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You bust your tail, day after day, never straying from the philosophy, never wavering on the commitment. You search for recruits in big cities and hole-in-the-wall towns and sell yourself and your university. You lose games yet never lose hope.

Then someone calls you No. 119.

"It can hurt your feelings, no question," says Jim Hofher.

Welcome to the end of the road. No. 119 is a long way from No. 1. Or No. 60, for that matter.

Hofher's teams at Buffalo have won seven games in his four seasons and had that sick feeling in the stomach 39 other times. So why are we talking about the lowly Buffalo Bulls? Because someone recently ranked UB No. 119 out of 119 Division I-A teams in a way-too-early preseason poll. And because Hofher thought that someone was the SPORTING NEWS.

And because Hofher then fired off an e-mail to me defending his team.

"I'm not looking for publicity," Hofher says. "I'm just defending our guys."

This is why I'm compelled to tell the story of UB, the Division I-A program buried deep in a pro football city and deeper in the eyes of college football. It's debatable whether UB is No. 119; there's no question, however, that the Bulls have rented space in obscurity since making the jump to Division I-A in 1999. Two one-win seasons and losses to non-scholarship schools Lehigh and Colgate are lowlights in a brief and not so illuminating return to the big-boy table. And Hofher was given the dreaded vote of confidence after last year's 2-9 finish.

Still, there's something refreshing and revealing about a coach who defends one of the worst teams in Division I-A with the passion and pride of coach in a BCS league. Hofher isn't foolish; he's realistic. Since moving to Division I-A, the Bulls have won six Mid-American Conference games. Toledo won eight league games last year.

Hofher knows UB isn't close to where it needs to be but knows he can't stray from a philosophy he believes will help the Bulls eventually make the big turn. He also knows how bad it got for fellow MAC school Northern Illinois--and how good it has been since.

The administration at Northern Illinois never gave up on coach Joe Novak, even after a 23-game losing streak and a 3-30 record in his first three seasons. Since then, the Huskies are 44-25 and just played--and won--their first bowl game since 1983. Since the 3-30 start under Novak, NIU has beaten Alabama and Maryland and should've beaten Illinois in 2001, when the Illini won the Big Ten.

Apparently, there isn't such a big chasm between irrelevance and reverence after all. Those who make it to the other side are those who persevere.

It wasn't so long ago that Novak pulled Hofher aside after the Huskies beat up on the Bulls and told him to keep plugging and not to stray from his philosophy of patience and persistence. It's now Year 5 for Hofher at UB, where recruits have developed in his program and progress is shown in places other than the scoreboard. You know, all of that corny stuff coaches on the short end like to preach about.

But until UB begins to win games in bunches and build confidence, all of that sappy talk doesn't mean squat. Hofher knows it; his players know it. The Bulls won two MAC games last season, which at this point is as significant as winning the league championship.

There will be 16 fifth-year seniors on the roster when the Bulls open the 2005 season at Connecticut--16 players who have grown through brutal losses with the anticipation of something bigger and better looming. But the reality is, UB could double its win production in 2005 and still be among the bottom half of Division I-A teams.

Hey, at least it's not 119.

speed reads

Former Texas tailback Cedric Benson made news recently when he said the Longhorns' coaching staff needs to game plan the Oklahoma game to win it instead of not to lose it. And this is news? Yet another reason why the Longhorns haven't--and won't--beat OU for years: Everyone knows how to break the streak, except, apparently, coach Mack Brown.

The best offseason coaching hire flying under the radar: Syracuse coach Breg Robinson naming former Longhorns quarterback Major Applewhite to his staff Applewhite will be an offensive coordinator in three years and a head coach in seven.

You can have Jeremy Shockey and Kellen Winslow. The best tight end in the NFL in three years will be Virginia's Heath Miller, who has declared for the draft a year early. He has terrific hands, bulldozer strength and a passion for the game-without all of the attitude.

Bowden's replacement? The man could be Steele

Kevin Steele knows a little about hovering in the 100s. But he could be living in the high-rent district in the not-so-distant future.

Very quietly last week, Steele turned down an offer to be a defensive assistant (possibly coordinator) for the Miami Dolphins to remain linebackers coach at Florida State. Doesn't make sense, right? Look a little deeper. One of the nation's best recruiters, Steele is positioning himself to be the top candidate to take over at FSU when coach Bobby Bowden, 75, retires. Not bad for a guy who was 9-36 in four years at lowly Baylor.