The anticipation has been building for months, all of it leading up to Saturday night. Saturday marks the first Husker football game under a new regime, the Scott Frost era, and the new head coach says his squad is ready.
Frost came to Nebraska after a remarkable turnaround at UCF, where he guided the Knights to a perfect 2017 season, making his the undisputed coach of the year.
With a new team under his wing, the coach said Thursday morning that after nine months of preparation, "They're trying to do everything we ask them to do and I think they're ready."
Frost says they've had a good week of practice, and while the gears are meshing, it all comes down to game day. "I want to see them execute."
The matchup between the Huskers and the Akron Zips is only the second between the two schools. Ironically, the only other meeting occurred to open the 1997 season when Frost guided a Husker offense that amassed 644 yards of total offense en route to a 59-14 victory.
Akron is in its seventh season under Head Coach Terry Bowden, who is in his 25th season overall as a collegiate head coach. Last season the Zips posted a 7-7 overall record and captured the Mid-American Conference Eastern Division crown.