The Nebraska football team will face an interesting schedule this fall, with five bowl teams -- three of whom played in BCS bowl games -- highlighting the 2008 campaign.
The Huskers will play their first five games of the season at Memorial Stadium, including all four non-conference matchups. The first comes Saturday, Aug. 30, when they face the Western Michigan Broncos. This game was originally scheduled for the third game of the year, but was moved up to give the Huskers a week off before a big matchup with perennial power Virginia Tech. The Broncos are a young team coming off a 5-7 season and will give the Huskers a good early indicator of where they are at.
Following that are a pair of games against Western Athletic Conference foes. San Jose State comes to town on Saturday, Sept. 6, marking the second time this decade they have faced the Huskers in Lincoln. Their first trip to Lincoln was a rather dubious won, as they kicked off the 2000 season playing the top-ranked Cornhuskers and coming up on the short end of a 48-13 decision. The Spartans were 5-7 last year, but nearly upset then-undefeated Hawaii midway through the 2007 campaign before losing 42-35 in overtime.
The New Mexico State Aggies visit Lincoln the following week and will be looking to right a ship that sank the last two months of the year. New Mexico State was still in the hunt for a bowl bid with a 4-3 record, but lost their last five games to finish with a losing record. They'll get a chance to pull off a big win for their program when they visit Lincoln on Saturday, Sept. 13.
Nebraska gets a much-needed week off to prepare for what should be its first major test of the year when Virginia Tech comes to town on Saturday, Sept. 27. The Hokies were in the hunt for a national title for much of 2007 and suffered a disappointing end to an 11-3 season with a 24-21 loss to Kansas in the Orange Bowl. The Hokies will no doubt be high on the list of most experts and this will be a can't-miss game for Husker fans as they see how far this team will have come under new coach Bo Pelini.
The following week, the Huskers play the last of their five straight home games as they open up Big 12 play against defending North Division champion Missouri. The Tigers humbled the Huskers last year in Columbia and will be led by quarterback Chase Daniel, who was a Heisman Trophy finalist last year and will be one of the early favorites to win the award in 2008.
The Huskers finally take to the road on Saturday, Oct. 11, as they travel south to face Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are traditionally a pass-happy, high-octane offensive unit that will have the Blackshirts on their toes from the opening kickoff. The Red Raiders went 9-4 and beat Virginia in the Gator Bowl in 2007, and will be looking to move up among the best in the Big 12 South in 2008.
Nebraska is on the road again Saturday, Oct. 18, heading east to face Iowa State. The Cyclones have had some success against Nebraska at home in the past decade, and look to be an improved team under second-year coach Gene Chizek, who had the Cyclones playing better by the end of last year's 3-9 season.
On Saturday, Oct. 25, new Baylor coach Art Briles brings the Bears to town to face the Huskers. Baylor has been the conference whipping boy almost from the beginning. Last year, they got off to a promising start by going 3-1, but were unable to pick up a win in conference play to finish 3-9. It will be interesting to see what kind of a team the Bears bring to Lincoln under new leadership.
The game on Saturday, Nov. 1 is the once-traditional rivalry matchup with Oklahoma. The Husker-Sooner games have been legendary over the years, with many calling the 1971 "Game Of The Century" the greatest college football game ever played. Oklahoma is the defending Big 12 champions and will likely be among the contenders for a national title once again in 2008, so this game will be a great chance to see how much progress the Pelini-led Huskers have made by this point.
Don't think for one minute that revenge won't be on the minds of the Husker faithful when Kansas comes to town on Saturday, Nov. 8. The last time these two teams met, Kansas had a history-making afternoon. The 76-39 mauling not only marked their biggest win over Nebraska in a series that dates back to 1892, but it was the most points ever scored against a Nebraska team in its entire history. The Jayhawks went 12-1 and won the Orange Bowl last year and should have a solid unit again when they come to town.
The final road game of the regular season comes Saturday, Nov. 15 when the Huskers visit Kansas State. Manhattan has been kind of rough on the Huskers lately, and no doubt the Wildcats might want to issue payback for last year's 73-31 drubbing at the hands of the Huskers.
The season finale comes the day after Thanksgiving on Friday, Nov. 28, when Nebraska meets Colorado at Memorial Stadium. Last year, the Huskers scored 51 points against the Buffaloes, but were on the wrong end of a 65-51 decision that marked the second time Colorado put 60-plus points on the board against Nebraska.
You can get tickets for all the Husker football home games at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.
Comments