Geographically, the difference between Syracuse and Buffalo is a little more than 130 miles west on I-90. But when it comes to football, Syracuse University and the University at Buffalo have a significant gap dividing the two Upstate New York schools.

Offensive ineptitude aside, Syracuse is a talented program, rich with tradition and support. Buffalo, on the other hand, is still pacing, trying to find its identity.

It makes Saturday’s clash between SU and UB so important for the Bulls. Syracuse fans look at the game as a relatively easy matchup sandwiched between Big East rival West Virginia and Atlantic Coast Conference stalwart Virginia.

For Buffalo, though, the game is invaluable. It’s an opportunity to garner respect among New Yorkers. It’s an opportunity to enhance its name for local recruits. It’s an opportunity to raise the profile of a program that is creeping back into Division I football after re-joining in 1999.

‘The game is important for both teams, but it’s more significant for UB because of the benefits if we’re able to play good football,’ Buffalo head coach Jim Hofher said. ‘We have an ambitious schedule, and they’re a good-looking football team. It’ll be a real big challenge.’

With a number of New Yorkers on the coaching staff, the Bulls are fully aware of the significance of the challenge.

Hofher was twice a Syracuse assistant. He was with the Orange as running backs and special teams coach from 1987-1988 and coached the quarterbacks in 2000. He also was the head coach at Cornell for eight seasons. The Bulls’ tight ends coach is Andrew Dees, a former captain for the Orange. Dees played from 1987-1991, appearing in a bowl game each season.

If anyone knows Upstate New York football, it’s Hofher and Dees. They’ve seen the excitement in the Syracuse area and are trying to create the same excitement in Buffalo.

When Syracuse visited Buffalo last season, it was the first-ever sellout at UB Stadium. The Bulls played the Orange tough, losing 37-17.

But the Carrier Dome is as good a home-field advantage as there is in the region. Hofher and Dees both said they’ve talked to the team about what to expect, although it’s tough to simulate the game-day atmosphere.

‘It’s a big challenge for us; (Syracuse is) a talented, athletic football team,’ Hofher said. ‘It’s a tough place to play. I coached there, and I think the challenges can be the noise level and the air, because it can get really stagnant in there.’

Bulls offensive lineman Mike Schifano played his high school state championship game in the Carrier Dome while at Webster High School. He knows it will be a different atmosphere on Saturday than it was while a prep, but that experience will be beneficial when the student section is cheering and the Orange appears out of artificial fog.

Although he said they’re approaching it just like any other game, Schifano also recognized the importance the game has for the program. In his eyes, Buffalo is improving. A win will only expedite the process.

‘I’ve seen it on a steady incline since I walked into the door in August, 2001,’ Schifano said, relating back to his freshman season. ‘We’ve been gradually improving. We’re getting better every year, pushing the envelope.’

But the results haven’t shown in the standings. The Bulls only amassed four wins over the past three seasons. They’ve resided in the cellar of the Mid-American Conference ever since joining in 1999, and they were dominated by Connecticut, 38-0, on Saturday to open the season.

It’s what you’d expect from a program still reeling from the transition to Division I-A. They spent 29 seasons either without a football team, at the Division III level or in Division I-AA before re-joining the highest classification.

The challenges of the promotion to Division I-A are vast, but there are success stories throughout the country. Marshall moved up in 1997 and has become one of the top mid-major football programs in the nation. Connecticut is competitive in the Big East just six seasons after leaving Division I-AA.

‘It takes a tremendous commitment from the school,’ UConn head coach Randy Edsall said. ‘Playing at the Division I-A level is very difficult. It takes a commitment from the university to want to do it the right way, so the coaches and the players have a chance to be competitive and have the opportunity to go in and win.

‘There has to be a commitment to facilities and the infrastructure, and then you have to go out and recruit the right student athletes.’

Recruiting is particularly tough for Buffalo, considering Syracuse is only 130 miles away and is cemented as the region’s premier school. One of the Orange’s top verbal commitments for the 2006 season is Mike Williams, a receiver from Riverside Tech in Buffalo.

UB and Syracuse often compete for the same players. While the Bulls are improving, it’s still tough to get over the Orange’s hump.

‘It’s a tough sell, I’m not going to lie,’ Dees said. ‘But a guy that wants to get on the ground level can come here and be part of something.’

But Buffalo won’t get ahead of itself. It’s building, and good turnaround stories don’t happen overnight. Apparently for the Bulls, they don’t happen in six seasons, either. But the key is playing better every game, improving each season.

And that’s how Buffalo has to approach Syracuse on Saturday. There’s no road map to success. This weekend, there’s only I-90.

‘For us to become a good football program, we need more consistency of good play,’ Hofher said. ‘There’s plenty we must do better. And we have to do it again and again and again. That’s the consistency factor we’re talking about.’

Published on September 7, 2005 at 12:00 pm