Special-teams heroics give Huskers wild, 7-6 win vs. Panthers
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BY STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star
Adam Ickes has rolled his eyes on more than one occasion in practice when coaches called for the field-goal block drill.
Nebraska works on it every day.
“It gets kind of repetitive,” the walk-on linebacker from Page said.
All of that tedium in practice paid off Saturday when Ickes emerged from the muck and mire of an ugly college football game and blocked Pitt kicker Josh Cumming’s last-gasp 46-yard attempt, preserving Nebraska’s 7-6 triumph before 77,336 fans at Memorial Stadium.
Ickes’ block set off a celebration that rocked the old stadium, with the crowd standing and chanting “Defense.”
The walk-on’s heroics capped a strange game that ended in bizarre fashion. Considering the oddities of the day, perhaps it shouldn’t have been surprising when Ickes told reporters that he had predicted Friday, during a conversation with fellow linebacker Stewart Bradley, that he would block a Pitt field goal.
The Panthers, Ickes said, use the same field goal-blocking formation that Nebraska uses, “and I get through 90 percent of the time in practice,” Ickes said.
Nebraska, despite an offense that continues to sputter, improved to 3-0 and now gets a bye week before beginning Big 12 play against Iowa State. Pitt, meanwhile, fell to 0-3.
“Their backs were against the wall,” Nebraska defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said of the Panthers. “Our kids knew we were going to get their best shot. We did, and we responded.”
In a strange twist, Ickes’ block actually occurred on Pitt’s second attempt from 46 yards. On the first try, on third-and-10, the snap bounced off holder Adam Graessle’s helmet straight into Cummings’ arms, and he flung a pass into the defensive backfield. When the dust settled, 1 second remained, enough time for a second try, because the kick came on second down.
Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said Cummings’ desperation heave should have been ruled intentional grounding. Things were moving too quickly to get an explanation, he said.
Callahan is thankful Ickes was moving quickly on the following play. Ickes shot through a gap on the right side of the line.
“It’s a good win,” Callahan said. “There’s a lot we can take from this. We’ll learn from it and get better. A lot of things were squandered. But our players fought for that win.”
Nebraska scrounged 267 total yards of offense, including just 93 through the air. I-back Cory Ross was a bright spot, rushing 32 times for 153 yards. But the Huskers repeatedly stubbed their toes with penalties, and Callahan said ineffectiveness on first down made life difficult all day.
“We couldn’t get in a rhythm,” he said.
Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor’s 1-yard touchdown run on a naked bootleg play began the scoring midway through the second quarter.
Cummings booted third-quarter field goals of 38 and 27 yards, setting up a dramatic fourth quarter.
How strange was this game?
Well, consider that running a close second to Ickes for Nebraska MVP honors was arguably Sam Koch — the punter.
The senior from Seward boomed an 84-yard punt — second-longest in school history — in the third quarter and averaged 46 yards on eight kicks for the day. He pinned Pitt within its 20-yard line five times, including once at the 1 and once at the 4.
Turns out, true freshman Zach Potter’s first-quarter block of Cummings’ 42-yard attempt also loomed large in the outcome.
Nebraska could’ve put away the game on its final drive, but Ross was held to no gain on third-and-4, and true freshman Jordan Congdon was wide-left on a 38-yard field-goal attempt with 90 seconds remaining.
Pitt junior quarterback Tyler Palko calmly drove Pitt into field-goal range. The biggest play occurred on second-and-10 from the Panthers’ 45, when Palko, with ends Jay Moore and Barry Turner bearing down on him, stepped up in the pocket and rifled a 26-yard completion to Joe DelSardo, setting up the last-gasp field-goal tries.
As Cummings lined up for the kick, “I just kind of said a silent prayer,” Nebraska cornerback Tierre Green said.
Ickes ultimately answered Green’s prayer, and Nebraska somehow remained unbeaten.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
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