HUNTINGTON - The Big Do-Over begins today at Marshall.

Or, if you're a golf fan, call it the Great Mulligan.

Whatever you call it, Thundering Herd players and coaches have labored for nine long months in preparation for this day, and the 4:30 p.m. opener against Illinois State.

Not that the Redbirds are the biggest opponent on Marshall's schedule. On paper, quite the opposite.

But everyone in the Herd camp is eager to restore the program's pedigree, one damaged by three consecutive losing seasons. One pockmarked by an 0-7 start in the injury-plagued, adversity-overflowing 3-9 campaign of 2007.

The effort begins today in the friendly confines of Joan C. Edwards Stadium. A crowd of about 26,000 is expected, perhaps more with good weather and a strong walk-up at the ticket window.

"You've got to start with winning, and winning breeds winning," said defensive end John Jacobs. "And unfortunately, losing can sometimes breed losing. So we need to start out on a strong note, start the season fast and start football games fast."

For one thing, the Herd enters the season deeper and in much better health. Coach Mark Snyder vowed to make sure of that, going to NFL-style workouts that are heavy on running and loaded with repetitions, yet scaled back on all-out contact.

You probably won't see a repeat of the 46 different players who earned starts last year, thanks in part to a rash of injuries. But there's one benefit from that: The team now boasts of considerable experience.

Back are two of the top three rushers, five of the top receivers and eight of the top 12 tacklers - and that doesn't factor in the return of Albert McClellan, the Conference USA defensive player of the year in 2006 who missed all of 2007.

But then again, much is new about this Thundering Herd team.

That starts with the coaching staff, where new coordinators John Shannon and Rick Minter have left a considerable imprint. Shannon came in from Toledo to install an up-tempo, no-huddle offense in which you might as well turn off the new 40-second play clock. Minter, the former Cincinnati head coach who last worked at Notre Dame, brings a multiple-look defense best described as frenetic.

"We're going to fly around," Jacobs said. "We're going to have a lot of fresh bodies. We're going to by flying around everywhere. We're going to be doing a lot of different things. It's not going to be just one thing all the time. It will be really fun."

A lot of those fresh bodies will be familiar faces such as McClellan, Jacobs and free safety C.J. Spillman. Others will be making their collegiate debuts, such as defensive linemen Delvin Johnson, Brandon Bullock and Vinny Curry. Johnson has made enough of a splash to be elevated to the first string on the team's first depth chart.

At linebacker, second-teamers Andre Portis and Kellen Harris stand to get their first college action. Of the top six cornerbacks who are healthy, only D.J. Wingate played last year.

The most visible debut will be at quarterback, where redshirt freshman Mark Cann takes over the controls. Freshmen also will man the tackle spots, almost guaranteeing extra-curricular blitzing from the Redbirds and every other defense.

Cann, who saw about everything Minter could concoct in spring and preseason camp, believes he is ready. And his maturity draws universal praise from coaches and teammates.

Snyder expects Cann and the offense to be just fine.

"Let's go all the way back to spring practice No. 1. The most development I've seen has been with our offense," Snyder said. "Our offensive line and our quarterbacks. I've been very pleased with the guys. Mark's got some moxie."

Illinois State arrives for this "little brother vs. big brother" matchup with its own issues. The Redbirds are coming off a disappointing 4-7 season and are picked eighth in the rechristened, nine-team Missouri Valley Football Conference. A new coordinator, David Ross, will try to shore up a defense that yielded 31 points and 428 yards per game in 2007.

"I think our first four in the secondary are pretty solid," said ISU coach Denver Johnson. "I think we've got a little more depth in guys we want to rotate into the defensive line. We're still a little thin at linebacker, but I'm seeing improvement there.

"I see more clarity in their eyes. I see more conviction in the way we line up and address formations, and I think we'll play fast and play hard. I saw too much confusion last year, and confused players don't play hard. We're not going to be 102nd in the country on defense."

The Redbirds will break in a first-time starter at quarterback, though it is a fifth-year senior in Kevin Brockway.

"A lot of unknowns," Snyder said of the Redbirds. "Not a young quarterback but an inexperienced quarterback we don't have a lot of film on, a couple of running backs that transferred in that look like they have a lot of talent. We know [tailback] Geno Blow has a lot of talent; he looks like a very good player.

"On the other side of the ball, they have a new defensive coordinator, so I'm sure they'll have a couple of wrinkles up their sleeve that we haven't seen. Anytime you go into the first game, halftime adjustments are going to be crucial because both sides of the ball are going to have new things that neither one of us has seen."

Unknowns and uncertainties are always a theme of opening games, and it's even truer this year. Outside expectations of the Herd aren't very high this year - most predictions place Marshall fifth in the East Division of Conference USA.

One newspaper in a C-USA city declared today's game to be "the first game of coach Mark Snyder's last season in Huntington."

Inside indications are Snyder's seat isn't that hot just yet. But the Herd must not to repeat its performance of last year's New Hampshire game, a 48-35 disaster. With a trip to Wisconsin on the horizon, a win today is mandatory, preferably with a strong showing.

And that's what Herd players have been itching to deliver for the last nine months.

"We're not overlooking anyone, regardless of how good they are, or how bad they might seem on tape," Spillman said. "I feel with how we're coming out this year, we're going to be explosive."

Reach Doug Smock at 348-5130 or dougsm...@wvgazette.com.