The 2008 Husker football season is ready to get under way, and the Huskers kick off the Bo Pelini Era on Saturday when they play host to Western Michigan in a 6 p.m. game at Memorial Stadium.
Like the Huskers, the Broncos are coming off a disappointing 5-7 season that saw them stumble out of the gate with a tough non-conference schedule that included top-10 West Virginia and Missouri. The Broncos did get a positive note at the end of the year by marching into Iowa City and defeating the Hawkeyes, and they are hoping to pull a similar trick when they come to Lincoln on Saturday.
Defense is Western Michigan's strong suit, and they have all 11 starters back from last year, led by an all-senior secondary that includes Shrine Bowl nominees Louis Delmas and Louden Fryar. Delmas has a career eight interceptions, while Fryar had six pass break-ups in one game last year and had a total of 16 in 2007.
Offensively, the Broncos are looking to improve this year and will be led by junior quarterback Tim Hiller, who threw for over 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns, but struggled with 15 interceptions in 2007. Brandon West is the team's leading rusher and averaged almost five yards a carry last year. Senior receiver Jamarko Simmons averaged almost 12 yards a catch and caught 84 balls for 980 yards last season.
Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said the Huskers have a tremendous amount of respect for the Broncos and know their past history in playing well on the road against big-name schools like Iowa and Virginia. The Broncos will have the advantage of using that past reputation, but will be walking into something of an unknown entity because of the new coaching staff and having to play the season opener on the road in a place that is very tough for non-BCS schools to compete in.
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