COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Vikings ready for home opener

"We're just looking forward to getting the season started," Ross said in a phone interview. "We've had 24 practices and eventually you get to a point where you don't know what you can do until you play against someone else."

That someone else will be a familiar opponent to the Vikings. WWU dropped a home game to the Wolves 35-7 in its third to last game of the season last year. The two teams have met 46 times since 1930.

"Opening the season with a conference game means there's a little more at stake," Ross said. "There's that much more intensity and pressure on both teams."

The Vikings, who finished 2-8 last season, have won three of their past four season openers. They face a WOU team that won nine games a year ago and where picked to finish second in the conference in the preseason coaches' poll.

The Wolves lost their season-opener against Portland State 31-14, but are a talented team. Junior linebacker J.T. Gilmore could be pro prospect next season, and the Wolves' group of wide receivers might be one of the best the Vikings face all year. Throwing to them are a pair of quarterbacks who are trying to replace one of the best QBs in Western Oregon history in Mark Thorson. Running backs Ben Kuenzi and D.J. Jackson can grind out the yards or break big plays.

"It helps that we're playing a team that we played not that long ago," Ross said. "They'll have some new players and probably do a few new things, but they're a team we're familiar with."

Reach Joe Sunnen at joe.sunnen@bellinghamherald.com or 756-2862.

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