Sure, NFL preseason games don't count for much once they tee it up for the regular season, but the Northwest Missouri State faithful can't help but bust a few buttons after Sunday night's showing by running back Xavier Omon in the Buffalo Bills' preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans.

With a team-high 11 carries for 36 yards (to go with three catches for 25 yards), the former Bearcat and 2008 sixth-round draft pick got the bulk of the load during the second quarter and caught the attention of a few sports scribes and fan site pundits.

"The Bills aren't going to gamble with keeping just two running backs during Marshawn Lynch's suspension, particularly after Omon's impressive performance in the loss to Tennessee," wrote Brian Galliford on www.buffalorumblings.com.

Buffalo News sports reporter Mark Gaughan noted, "He was noticeably quicker in hitting the holes ..." and revealed that "X" had dropped 11 pounds to show up at camp at 222 pounds - his playing weight as a senior for the Bearcats.

But the Bills are loaded at running back - kind of a waste since their offensive line is just a half step above awful - and that has to make the green-clad well-wishers from Maryville a bit uneasy. Omon got a longer look than expected in the Hall of Fame Game when Dominic Rhodes was held out because of a sore knee. That won't always be the case.

Fantasy site Rotoworld.com noted that with Lynch, Fred Jackson and Rhodes in the fold, Omon "will have a hard time making the Bills this season...."

Omon clearly is on the roster bubble, but even if things go badly in chilly Buffalo this fall, one would hope he wouldn't be left out in the cold for long.

Omon is not the only Bearcat trying to cling to an NFL roster during this preseason camp. Offensive guard Tom Pestock, a free agent signee of the Indianapolis, hopes to get a chance to impress coaches Friday when the Colts open their preseason schedule against Minnesota.

Pestock's teammate, Missouri Western alum Gijon Robinson, currently tops the depth chart at fullback/H-back. Robinson is a 2007 free agent signee who caught on last season after spending his first year on the Colts' practice squad.