Senior defensive end has only seen Western’s Week 1 opponent, Indiana on film.

He already sees an advantage.

“I think one of the best ways of preparation for this Indiana game is that they run the same offense that our offense runs,” Cline said. “So we’ve seen their offense every day at practice. Playing against our spread each and every day has made us more prepared than any first game that I can remember.”

Both teams utilize the spread offense on the field, and both have athletic, mobile quarterbacks to lead those offenses.

The Hoosiers’ main offensive weapon is junior quarterback Kellen Lewis. Last season, Lewis passsed for more than 3,000 yards and rushed for more than 700 yards.

Head coach David Elson acknowledged the similarities between the two offenses, and credited the Topper scout team for mimicking the Hoosier offense well.

Lewis finished the season with 28 passing touchdowns and nine rushing touchdowns, leading the team in both categories.

Hoosier head coach Bill Lynch said at a press conference Tuesday that while there are similarities between the two teams, there are also some differences to be mindful of.

“I think they are a really good football team,” Lynch said. “I think they are very athletic on both sides of the ball. They run the spread, and they have some athletes, and they do some things a little bit different than us, so we’ve got to prepare for a few things different than what our offense does.”

The Toppers will also have to watch out for the Hoosier on the defensive side of the ball as well.

The Indiana defense sacked the quarterback a school-record 42 times last season, and is returning 33 of those sacks this year.

They will be without their most productive player for the game, however, as junior defensive end Greg Middleton has been suspended for the contest.

Middleton led the nation in sacks with 16, and is on the preseason watch list for several awards.

Although this will be the two teams’ first meeting, the Hoosiers are supported by some historical evidence. Indiana has won six consecutive home openers by an average of 23 points. On the other side, the Toppers have lost the last seven road openers by an average of 25 points.

Another historical fact not helping the Toppers is that out of the 18 teams that have debuted in the Football Bowl Subdivision, only three have recorded victories in their opening FBS games. The last team to do so was fellow Sun Belt member Florida International, which defeated Youngstown State 22-16 in 2004.

Despite all the preparation, Elson admits that there are always a lot of unknowns associated with a season opener.

“It’s the unknown,” he said. “You rack your brain and have checklists and different situations you want to put your team in, but how are we going to respond? That’s what the first game is to me as much as anything – how we are going to respond.”

Some of those unknowns include how the Hoosiers will fare after the loss of wideout James Hardy, arguably the greatest wide receiver in Hoosier history, to the NFL draft and the fact that Lewis did not practice in spring camp.

Junior cornerback Rashad Etheridge has been suspended indefinitely for violation of team rules and won’t play Saturday.

Elson wasn’t available for comment on Wednesday.

The Toppers will dive into the unknown against Indiana at 11 a.m. on Saturday in Bloomington, Ind.

Reach Chris Acree at sports@chherald.com.