If last season's five wins were a statement that the Buffalo Bulls football program is no longer a cupcake, then Thursday night's 42-17 victory over the UTEP Miners at UB Stadium was an exclamation point.

The Bulls were led by several impressive offensive performances including senior quarterback Drew Willy throwing for four touchdowns and 221 on just 10 completions.

"(The Miners) were playing a lot of man-to-man coverage and I think they thought they could cover our wide receivers," Willy said. "But (the offensive line) did a great job of holding up on the line with all their blitzes and guys made plays out there."

The majority of Willy's production came in the first half of the contest, as Buffalo was able to lean on a steady rushing attack from junior running back James Starks and his backup, sophomore Brandon Thermilus. The two tailbacks combined for 281 yards on the ground, while Thermilus scored twice.

"I don't think any of our running backs as being like backups because Brandon (Thermilus) at any given time could start, too," Starks said. "He's a great back as everyone saw today."

Not to be outdone, junior wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt also posted a career-high 154 yards and two touchdowns on just four catches.

Buffalo's (1-0) first touchdown of the game came in the first quarter, capitalizing on good field position after UTEP's (0-1) punter Kyle Petersen mishandled the snap to allow the Bulls to start the drive on the Miners' 20-yard line. Four plays later, Willy hooked up with senior tight end Brian Kisabeth for a 15-yard touchdown pass. It was Kisabeth's first catch since the 2004 season.

The Bulls scored again towards the end of the first quarter when Willy connected with Roosevelt on a screen pass that went 68 yards for a touchdown, putting Buffalo up 14-0.

UTEP responded in the beginning of the second quarter, capping off an 80-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run by running back Terrell Jackson. The Miners then recovered a fumble by Willy that gave them position of the ball at Buffalo's 25-yard line and tied the game up at 14 when quarterback Trevor Vittatoe completed a two-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jonny Moore.

However, Buffalo retook the lead before going into half when Willy hit senior wide receiver Gary Rice for a 34-yard score.

The Bulls started the second half off with some more fireworks in the passing game, as Willy hooked up with Roosevelt again for a 56-yard touchdown pass.

After this, the Buffalo offense shifted to a heavy dose of its running game, holding possession of the ball for 19:55 of the second half to seal the win.

"Buffalo did a great job of running the football and throwing some deep passes that beat our defensive backs," said UTEP head coach Mike Price. "This is a no excuse game. We got our butts beat."

The defense also put the clamps on the normally high-powered UTEP offense, limiting Vittatoe to just 69 yards passing in the final two quarters with freshman linebacker John Syty also intercepting two of Vittatoe's passes.

"We knew everyone thought this would come out and be a shoot out," said sophomore linebacker Justin Winters who finished the game with six tackles, a sack and an interception. "We practiced for the same things (UTEP) ran. It was like practice, (we were) running around and making plays."