BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Indiana will host a school record eight home football games next season before finishing with back-to-back road trips to Penn State and rival Purdue, school officials announced Friday.

The schedule does not include games against either of the Big Ten's traditional powers — Ohio State or Michigan — and includes favorable nonconference matchups against two Mid-American Conference teams and Murray State, a Football Championship Subdivision school.

Playing at home regularly should help the Hoosiers, too, after ending a 13-year bowl drought last season. They were 5-2 at Memorial Stadium last year, posting their most home wins since going 6-1 in 1993.

"Our fans were unbelievable last year," coach Bill Lynch said. "The atmosphere at the Purdue game truly helped us bring the Old Oaken Bucket back to Bloomington. We need that intensity every week."

Indiana opens the season Aug. 30 against Western Kentucky, a longtime power in the Football Championship Subdivision over the past decade and now in the second year of a transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision — formerly known as Division I.

Ball State visits Memorial Stadium on Sept. 20, marking the third straight year the two in-state foes have played. A week later, Indiana opens Big Ten play at home against Michigan State.

Indiana makes only two road trips before November, visiting Minnesota on Oct. 4 and Illinois on Oct. 18. And for the second consecutive season, the Hoosiers face a MAC opponent in the middle of the conference season, hosting Central Michigan on Nov. 1.

Indiana wraps up its home schedule Nov. 8 against Wisconsin before traveling to Penn State then to Purdue for what is expected to be coach Joe Tiller's final home game.

The Hoosiers have played seven games at Memorial Stadium six times.

"We are excited for the opportunity to play eight games at 'The Rock,'" Lynch said in a statement. "This is a challenging schedule and some good football teams will come to Bloomington in 2008."

The announcement came on the same day Indiana opened season-ticket sales. Single game tickets will go on sale later this year.