Western Michigan at Nebraska on Saturday August 30

It looks like it's going to be a whole new ballgame in Lincoln this fall, and BetUS Sportsbook bettors who follow college football will no doubt be curious about the new-look Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-7 SU, 3-9 ATS in 2007) as they play host to the Broncos of Western Michigan (5-7 SU, 1-8-2 ATS in 2007) in the college football opener for both teams, scheduled for Saturday, August 30 at 7 PM ET at Memorial Stadium (artificial turf).

BetUS NCAA Football Betting Odds: NEBRASKA -14

Here are some of the NCAA college football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* WMU is 0-4-1 ATS in its last five games

* WMU has played four of its last six games UNDER the total

* WMU is 1-4-1 ATS in its last six road games

* WMU has played five of its last seven road games OVER the total

* NEB has covered two of its last 11 games

* NEB has lost six of its last seven games SU

* NEB has covered one of its last six home games

* NEB has won 11 of its last 15 home games SU

* NEB has played six of its last nine home games OVER the total

Last season didn't start out so badly for Nebraska, which whipped Nevada 52-10 in the season opener and followed with a win over another bowl-bound team in Wake Forest. But they went downhill shortly thereafter. The Huskers, under Bill Callahan, had perked up their offense with the West Coast system, abandoning the Power-I and option plays that had brought national championships to the program, but somewhere along the way they lost their defense. Nebraska gave up 40 or more points six times, and in its most embarrassing moments surrendered 76 to Kansas and 65 at Colorado. Obviously Callahan's fate was sealed when Tom Osborne was brought in as the interim athletic director.

After firing Callahan, Osborne hired Bo Pelini, who spent the last three years as defensive coordinator at LSU. The mission is clear - put this stop unit back on track. Nebraska will be inexperienced in its secondary but brings back the entire defensive front, and that is encouraging news. Now it's up to Pelini and his staff to "coach up" this unit.

On offense, Nebraska ought to be alright. I really like the moxie of senior quarterback Joe Ganz, who stepped in when Sam Kellar went down and threw for 15 touchdowns in five starts, engineering a 73-31 blowout of Kansas State along the way. Ganz is free-wheeling and takes chances; he may be reigned in a bit by Pelini but may also cut down on mistakes. He's got a legitimate all-conference running back in Marlon Lucky (1019 yards last year), enough receivers to work with and an offensive line that returns four starters.

Western Michigan brings back a significant amount of defensive talent from a team that ranked 68th overall in the country, playing mostly Mid-American Conference opposition. And the schedule appears to be agreeable enough that the Broncos could find themselves playing in a minor bowl game, even if they don't win the MAC. On offense QB Tim Hiller returns for his junior season. He threw for over 3000 yards last season but a lot of his stuff was of the "dink and dunk" variety. His 15 interceptions were also a concern. WMU's ground attack averaged just 3.4 yards a carry last year, so if that figure doesn't jump significantly, this offense could be slowed down quite a bit by what might be a rejuvenated Nebraska defense under Pelini.