Well, it's only one set, but Nebraska doesn't look like the No. 7 team in the country. The Huskers, despite losing four All-Americans from last season, took it to second-ranked Stanford in the opening set of the season, winning 25-17.

Set No. 2 is underway.

Before you go out to Misty's or Sidetrack or wherever you plan to celebrate the eve of Husker football season, feel free to make your call on what's going down tomorrow night.

My guess: Nebraska 45, Western Michigan 24. I think it's a ballgame late into the third quarter and then NU pulls away.

So go ahead. How will the Pelini era start?

The Jayhawks were great last season. Definitely, a fun team to watch. But was it a flash in the pan in Lawrence? Or can they sustain success?

Each week, we'll turn over a similar question to our faithful bloggers and see what you come up with. The best responses will appear in Saturday's edition of Husker Extra.

So tell us, will Kansas show that 2007 was a fluke?

Bo Pelini got through his first Big Red Breakfast up here at the Holiday Inn Central in Omaha without being accused of being grouchy. Breakfast must have been hot (not sure about that, though, since the cost is above the LJS budget).

Without a cup of coffee in me, I might have missed something Pelini had to say after Breakfast organizer Dean Kratz introduced him, but here's a few bits.

(By the way, from my view, Bo had a great sense of humor for 7 a.m. After Kratz built him up for being a popular personality, Pelini said, "I hope I’m popular on Sunday." Later, he was asked if he sees much of Tom Osborne. "Who's that?" Pelini retorted.)

-- Pelini told the crowd Matt O'Hanlon, a senior walk-on from Bellevue, may start at free safety ahead of junior Rickey Thenarse, who's a tremendous hitter but sometimes operates outside the context of the defense, according to Marvin Sanders. The 5-11, 195-pound O'Hanlon played in 10 games last season, mostly on special teams. He had three tackles. As a sophomore in 2006, he played in all 14 games and made eight tackles.

-- On the task of building a group he didn't know into a team: "It has not been a smooth road for them, or for us, at any time. There’s been a lot of hard work. The players have had to make a lot of adjustments, and they’ve done so. They’ve set themselves up, I believe, to have some success. We’ll find out tomorrow night. It’ll be interesting to see how far we’ve come."

-- On being NU's head coach after not getting the job in 2003: "If you’d ask me whenever I left if I thought I’d ever be back here I would've said ‘You’re crazy.’ Funny how life works."

-- Pelini said two true freshmen, for sure, and maybe five, will play this season. Then, he mentioned three: linebacker Sean Fisher and nickel back Alfonzo Dennard, and Mason Wald on special teams. A couple other candidates are tight end Ben Cotton and linebacker Will Compton.

-- As for freshman D-lineman Baker Steinkuhler: "Baker’s struggled this fall. He’s just had a couple different nagging injuries (back, groin and also some sickness), nothing long term. He’s nowhere near getting ready to play for us yet. I do know this, he’s going to be a good player for us in the long term."

-- The update on OT Lydon Murtha's apparent arm injury was he probably would be a game-time decision, but Pelini seemed optimistic in a post-breakfast Murtha would play.

I'm headed for an Egg McMuffin. Nothing but the best.

It appears Nebraska players and coaches are set to take part in a "unity walk" before Saturday night's 6 o'clock game and future home games.

Buses will drop off the team at about 3:30-3:45 Saturday on the East side of Memorial Stadium. Details were still being worked out as of Thursday night, but the plan is for the team to weave its way past the game-day fan celebration inside the track northeast of the stadium (the Husker Nation Pavilion). The Huskers eventually will enter the stadium through gate 11, in the northwest corner of the stadium.

Again, details are still being worked out.

We know this: The coaching staff is hoping at least a few thousand fans show up to greet the team this week and in subsequent weeks.

The Huskers backed it down inside Memorial Stadium on Thursday, no pads, "more mental obviously than physical," head coach Bo Pelini said.

"We cut it down. There was great attention to detail. I liked what I saw from the guys. I think they're zeroed in and ready to go."

Pelini said he anticipates No. 1 right tackle Lydon Murtha will play Saturday, though the big man didn't practice on Thursday. "He could've but we held him out."

The plan for tomorrow: Some film, a walk-thru, a team dinner, a movie, then some meetings.

While some coaches stress a bit about keeping their players focused all day on Saturday for a night game, Pelini is used to that routine.

"We played almost all night games at LSU so I have a lot of experience with that," Pelini said. "It's good for us. It's something I've been a part of and I think I have a pretty good idea on how to manage that."

Asked about the atmosphere he anticipates for the game, Pelini said: "If I remember back to 2003, I imagine it's going to be pretty loud... I really kind of block it out, but it's the best fans in the United States. They're excited, it seems like. I'm sure it's going to be a great atmosphere."

I guess I shouldn't have been so definitive in my blog last night about "getting resolution" today with the Jorge Diaz situation.

Sorry, but it appears this saga is going to drag into next week, which technically begins Tuesday because of the Labor Day holiday. That's bad news for those patiently waiting for news, but maybe good news in that there might be a glimmer of hope.

When this is resolved, one way or the other, I'll try to explain the problem. Let's just say that if Doc is going to continue recruiting international students, this is a situation that needs addressing. (Which, I guess, is what's happening now, and why it's taking so long).

Also, a tele-conference with the NCAA on Christopher Niemann produced no resolution today. Again, this should be decided next week.

Oh well; we'll have other things to keep our minds occupied this weekend, right?

Marlon Lucky was on a list that came out today of 43 running backs who are candidates for the Doak Walker Award, presented annually to the nation's top running back.

Lucky is definitely on some radar screens. In the press release, his name was one of the few mentioned in the lede-in paragraphs, alongside the likes of Ohio State's Beanie Wells and Georgia's Knowshon Moreno.

Bo Pelini made an appearance on national radio Thursday, taking questions from Jim Rome.

Here's a portion of the interview. Asked about the team's attitude when he arrived, Pelini said:

"Well, you know, it was a group of guys, they were just beaten down. They were battered a little bit. They had lost some confidence. They just needed some direction. And, you know, that’s really not saying anything bad about what happened, what was going on there before, it’s just an atmosphere that happened here. There were really a lot of factors beyond coaching, beyond football, that contributed to where it ended up going last year, and some of those things were out of Coach (Bill) Callahan’s control.

". . . When I got here, it was just something that we had to develop some trust, relationships and start building that confidence and build an attitude."

Rome expressed surprise that there would be an issue with culture in the Nebraska program.

Said Pelini: "For some reasons and some things I don’t quite understand because I wasn’t really here, I didn’t live it, but there was a division, there was a lack of unity in the state and really, that’s really out of character for this program, for this state, for the fan base. There were just a lot of people . . . They weren’t on the same page in a lot of aspects. And that’s one of the things that makes this place unique is that culture, that attitude of one big family, really throughout the state as far as how they rally around the program. But somehow that went away, and that’s something we needed to bring back, we’ve worked hard to try and bring back."

Well, maybe this will make Husker fans feel better about that 41-40 triumph over Ball State last year. No, probably not.

But Jason Whitlock is calling for his alma mater Cardinals to be the surprise team of 2008.

I'm guessing not, but as the season kicks off tonight, I was wondering what teams you think might be surprises this fall.

Why do I have a feeling Nebraska will get a few votes on this blog?