Buffalo @ Baylor preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 22, 2007 ) Baylor 34, Buffalo 21

Life after Turner Gill is off to a great start at Buffalo, but things won’t come as easy for the Bulls against one of the most electrifying dual-threat quarterbacks in college football.

Jeff Quinn leads the Buffalo Bulls into Waco, Texas for a tough non-conference matchup with Robert Griffin and the Baylor Bears on Saturday.

A former assistant under Brian Kelly at Cincinnati, Quinn has a tough act to follow. Under Gill’s guidance, the Bulls (1-0) went from Mid-American Conference doormats to league champions in 2008, earning their first-ever bowl bid.

Gill finished 20-30 in four years, helping Buffalo gain some national attention before accepting the Kansas job after the 2009 season. Prior to his arrival, Buffalo had won more than two games just twice in the previous seven years.

Time will tell if the Quinn era is as successful, but it certainly began well. Sophomore Jerry Davis threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns in a 31-0 rout of Rhode Island last Saturday.

While Quinn is an offensive-minded coach, the strength of the Bulls’ lies in their defense. Led by a solid secondary featuring three-time first-team All-MAC selection Davonte Shannon, Buffalo allowed just 210.7 passing yards per game last season.

The formidable unit picked up where it left off in the opener, holding the Rams to just 207 total yards. It was the Bulls’ first shutout since a 44-0 win over Ohio on Nov. 3, 2001.

But that was Rhode Island; the Bulls face a much more athletic Baylor team that has tons of speed - starting with Griffin, who is excellent at running Art Briles’ spread offense.

His successful return from knee surgery may be the key to the Bears (1-0) ending a 15-year bowl drought. Baylor is tied with Duke for the longest stretch without a postseason appearance among all BCS schools.

Griffin combined for nearly 3,000 yards of total offense and 28 touchdowns as a freshman in 2008, but played in only two 2 ½ games the following season before tearing a ligament in his knee.

The 6-2 220-pound junior looked like his old self last Saturday. He diced up Sam Houston State, passing for two touchdowns and running for another in a 34-3 victory over the Bearcats.

Griffin has been especially good against non-conference foes, going 111-for-183 with 1,479 yards and 13 touchdowns in eight games.

Griffin isn’t the only one who looked good in his return. Coming off ankle surgery, senior running back Jay Finley ran for 51 yards on six carries in the opener.

The 5-11, 205 pound tailback averaged 5.8 yards per carry as a sophomore before being slowed by the injury in 2009.

Finley and Griffin help comprise one of the fastest backfields in the nation. In 2008, when both were healthy, the Bears averaged 195.8 rushing yards per game. They could pose huge problems for a Buffalo defense that isn't used to seeing this type of speed in the MAC.

The Bears won the only meeting between these schools in 2007, 34-21, in Buffalo. A similar result would help Baylor start 2-0 for the first time since 2005.