INDIANS, MARSHALL BRACE FOR OPENING STAMPEDE

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- It would be easy to think that Division I-A powerhouse Marshall won't take Division I-AA upstart Southeast Missouri State University very seriously when the squads open their 2000 seasons tonight.

But Marshall coach Bob Pruett -- despite his team being an overwhelming favorite -- claims that isn't likely to happen.

"I don't think so," said Pruett, when asked about the possibility of the Thundering Herd overlooking the Indians. "We'll have lot of new players and we know that anything can happen in a season opener."

The Tim Billings era at Southeast is expected to begin in front of the largest crowd in Marshall football history. Marshall University Stadium has been expanded this year to seat 40,000 and school officials are expecting the attendance for tonight's 6 o'clock kickoff to handily surpass the previous high of 33,204 for a game vs. Miami of Ohio in 1998.

"It should be a great atmosphere," said Billings, a Marshall assistant for 10 seasons before being hired in December to try and rebuild Southeast's struggling program. "I think it's going to be a very good experience for our program."

Billings played a major role in Marshall becoming college football's winningest program of the 1990s, and he served as the defensive coordinator on last year's squad that went 13-0, beat BYU in the Motor City Bowl and ended the season ranked 10th nationally.

"Coach Billings is a great friend and a great football coach," said Pruett. "He did a tremendous job here. I know he'll do a tremendous job there."

Pruett, a Marshall graduate who was a former defensive coordinator at Florida, has an unbelievable 50-4 record since taking over the Thundering Herd program in 1996.

Marshall never had much of a tradition to speak of until building a solid I-AA program toward the end of the 1980s. Then in the 1990s the Thundering Herd played in five I-AA championship games before making the move up to the big-time of I-A. And they haven't missed a beat, going 35-4 in three I-A seasons, capped by last year's perfect mark.

"We've been fortunate the last four years," said Pruett. "We've been blessed with good coaches, we've had some very good players and our university has made a big commitment to our program."

Even though the Thundering Herd lost a host of standout players from last season -- including star quarterback Chad Pennington, a first-round NFL draft pick -- the cupboard is certainly far from bare.

Offensively, where Marshall took its major hits, four starters return, including a dazzling receiver corps led by Nate Poole, one of the nation's best who caught 71 passes for 1,122 yards and nine touchdowns in 1999. Three other wide outs who combined for 93 receptions also return.

Quarterback is obviously a concern for Pruett entering the season, but he believes he has a good one in big (6-foot-5, 230-pound) sophomore Byron Leftwich, who attempted just 11 passes last season before being injured and receiving a medical redshirt.

"I think he has a chance to be a great player, as good as we've ever had here," Pruett said. "He just needs to play, but he has the ability."

Defensively, even though Marshall lost five all-Mid-American Conference performers, the Thundering Herd return six starters from a unit that ranked in the top 10 nationally in every statistical category. Three of the starters return in the secondary.

"I don't anticipate much of a dropoff defensively," said Pruett.

Marshall is not ranked in any of the preseason polls, but Billings said people shouldn't be fooled by that. He knows the Thundering Herd are a legitimate top 20 team, with speed to burn.

"They'll have great athletes at every position," he said. "They feel like they'll have better athletes on the field (than last year), just not as experienced."

Billings brought Marshall's wide-open, one-back offensive attack with him to Southeast and the Indians figure to fire plenty of passes tonight, even though Billings rates Marshall's secondary as one of the nation's best.

"We've talked about that," he said. "We have no control over how good their corners are. We're just trying to prepare to be the best we can be."

While the Indians will be huge underdogs tonight, Billings insists that they're not just playing the game in order to receive the $120,000 guaranteed money that the school will receive.

"We're going to Marshall for one thing. To win the football game," he said. "Whether that's realistic, I don't know. But the thing I keep telling my players is we have control over the things we do. We can't control what they do.

"The No. 1 thing, I don't want to beat ourselves. We have to be sound and make them beat us. That's one thing we've talked about for the entire season. If we can play error-free and don't give up big plays on defense, then we'll look at the scoreboard and see where we're at the end of the game."

Regardless of what happens tonight, Billings knows that this one game will not make or break the Indians' season. They'll still have 10 I-AA opponents left, and Billings believes Southeast will have a chance to win its share of them.

"I feel like we'll be a good football team before the season is over with," he said.

SEMO at Marshall

When: Today, 6 p.m.

Where: Marshall University Stadium, Huntington, W.Va.

Records: SEMO 0-0, Marshall 0-0

1999 records: SEMO 3-8, Marshall 13-0

Coaches: Tim Billings (SEMO) 0-0, 1st year; Bob Pruett (Marshall) 50-4, 5th year

Series record: First meeting

Radio: K103-FM

TV: WDKA