 | 109.2 | 2-10 |
2001 | 109.5 | 3-8 |
2013 | 114.3 | 8-5 |
2004 | 124.3 | 2-9 |
Gill won in 2008 playing UB's 3rd most difficult schedule in FBS. Quinn won 8 against UB's 2nd easiest schedule.
Chart #2, Top 20 Wins in UB's FBS Era
Gill and Quinn have all 20 of highest rated wins in UB's FBS era.
Gill had the best win and 7 of the top 10 wins, 5 of which came in 2008.
Quinn had 3 of the top 10 wins, only 1 in 2013.
UB Win Rank | Year | Team | Team Rating | Coach | UB Score | Opp. Score | Disparity |
1 | 2008 | Ball State | 65 | Gill | 42 | 24 | 18 |
2 | 2011 | Ohio | 68 | Quinn | 38 | 37 | 1 |
3 | 2008 | BGSU | 88 | Gill | 40 | 34 | 6 |
4 | 2008 | UTEP | 90 | Gill | 42 | 17 | 25 |
5 | 2008 | Temple | 98 | Gill | 30 | 28 | 2 |
6 | 2008 | Akron | 108 | Gill | 43 | 40 | 3 |
7 | 2009 | UTEP | 113 | Gill | 23 | 17 | 6 |
8 | 2013 | Kent St | 113 | Quinn | 41 | 21 | 20 |
9 | 2007 | Ohio | 114 | Gill | 31 | 10 | 21 |
10 | 2012 | WMU | 116 | Quinn | 29 | 24 | 5 |
Gill had 13 of the 20 highest ranked wins. Quinn had the other 7. While this points to the superiority of Gill, it also shows the futility of UB before Gill. Quinn still has 35% of our best wins. While 2008 saw as many top wins (7) as Quinn has total, 2013 gave us 4 top 20 wins, second to only the 2008 season.
UB Win Rank | Year | Team | Team Rating | Coach | UB Score | Opp. Score | Disparity |
11 | 2013 | ohio | 116 | Quinn | 30 | 3 | 27 |
12 | 2013 | uconn | 118 | Quinn | 41 | 12 | 29 |
13 | 2006 | kent state | 119 | Gill | 41 | 14 | 27 |
14 | 2009 | kent st | 119 | Gill | 9 | 6 | 3 |
15 | 2008 | ohio | 120 | Gill | 32 | 19 | 13 |
16 | 2012 | miami | 125 | Quinn | 27 | 24 | 3 |
17 | 2007 | toledo | 126 | Gill | 43 | 33 | 10 |
18 | 2007 | akron | 127 | Gill | 26 | 10 | 16 |
19 | 2008 | army | 128 | Gill | 27 | 24 | 3 |
20 | 2013 | stony brook | 129 | Quinn | 26 | 23 | 3 |
Of the 20 worst losses in UB's FBS history, Gill has 4 while Quinn only has 3. Gill lost to 125th ranked WMU in 2009, (20th lowest ranked team to defeat Buffalo) to 130th ranked Kent State in the 2008 finale, (16th), to 133 ranked Miami in 2006, (15th), and to 139th ranked Bowling Green in 2006 (12th).
Quinn did not have a "bad" loss in 2013, but started with 3 awful losses in 2010, against 160th ranked Ball State (7th), against 183rd ranked EMU (2nd) and against 206th ranked Akron (Worst loss in UB's FBS history...a history that includes two losses to FCS teams).