Peterson: Special Teams Offers Nebraska Margin for Error They Haven't Had In Years

For the second straight week, Nebraska went into the halftime break in a one-point game. Unlike the previous week’s game against Minnesota, Nebraska actually led 7-6 in this one. The game couldn’t have gotten off to a better start for the Big Red; the defense allowed a quick first down on the opening drive of the game, before forcing a punt. The offense put together a very nice nine-play, 69-yard drive. Emmett Johnson carried the ball six times, all for positive yardage, culminating in a nine-yard score that made it 7-0.

Slowly but surely, the game started going in favor of the Wildcats. They answered the touchdown drive with a field goal, cutting the lead to four. Nebraska’s next drive, a 14-play, 7:37 behemoth, finished without points and just 40 yards; Dylan Raiola was sacked for a loss of nine on the final second down of the series. Kyle Cunanan’s field goal attempt never had a chance. Northwestern’s next drive took another 7:43* off the clock and finished with a field goal attempt – and make – of their own.

*Those two drives spanned the first and second quarters and ultimately took 15:10 of game time.

All of a sudden, it was 7-6. Again, Nebraska moved the ball, and again, they finished without points. A Dylan Raiola fourth-down attempt would have resulted in a first, except he fumbled, giving the ball to the Cats with a minute to play. Northwestern took a knee, and the first half was over.

Three drives for Nebraska, each of them going as far as the Northwestern 26-yard line, but just totaling seven points.

Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola fumbles after picking up a first down against Northwestern. — Dylan Raiola's fumble at the end of the first half was the second straight drive where the offense was unable to score points deep in Wildcat territory. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

As halftime arrived, the optimism around the stadium – around the state – didn’t seem all that high. Nebraska would get the ball first in the second half, yes, but could they actually do something with it? And when they were on defense, could they slow down the ground attack from Northwestern? The Wildcats finished the first 30 minutes with 16 total carries, surely hoping to reach that 40-carry* threshold they had in each of their previous three Big Ten games.

*Northwestern came into Lincoln averaging 39.6 carries per game. In conference play, the number was bumped up to 42.3 carries, including 50 rushes in the previous week’s 19-0 win over Purdue. While the Wildcats actually had their most efficient rushing day in conference, finishing with a 5.73-per-yard average, they only carried it 30 times total, their lowest number since the 23-3 loss to Tulane in the season opener.

As I drove to my radio station in preparation for co-hosting Big Red Overreaction, I spent a lot of time mulling how the second half would go, and thus, how the postgame show would go. My belief meter in the team had lowered. I expected more of the same from the offense – a lot of yards, few points – while I thought the Wildcats might be able to lean on Nebraska in the run game. If Nebraska couldn’t hold them off the scoreboard, settling for field goals might be enough. Did I trust Nebraska to make the plays needed in the second half? After last week, I don’t think I did.

And then the second half kicked off.

Nebraska won 28-21 on Saturday, a score that does and doesn’t tell the story of 60 minutes of football.

For the third time in four one-score games this season, Nebraska exited the stadium as the victor; a far cry from what we’ve seen around here over the last literal decade. Perhaps more importantly, for the second time in three weeks, Nebraska’s offense had the ball late with a chance to take the lead.

For the second time in three weeks, Nebraska’s offense did take a late lead.

Kenneth Williams peeks back during his 95-yard kickoff return . — Kenneth William's kickoff return changed everything in the blink of an eye. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

But everything changed on the very first play of the second half. And, stop me if you have heard this before, for the second time in three weeks, a big kickoff return changed the game. While Kenneth Williams came up just short against Maryland two weeks ago, in this game, he finished the job, scoring from 95 yards out and completely flipping the game on its head.

What can’t we say about Mike Ekeler at this point? Nebraska’s special teams, too often an anchor that weighed the entire operation down in recent years, is now a net-positive to a degree that I still don’t think we can fully comprehend. Nebraska won the game by a single score. One of those scores, the first in almost two quarters of action, came via special teams. If you want to make the argument that Mike Ekeler has now delivered Nebraska another win on their 2025 ledger, I would absolutely do nothing to stop you.

