I can’t wait. It’s a week away. You can see it in the guys. We’re getting antsy. – BYU wide receiver Colby Pearson
PROVO — For months, BYU players and coaches have been looking forward to the season opener at Nebraska on Sept. 5.
Fall camp is over, and the Cougars and Cornhuskers collide in just seven days.
“I can’t wait. It’s a week away. You can see it in the guys. We’re getting antsy,” said Cougar wide receiver Colby Pearson. “It helps increase our intensity a little bit out there. We’re all excited.”
It will mark the first meeting between BYU and Nebraska. It's the Cougars’ first game at historic 87,000-seat Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, where Husker fans have sold out every contest since 1962. That’s 340 straight sellouts.
Since concluding fall camp Wednesday night, BYU has been focusing on getting ready for the Big Ten Conference opponent.
The Cornhuskers, who finished 9-4 last year, have a new coaching staff, led by Mike Riley, formerly of Oregon State.
“They’re going to be big, physical,” said quarterback Taysom Hill. “It’s tough to beat a team like that on the road. But what we’ve seen from us as a team, BYU, I think we’re capable of it and we know what we have ahead of us and we’ve been preparing for it.”
The Cougars have won seven of their last eight season openers, with their last loss coming at Virginia, 19-16, in 2013. Last year, BYU pounded Connecticut, 35-10, on the road in its first game of the season.
What is the key to the Cougars’ recent success in season openers?
“I think it’s preparation,” Hill said. “A lot of that goes to the coaching staff, getting us prepared through fall camp and then leading up to fall camp so we know exactly what to expect. Then when we come out there’s no surprises. All we have to do is continue to make plays and do what we’ve been doing in practice.”
While BYU’s seven-out-of-eight run is impressive, what about Nebraska?
The Cornhuskers haven’t lost a season opener since 1985, a 29-year streak. That streak, in recent years, includes victories over teams like Maine, Western Kentucky, Chattanooga, Southern Miss, Western Illinois and Florida Atlantic.
This is regarded as one of Nebraska's most intriguing season openers in years.
BYU offensive coordinator Robert Anae is hoping his offense gets off to a strong start like it did last season.
“(Anae) knows this year, if we improve from last year, we should be in the 40s in scoring points,” said wide receiver Mitch Mathews. “Last year it was 37. That’s a goal we have, to score 40 points, and score more. I think we’re on the right track. He’s making sure that happens.”
Riley, meanwhile, has concerns about the way his offense matches up with BYU.
“Brigham Young is a diverse defense. I think they blitz from the bleachers, so you’ve got to be sound in how you look at them … and how you develop your running game and how you’re going to block it. You have to not be overburdened with too much stuff, but you have to have enough that challenges the defense. Therein lies our issue here in the next few days deciding what that is … We’ve got to have a good week of preparation to get ready for all that stuff.”
Hill is confident in what the Cougars can accomplish this season.
“I love our team. I think we are extremely unified,” he said. “We have battled hard, but instead of allowing those battles on the field to carry over off the field, we have (turned them into something to) unify us and there is mutual respect from everybody and everybody is looking forward to the next week and playing Nebraska.”
So, yes, the Cougars are eager to go to Lincoln.
“I’m super excited,” said BYU safety Grant Jones. “For me, it’s been four years since I’ve played another team. We have a game. It’s going to be fun to get out there and hit somebody else. I can’t wait.”