The Huskies suffered through an injury plagued year that brought just two wins and eventually led to Joe Novak being ousted. 2008 begins the Jerry Kill era. You may be familiar with Kill who moves over from Southern Illinois where he was named FCS (or 1AA) Coach of the Year in 2004 and 2007. He is a no nonsense kind of guy that develops blue collar teams strong in discipline. His Saluki teams were a perennial contender in the FCS and knocked this same Huskies team off in week two last year, and Indiana in 2006. Quite frankly, just the change in voice and presence of a new coach after a decade under Joe Novak probably does this team some good. 

Baring another massive injury hit to the roster this team has experience with 20 seniors and 21 starters returning and should be much more competitive than they were a year ago. The Huskies have real bright spots at tailback with Justin Anderson and Montell Clanton and 96% of their receiving yards are back. The QB position is unsettled with senior incumbent Dan Nicholson missing big chunks of time with shoulder soreness stemming from offseason surgery. Kill says the QBs have really progressed in learning the new system but refuses to name a starter saying it is a huge advantage for them at this point to keep it close to the vest. Expect it to be either Nicholson or redshirt freshman Chandler Harnish. I expect the QBs to be broken in slowly, relying on the strength of the line and RBs to carry the load early.

The defense has the pieces to be much better this year and should help improve their -17 TO margin, assuming Larry English is fully recovered from a torn pectoral. By all accounts, he is. English is a rare MAC talent, an All MAC DE who averaged 8 sacks per year in the last three with 10.5 in 2007. Opposing offenses will spend a lot of time game planning specifically to take him out of the game, but look for him to get his numbers regardless. The LB corps is solid and coaches are expecting a lot from senior Tim McCarthy who was lost to injury after appearing in just two games a year ago. The secondary is active, giving up just 16 passing TDs in 2007. I’d think Alex Kube’s tackles will go down from his spot at safety if nothing else because the front seven will make more plays before he has a chance to. If that’s the case, then the defense has done its job.  

If they are healthy this team can compete, if not it will be another long year with road games at Western Michigan and Ball State while having the misfortune of playing both Miami and BG from the East. The improvement may not show up in the W/L column but we should find value in playing on this team from a point spread perspective once they settle into the new systems. The market still viewed this team as a player in the MAC West last year when it was clear they were merely a shell of the team they had once been. Expect a similar thinking, a reactionary response, in 2008 where that 2-10 record actually helps us find value.