That kickoff return for a touchdown was a welcome buffer for Nebraska throughout much of the second half.

The offense sputtered for a bit in the second half. They scored quickly after Donovan Jones picked off Preston Stone in the third quarter, going up 21-6 with 7:39 left in the third. Otherwise, it was a slog. They punted after a five-play, 21-yard drive in the third quarter. They punted again after a six-play, 19-yard drive that crossed into the fourth, and on their next drive, Dylan Raiola threw an interception on the first play.

Things were teetering.

As the Wildcats slowly came back, first with a touchdown that cut the lead to 21-13, and then with a touchdown and two-point conversion that tied it up, I couldn’t stop thinking back to that kickoff return. And when I started thinking about it, my mind went to the place it always does when I think about Nebraska special teams:

Imagine how many more games Nebraska could have won with average – competent! – special teams.

Nebraska special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler at the 2025 Cincinnati game — Mike Ekeler's impact as special teams coordinator cannot be overestimated. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

How many times had you said or thought those words over the last decade? And here, yet again, in the eighth game of the 2025 season, we were seeing that idea play out right in front of us. But Nebraska’s special teams aren’t competent or even average; they’re a game-changing component of Husker football at this current moment. Think about what we’re saying here.

According to Brian Fremeau, Nebraska’s average special teams rating from 2018 to 2024 was 87.1. Across 2019, 2020, and 2021, they ranked 111th, 116th, and 126th in the country.

Coming into this weekend against Northwestern, they ranked fourth.

In particular, the return game jumps off the page. Nebraska’s punt return efficiency ranks fifth in the country. Kickoff return efficiency 22nd. And their defense on kickoffs also comes in at fifth.

In a sport where every yard matters, Nebraska is suddenly finding yards and field position in a way they haven’t around here in years. And in a pivotal year for Matt Rhule and Nebraska, the improved special teams is giving margin for error to Nebraska’s offense and defense in a way that just hasn’t happened in recent seasons.

If anything, Ekeler's impact has shined a light on other parts of the coaching staff, and other parts of the roster in general, where improvement hasn't been as swift. If it's possible for Ekeler to flip things this quickly with the third phase of football, what kind of impact could we see elsewhere across the program if (or when) changes come in the off-season?

It was early in the fourth quarter when Dylan Raiola threw that INT that gave Northwestern the ball at Nebraska’s 34-yard line. By this point, the teetering had turned into a full-on panic. We’d seen this movie before. We’d done podcasts on this movie before. It was going to happen again.

Emmett Johnson runs the ball against Northwestern. — Emmett Johnson is putting together his best season yet and is currently on pace for more than 1500 yards from scrimmage. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Then Javin Wright picked off Preston Stone, Nebraska went 64 yards in 13 plays, converting four third downs and chewing off 6:27 in the process, before Emmett Johnson* powered into the end zone for a four-yard touchdown. Nebraska 28, Northwestern 21. With under three minutes left in the game, it was going to come down to one drive. Two quick first downs were followed by four incomplete passes, culminating in a pressure by Javin Wright that caused an errant throw from Stone.

*On another day, Johnson would have been the story once again in a Nebraska win. The junior running back is seemingly getting better by the week – heck, by the carry! – and showed that again on Saturday. 27 carries, 124 yards, and a couple of touchdowns. He's up to 837 yards on the ground this season, 1019 yards from scrimmage, and is on pace for more than 1500 yards overall. An incredible jump in year three.

Nebraska sits at 6-2 with darn near every goal still in front of them. #23 USC will come into Lincoln for a primetime matchup and another chance to pick up one of those wins this program has been waiting for. One of those “you know it when you see it” kind of wins, as well as the long-awaited “top 25 win” Nebraska has been waiting for since 2016.

I don’t know if Nebraska will win on Saturday. I don’t know what awaits them beyond the Trojans against UCLA, Penn State, and Iowa. I still need to see more before I’m willing to trust them.

But for the first time in over a decade, I know their special teams will play a positive part in the story of Husker football. And with that margin of error available to them, they’ll have a chance in every single game.

Agree or disagree, if you have a comment for Josh, send him an email: joshpeterson.huskermax@gmail.com

More From Nebraska On SI

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.