"That’s 11 games (out of 36 total) where respectable special-teams play could’ve
delivered victory."
And this excludes terrible special teams on games we got blown out loss and from games we actually won despite terrible special teams.
Colorado 2018: Three special-teams penalties for 30 yards. A 10-yard average
deficiency in kick returns. A 7-yard edge in field position, per drive. A missed 43-
yard field goal. It doesn’t take much to swing a five-point game.
Troy 2018: When your margin for error is already small — a knee injury sidelined
quarterback Adrian Martinez — you can’t afford to give up a 58-yard punt return
for touchdown. Nebraska did, falling behind 10-0. And later missed a 33-yard field
goal. The Huskers lost 24-19.
Northwestern 2018: Lightbourn opened the game by kicking the ball out of
bounds. Barret Pickering missed a 45-yard field goal, then a 20-yard extra point.
Officials flagged CJ Smith for holding on a 19-yard punt return. The Huskers blew
a 10-point lead in the final three minutes.
Ohio State 2018: The Buckeyes blocked Isaac Armstrong’s first punt and grabbed
a 7-yard edge in average field position. But the lowlight came after Nebraska’s
game-opening, 75-yard touchdown drive, when Lightbourn nearly whiffed on an
onside kick attempt. “It certainly didn’t look like what we’d practiced,” Frost said.
Indiana 2019: Pickering, fresh off an injury, missed a 32-yard field goal.
Armstrong’s 19-yard third-quarter punt gave Indiana the ball at Nebraska’s 35,
setting up a Hoosier touchdown. And William Przystup hit a wayward kickoff out of
bounds. Indiana won 38-31.
Wisconsin 2019: The 14th-ranked Badgers probably win this one anyway, but
Nebraska had legitimate upset hopes after scoring the first touchdown. Then Aron
Cruickshank returned a weak kickoff 89 yards for six. Brody Belt needlessly toted
the opening kickoff to the 14-yard line. Pickering missed a 41-yarder. Little things.
Iowa 2019: Not again. Cam Taylor-Britt’s pick-six lifted a dormant Memorial
Stadium crowd in the second quarter. But Pickering lofted the next kickoff like a
meat ball at Little League practice. Ihmir Smith-Marsette made a hard left turn and
ran around every potential tackler, untouched. The Hawkeyes won by a field goal.
Northwestern 2020: Four times Northwestern punts pinned Nebraska inside
the 20. The Huskers couldn’t do it once. They also allowed a pair of 36-yard
Iowa's Ihmir Smith-Marsette breaks free on way to returning a kickoff for a touchdown against Nebraska in
2019. returns (one kick, one punt), both of which led to touchdowns. The Huskers lost
21-13.
Iowa 2020: Iowa owned an 11-yard field-position edge per drive. But two key
mistakes inflicted most of the damage. In the first quarter, a 31-yard Hawkeye punt
return set up a touchdown. In the fourth, the Huskers lost a golden chance to
mount the go-ahead drive when Taylor-Britt muffed a punt at the NU 38. Iowa
recovered and kicked a field goal.
Illinois 2021: Where to begin? The 34-yard punting average from Daniel Cerni?
Taylor-Britt fielding a punt at his own 1 and taking a safety? Two kick returns shy
of the 25? The most baffling errors, though, came from trusty Connor Culp, who
missed two extra points. Talk about about getting off on the wrong foot.
Oklahoma 2021: Culp missed 50- and 35-yard field goals, but the biggest blow
came when OU blocked an extra point and returned it for two points. A potential
14-10 deficit became 16-9. The Huskers held their own in punts, returns and
average field position, but placekicking spelled doom.