Western Michigan Blogger Fears Buffalo...Not the Huskers

A few minutes ago, I was listening to Jon from CornNation.com being interviewed about "A Sea of Red" on the Husker Sports Network, and left the stream running. Good interview. (And thanks for the plug!) In the next segment, host Lane Grindle mentioned Graham Couch's Western Michigan "Bronco Insider" where he says the Broncos should "beware of the [Buffalo] Bulls, confident against Cornhuskers."

OK, Turner Gill is doing a great job at Buffalo, and has that program on the way up. That's a sign of respect, right? Nope.

I don't believe for second that Buffalo is as talented as the Broncos, but what makes this game so dangerous is its location, the lack of any sort of rivalry between the programs and its timing.

WMU has to go into Buffalo on Oct. 11, a week before going to Central Michigan. There is no hatred of the Bulls to keep WMU's focus and it's a league road game at a place that doesn't have great atmosphere (remember Eastern Michigan in 2007). Keep in mind, nondivisional games count toward the conference standings this year.

In other words, if Gill and his squad gets the victory, it's because it's a trap game, not because Buffalo is a better football team.

Then he turns his attention towards Nebraska:

Nebraska? It's the opener (a natural adrenaline rush) and the Huskers don't have a prolific offense or great speed at many of the skill positions (at least, so I'm told). Like against Florida State in 2006 and Iowa last season, WMU has a chance here. The Broncos usually compete well against teams that don't have high-powered offenses, as long as they can survive a brutal atmosphere.

It might have been lost in the defensive meltdown, but the Husker offense did score 163 points in three games last November. I'm not sure that's necessarily "prolific"...but it's not horrible either. As for speed, Marlon Lucky may not be the toughest inside runner, but he's got speed to burn. Joe Ganz has some mobility as well, and the young receivers, while inexperienced, have some wheels as well. There's a little speed there.

The key thing is the "(at least, so I'm told)" ... which indicates that I probably spent more time writing this entry as Couch spent looking at the Huskers.