The 2020 college football season opens for the Eastern Kentucky Colonels and the Marshall Thundering Herd at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, W.V., with a Saturday afternoon kickoff at 1 p.m.

Marshall head coach Doc Holliday said he would fully support any player opting out due to COVID-19, but the Thundering Herd did not have any takers.

The Thundering Herd posted eight victories last season, including a 6-1 mark in their final seven regular-season contests before getting emasculated by UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl.

He’ll likely be leaned upon heavily as the Herd break in a new signal caller with QB Grant Wells taking the reins after Isaiah Green surprisingly left the team.

The best part about Marshall’s defense is its tremendous secondary, and that’s bad news for an FCS team which figures to be in a hole early and in need of passing to get back into the game.

The Colonels of EKU will likely see a steady diet of Knox, and that’s bad news for a team which lacks speed and didn’t have a ton of practice time to work on tackling techniques.