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2015 CFL Schedule, Buffalo alumni to face off fifteen times

Harry How/Getty Images

The CFL brings a fast paced three down game to the table and thankfully they start playing in June, when all we have to hold us over is baseball. With just nine teams it's also a small league packed full of historical rivalries which dwarf anything in the NFL.

There are four Buffalo Bulls currently on CFL rosters.

The most prominent is Drew Willy, who turned Winnipeg into Willypeg last season. Brought over as part of the new regime the New Jersey native and signal caller of the 2008 UB Championship team put up some awesome numbers. This season Bomber fans will want more consistency out of Willy but the team seems poised to be one of the better ones in the CFL.

Two receivers who caught Willy passes in Amherst are also on CFL rosters.

Ernest Jackson has been up north for a few seasons. He started last year as a role-playing receiver who BC Lions fans believed was not worth one of the squads "international player"* spots. Jackson showed great promise early on at BC but after an injury he was not a huge factor.

Then late last season Jackson ripped off several amazing games to end the season among the leagues best receivers with 813 years and three touchdowns. He was a free agent after the season and was quickly snatched up by the Ottawa REDBLACKS (I'm so sorry). Many considered Jackson to be the best available free agent receiver in the CFL and the move was a coup for Ottawa.

New to the CFL this season is Naaman Roosevelt. The man who broke hearts in Philadelphia with his 2008 Hail Mary catch has spent quite a few years bouncing around the NFL. Roosevelt did two with the Bills, one with the Browns and Lions. The only action he saw in the regular season was back in 2010 and 2011 with the Bills.

This offseason Roosevelt signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who gave Drew Willy his first shot in the CFL. Word in Riderland is that Roosevelt is looking like a very potent weapon in their Florida camps and may factor in a big way this season.

Last but not least is Natey Adjei, a native* Canadian speedster who was on the UB roster for two seasons but had no impact on the field. He was a high draft pick of the Toronto Argonauts two years ago and saw a little action in his rookie season.

This year Adjei, whose hometown is very close to Toronto, hopes to be a bigger factor.

I'm not going to bore you with the math but you have four UB players on different squads of a nine team league that plays 19 regular season and two preseason games. That means there will be a whole lot of CFL games involving a UB player (50) and a good number where each side will sport a Buffalo alumnus (15). A lot of these games end up on ESPN3 and they are fun to watch.

We will have more on each UB player as camps get along further and if there is interest we will throw up a weekly game thread.

* - For those of you who don't know the CFL has a strict limit on the number of "import" players. I believe the number is 19 players on a roster can be imports. An import is anyone did not physically reside in Canada for a total of 7 years prior to turning 15, or was a Canadian Citizen for 5 years before turning 18.

Here is this years full slate of CFL games and the UB players involved.

