Florida Atlantic and Schnellenberger Visit Nebraska in Season Opener

The majority of the buzz leading up to the University of Nebraska's season opening home game versus Florida Atlantic on Saturday, September 5 won't likely be on the players of the opposing football team entering Memorial Stadium in Lincoln on that evening.

No, much of the attention will be focused squarely upon the head coach of the Owls, a name forever to be remembered in Husker lore - Howard Schnellenberger.

Indeed Schnellenberger, the man who was at the helm for the University of Miami when they upset top ranked and undefeated Nebraska to win the National Championship at the Orange Bowl on January 1, 1984, is the current head coach at Florida Atlantic.

The student-athletes playing in this game hadn't breathed their first breath when that contest occurred, but they were alive the last time Schnellenberger came to Lincoln - in 1995 - as the head coach of arch-rival Oklahoma. It was a game won by the Huskers, 37-0, on their way to an undefeated season and a National title.

Oklahoma finished 5-5-1 that year, the first and only year that Schnellenberger coached the squad. Schnellenberger has a 148-125-3 overall record as a head coach and he's 48-48 at Florida Atlantic.

With that now out of the way, let's focus on the 2009 season opener for both programs and take a look at what Florida Atlantic, playing out of the Sun Belt Conference, brings to the table.

The name that must concern the Huskers the most once the game actually begins is Owl 6-foot 5-inch red-shirt senior quarterback Rusty Smith. Smith, a three-year starter, put up some lofty numbers in 2008, including 3,224 passing yards for 24 touchdowns. He was the Motor City Bowl Most Valuable Player as he threw for 306 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The victory over Central Michigan in the Motor City Bowl allowed the Owl's to finish the season with a winning record of 7-6.

Smith has a strong core of receivers, and he'll need them because the top two rushers from 2008 Charles Pierre (1,014 yards, eight TDs) and DiIvory Edgecomb ((469 yards, four TDs) were seniors last season.

Cortez Gent, a red-shirt senior, paced the Owls with 935 receiving yards and nine TDs in 2008. Gent could be joined at wide receiver by veterans Lester Jean and Chris Bonner. Tight ends Jamari Grant and Rob Housler combined for over 1,100 receiving yards and eight touchdowns last fall. Willie Rose, the leading returning rusher (308 yards), caught two touchdown passes in 2008.

The Owl's defense lost a great deal of talent from last year, including, but not limited to Frantz Joseph (154 tackles), Greg Joseph (102 tackles) and Corey Small (83 tackles, four interceptions).

Prediction: This is a good first test for Nebraska as the considerable passing attack from Florida Atlantic will keep their defensive backfield alert and the defensive front line looking to constantly pursue Smith. It's also good because the Husker offense should be able to work out some first game jitters against a re-built defensive unit. Don't be surprised if the Owl's put up some points, but in the end, the call is Nebraska 41, Florida Atlantic 24.