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Ex-Raider Bowled Over By Experience

University of Buffalo

Sherrod Lott had a hand in the Bulls’ stunning Mid-American Conference championship title and a trip to the International Bowl.

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By DAREK SHARP dsharp@tampatrib.com

The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 14, 2009

PLANT CITY - When Sherrod Lott sat down in the Plant City High offices to sign with the University of Buffalo three years ago, one of the last things on his mind was playing in a bowl game.

"Not so soon, no," Lott admitted.

There were stark facts about the Buffalo, N.Y., football program, facts that would curtail even the most optimistic person's expectations.

Buffalo had one winning record after its football program was elevated to Division I-AA status in 1993. And the school owned the longest losing streak in Division I history - as well as the second-longest streak.

Those days are gone, and with Lott along for the ride, Buffalo is making new history.

Though Buffalo's season ended with a loss, the fact that it came in a bowl game is remarkable. Lott had a big hand in helping the Bulls to a stunning Mid-American Conference championship title and a trip to the International Bowl in Toronto.

Connecticut defeated Buffalo 38-20 in the Jan. 3 bowl game, but that certainly did not detract from what the Bulls achieved. Buffalo (8-6) managed to win the conference's East Division with a 5-3 record. That landed the Bulls in the conference championship game, where they were expected to go down in defeat to West Division champ Ball State, an Indiana team that came in with a 12-0 record.

But Lott's defensive unit forced four Ball State turnovers, the last two getting returned for touchdowns. It was Lott who clinched the game, taking a fumble back 74 yards for a score. The highlight was plastered on ESPN's "SportsCenter" as the defining play of Buffalo's victory.

"The coaches called a blitz, we got to the quarterback and the ball just popped out. I just picked it up and took it home," Lott said. "I knew I'd be on TV with that one."

Another key moment from the Bulls' season turned out to be one of the candidates for national play of the year. Buffalo won its first conference game of the year, 30-28, over Temple on a 35-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass on the last play of the game.

As it turned out, had Temple won that game, the Owls would have gone to the conference championship, not Buffalo. The conference champion automatically goes to the International Bowl.

"It was so exciting to go to a bowl; the atmosphere was incredible, and we brought a lot of fans up from Buffalo," said Lott, who plays defensive back for the school. "We knew it was possible because the coaches always preached for us to stay positive. We're like a big family really; everyone is like a brother."

Coaching can certainly be traced as the primary reason for the football program's tremendous turnaround. A couple of months before Lott committed to Buffalo, Turner Gill was hired in December 2005. It was Gill's first head-coaching job after serving as an assistant with the Green Bay Packers; Gill was a Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback at Nebraska.

Buffalo became a Division I program in 1999 after a seven-year stint in I-AA, where the only time it finished with a winning record was an 8-3 mark in 1996.

At Plant City High, Lott (5-9, 176) was a four-year letter winner and played cornerback and wide receiver. He played as a true freshman in 2006 and started six games before sitting out his second year. This season, Lott played in all 14 games and was seventh on the team in tackles.

Lott is the son of Dwight and Roshanda Copeland.

"Turner and the entire coaching staff have helped shape my son into not only a good football player but also a strong, dedicated and well-mannered young man that we can all be proud of," Roshanda Copeland said.

She said she also is proud of how well Lott has adjusted to the weather on the Canadian border.

"One day I was in minus-18-degree weather and the next I'm visiting home and it's 80," Lott said. "But really, Buffalo is just like Plant City. Only it's cold."

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