Curt McKeever: Special teams really are something special
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What was that catch phrase The Church Lady on “Saturday Night Live” would use whenever she called out her celebrity guests on ‘Church Chat’ for their, um, alleged sins?
No, not the “Could it be ... SATAN?” line.
Oh, yeah, wasn’t it, “Well, isn’t that special?”
Well, somebody at HuskerVision needs to grab a copy of one of those Dana Carvey skits and use it when the highlights of Saturday’s 35-12 win against San Jose State are shown next week.
A game that Bo Pelini fans would deem not so special as NU struggled to put the Spartans away early in the fourth quarter turned out OK in the end, primarily because of how the Huskers and Spartans executed on special teams.
I bet not many of the 84,146 fans at Memorial Stadium could tell you how many of the special teams Niles Paul plays on. (For the record, it’s punt coverage, punt return, kick coverage and kick return.)
But I know all eyes were fixed on the former Omaha North star when he sped 85 yards with a kickoff to extend NU’s precarious 14-12 lead to a two-possession advantage that must have seemed awfully daunting to the game Spartans.
“Those are the kind of plays that take the wind out of your sails,” San Jose State coach Dick Tomey said.
Indeed, his team spent the rest of the game paddling upstream.
Whether it was coincidence or not, the next time the Spartans got the ball, Nebraska’s defense forced its first three-and-out of the game.
And then the Husker offense scored its first points since answering San Jose State’s initial tally.
Before that sequence, “Everything that went wrong, went wrong,” said offensive guard Matt Slauson.
“At that point, it’s like ‘This (struggle) is never-ending. After (Niles’ return), it’s, ‘OK, the table is set for us. Now we need to go put the nail in the coffin.’”
To that end, the Huskers deserve credit for closing the deal.
But for anyone who thought this game was supposed to be smooth sailing for Pelini’s crew, the fact that the Spartans outyarded Nebraska 353-315 is glaring and a bit alarming.
In addition, for the second straight week, the Huskers failed to generate a consistent ground attack.
They also had 12 penalties.
But they still came away looking a lot more ‘special’ than their opponent.
Exhibit No. 1: After San Jose State marched 59 yards for an opening-possession touchdown, Will Johnson bonked his extra-point kick off the right upright.
Exhibit No. 2: Two series later, Johnson’s 41-yard field-goal attempt missed wide-right.
Exhibit No. 3: On the final play of the first half, Johnson’s replacement, Jared Strubeck, clanged a 32-yard attempt off the right upright.
And, finally, there was Paul’s return, aided by two smart blocks by true freshman Alfonzo Dennard, who was making his first appearance as a Husker.
“If Niles didn’t score that touchdown, what would the score have been?” asked Armando Murillo, who was nearly as busy being the ‘gunner’ on punt coverage and a corner man on punt returns as he was playing left cornerback. “It would’ve been like a real close game toward the end.
“So (special teams are) just as important as defense or offense. Or more important.”
Somebody cue up The Church Lady.
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
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