Grover Cleveland product Steven Means

WECK GAME NIGHT: UB vs. Rhode Island, 7 p.m., UB Stadium (WECK1230).

(WECK 1230) — Once you’ve gone to a bowl game, there is no other goal for a college program regardless of how many starters you lose. The seniors don’t want to hear about building up the team, or a new coach or a let down.

To be sure, the Bulls could’ve made it two bowls in a row in 2009 if they could’ve won one more game, and there were a bunch of tight ones. Quarterback Zack Maynard had miserable games in touchdown losses at Central Florida and home to Central Michigan. In the case of the latter, when you can hold the Chipps to 20 points, you need to win that game.

After moving to 3-4, the Bulls lost three consecutive games by a grand total of… seven points. Yep, 2.33 points-per-game with a freshman, somewhat-scatterbrained quarterback and a head coach in Turner Gill whose balls-to-the-wall gambles and quiet bravado cost the team some awful field position and game clock.

Now new coach Jeff Quinn’s bravado is there, just not even close to quiet. His spread offense will be in the hands of strong-armed playbook-worm Jerry Davis to start the year, a talented kid whose thrown just 15 passes in his career (one of them a 76-yard touchdown strike). The biggest worry for a fan might be that the Bulls are deep at running back and Quinn is a spread guy, but I can tell you Quinn recognizes what will work for this team. Look for redshirt freshman Branden Oliver to get downright nasty (how’s that for analysis?).

Bill Inge’s defense is going to be UB’s best ever if it can do a good job of stopping the run, because UB fans have been looking forward to this year’s edition of the secondary for a couple years. Davonte Shannon is the best defensive player the program’s seen, and he’s in the back with fellow seniors Josh Thomas and Dom Cook, and freak of athleticism sophomore Ray Anthony Long. Pass on the Bulls? Not often.

So, how do they make a bowl game? They need to pull six wins to be bowl-eligible. Let’s break this down into must-win, winnable, underdog and big underdog events.

Must-win: Tonight vs. Rhode Island, Oct. 30 vs. Miami (OH), Nov. 20 vs. Eastern Michigan, Nov. 26 at Akron

– They simply have to win four home games, and RI and Eastern should be a given. The Rams are far behind the Bulls in skill, and I think UB should have zero trouble this evening. Miami is one of those teams the Bulls must beat if they are a bowl team, and the  Zips aren’t projected to be a power this year.

Definitely Winnable: Oct. 2 at Bowling Green, Oct. 23 vs. Temple, Nov. 4 at Ohio, Nov. 12 vs. Ball State

– All conference games with the Temple game being another toss-up thanks to the rivalry. The Owls are good — potentially very good — but they’ll be traveling to Amherst for this contest. The Bobcats are a tough test but are replacing a bunch of players. Bowling Green and Ball State are both solid programs who should be down enough for the Bulls to take care of business if they want to go to a bowl game.

Underdog: Sept. 11 at Baylor, Sept. 18 vs. Central Florida

Baylor’s good, and the game’s in Texas, but that wouldn’t make this a major upset if the Bulls pulled it off. The Bears have a super-talented quarterback coming off an ACL tear. If he’s himself, this one’s a doozie. If not, it’s up for grabs. George O’Leary’s put a solid program together but only beat the Bulls by a nose last year down in Florida. Hopefully the loss of Torrell Troup benefits the Bulls as much as the Bills.

Big Underdog: Sept. 25 at UConn, Oct. 16 at Northern Illinois

– If Northern can get through a non-conference schedule that features trips to Iowa State, Illinois and Minnesota without losing their swagger, they can make a solid run at the title. Throw in the fact that it’s a road game and there could be trouble on the horizon. UConn is a very good program and winning there simply isn’t easy. They’ve beaten Louisville, South Florida, Virginia, Baylor and Cincinnati at home while losing by two to No. 19 UNC last season. It’s the only game on the schedule that looks downright scary.

Prediction: Can the Bulls win all four of their must-win and two of their winnable games or one of their underdog contests? I believe so. Look for Quinn’s first year to feature six or seven wins on the road back to Bowltown, which I just invented and where I would like to live.

Email: nickonweck@gmail.com