Date Away Home UB Away UB Home Note
8-Jun Ottawa Hamilton Ernest Jackson PS
9-Jun Winnipeg Toronto Drew Willy Natey Adjei PS
12-Jun BC Calgary PS
13-Jun Montreal Ottawa Ernest Jackson PS
13-Jun Saskatchewan Edmonton Naaman Roosevelt PS
18-Jun Toronto Montreal Natey Adjei PS
19-Jun Hamilton Winnipeg Drew Willy PS
19-Jun Calgary Saskatchewan Naaman Roosevelt PS
25-Jun Ottawa Montreal Ernest Jackson
26-Jun Hamilton Calgary
27-Jun Edmonton Toronto Natey Adjei
27-Jun Winnipeg Saskatchewan Drew Willy Naaman Roosevelt
2-Jul Hamilton Winnipeg Drew Willy
3-Jul Calgary Montreal
4-Jul BC Ottawa Ernest Jackson
5-Jul Toronto Saskatchewan Natey Adjei Naaman Roosevelt
9-Jul Ottawa Edmonton Ernest Jackson
10-Jul Montreal Winnipeg Drew Willy
10-Jul Saskatchewan BC Naaman Roosevelt
13-Jul Toronto Calgary Natey Adjei
16-Jul Hamilton Montreal
17-Jul Edmonton Ottawa Ernest Jackson
17-Jul BC Saskatchewan Naaman Roosevelt
18-Jul Winnipeg Calgary Drew Willy
24-Jul Calgary Ottawa Ernest Jackson
24-Jul Toronto BC Natey Adjei
25-Jul Winnipeg Edmonton Drew Willy
26-Jul Hamilton Saskatchewan Naaman Roosevelt
30-Jul BC Winnipeg Drew Willy
31-Jul Saskatchewan Edmonton Naaman Roosevelt
1-Aug Montreal Calgary
3-Aug Toronto Hamilton Natey Adjei
6-Aug Edmonton BC
7-Aug Montreal Ottawa Ernest Jackson
8-Aug Saskatchewan Toronto Naaman Roosevelt Natey Adjei
9-Aug Winnipeg Hamilton Drew Willy
13-Aug Edmonton Montreal
14-Aug Toronto Winnipeg Natey Adjei Drew Willy
15-Aug BC Hamilton
15-Aug Ottawa Calgary Ernest Jackson
20-Aug Montreal BC
21-Aug Hamilton Edmonton
22-Aug Calgary Saskatchewan Naaman Roosevelt
23-Aug Ottawa Toronto Ernest Jackson Natey Adjei
27-Aug Montreal Hamilton
28-Aug Toronto Edmonton Natey Adjei
29-Aug Calgary Winnipeg Drew Willy
30-Aug Saskatchewan Ottawa Naaman Roosevelt Ernest Jackson
3-Sep BC Montreal
6-Sep Winnipeg Saskatchewan Drew Willy Naaman Roosevelt
7-Sep Toronto Hamilton Natey Adjei
7-Sep Edmonton Calgary
11-Sep Hamilton Toronto Natey Adjei
12-Sep Saskatchewan Winnipeg Naaman Roosevelt Drew Willy
12-Sep Calgary Edmonton
13-Sep Ottawa BC Ernest Jackson
18-Sep BC Calgary
19-Sep Edmonton Hamilton
19-Sep Ottawa Saskatchewan Ernest Jackson Naaman Roosevelt
20-Sep Winnipeg Montreal Drew Willy
25-Sep Calgary Winnipeg Drew Willy
26-Sep BC Edmonton
26-Sep Toronto Ottawa Natey Adjei Ernest Jackson
27-Sep Montreal Saskatchewan Naaman Roosevelt
1-Oct Montreal Ottawa Ernest Jackson
2-Oct Calgary Hamilton
3-Oct Edmonton Winnipeg Drew Willy
3-Oct Saskatchewan BC Naaman Roosevelt
6-Oct Ottawa Toronto Ernest Jackson Natey Adjei
9-Oct Saskatchewan Hamilton Naaman Roosevelt
10-Oct Edmonton Calgary
10-Oct Winnipeg BC Drew Willy
12-Oct Toronto Montreal Natey Adjei
16-Oct Winnipeg Ottawa Drew Willy Ernest Jackson
TBA Edmonton BC
17-Oct Calgary Toronto Natey Adjei
17-Oct BC Edmonton
18-Oct Hamilton Montreal
23-Oct Montreal Toronto Natey Adjei
23-Oct Hamilton BC
24-Oct Ottawa Winnipeg Ernest Jackson Drew Willy
24-Oct Edmonton Saskatchewan Naaman Roosevelt
30-Oct BC Toronto Natey Adjei
31-Oct Saskatchewan Calgary Naaman Roosevelt
1-Nov Ottawa Hamilton Ernest Jackson
1-Nov Montreal Edmonton
6-Nov Winnipeg Toronto Drew Willy Natey Adjei
7-Nov Hamilton Ottawa Ernest Jackson
7-Nov Calgary BC
8-Nov Saskatchewan Montreal Naaman Roosevelt