Sam Koch did his research.

The Nebraska punter knew full well that Mike Stigge had the school-record long punt of 87 yards, in October of 1992 against Oklahoma State.

 Koch on Saturday gunned for Stigge’s mark, and nearly got it during a 7-6 win against Pitt. He boomed an 84-yard punt in the third quarter, highlighting a sparkling day for the senior from Seward.

“It’d be nice to be No. 1 (on the all-time chart),” Koch said. “I really just want to help out the team.”

Koch was of monumental help against Pitt, averaging 46 yards on eight attempts and five times pinning the Panthers inside their 20-yard line, including at the 4 in the fourth quarter and at the 1 in the third.

It was a huge lift for a Nebraska team with a sputtering offense that was trying to hold off a Pitt squad that showed signs of offensive life in the second half.

Koch said he simply tried to stay as relaxed as possible as pressure mounted in the second half.

Early in the fourth quarter, Koch shanked a 30-yard punt out-of- bounds that gave Pitt possession at Nebraska’s 40. The Huskers escaped damage when Josh Cummings missed a 49-yard field-goal attempt.

“With things like that, you just have to bounce back,” Koch said.

Koch is now just the second punter in school history with three punts of 70 yards or more, joining predecessor Kyle Larson, now a member of the NFL Cincinnati Bengals.

Saturday was interesting for Koch. In the postgame media session, he was the second Husker asked to take the podium — right behind coach Bill Callahan.

“He’s a great speaker,” Koch said, smiling. “I’m not much a public speaker.”

Glenn into fray

Nebraska true freshman I-back Cody Glenn saw his first action of the season, rushing four times for 20 yards. The 6-foot, 230-pound Glenn rumbled for 6 yards on a third-and-1 in the first quarter and for 7 yards on fourth-and-1 in the second. He had received ample praise from coaches during preseason drills, leaving some to wonder why he hadn’t appeared in the first two games.

 “He’s a big, physical, strong back,” Callahan said. “I think he converted in some key situations. He gives us a little changeup from Cory (Ross).”

Murtha sees action

Glenn wasn’t the only player to make his Husker debut. Redshirt freshman offensive tackle Lydon Murtha, who had been plagued by a series of injuries since arriving on campus, spelled left tackle Cornealius Fuamatu-Thomas for two series apiece in the first and second quarters and for one series in the third.

“I’ll have to watch film to know how I did, but I tried as hard as I could, and the outcome is the outcome. Being healthy is my No. 1 goal.”

In addition to Murtha and Glenn, at least two other Huskers made their college debuts, as redshirt freshman Jake Wesch of North Bend handled kickoffs, and true freshman safety Leon Jackson participated on kickoff and punt teams.

Carriker in charge

Nebraska defensive end Adam Carriker played perhaps his finest game as a Husker, recording two sacks and four tackles for loss overall. The 6-6, 280-pound junior leads the Huskers with five sacks this season. Senior defensive end Wali Muhammad also had two sacks Saturday, giving him four this year. In three games, NU has 20 sacks.

Carriker and Muhammad are wreaking havoc for a unit that still has not allowed a point in the first quarter of three games this season and has allowed only three points in the first half of games.

More Stuntz trickery

Turns out Nebraska offensive line coach Dennis Wagner wasn’t kidding Friday when he suggested during the Big Red Breakfast that Mike Stuntz might be used on a “gadget” play against Pitt. Sure enough, Stuntz, a senior safety who played quarterback in high school, took a second-quarter pitch and looked downfield before tucking the ball and carrying for 4 yards. In 2001, Stuntz threw a 63-yard scoring strike to Eric Crouch on a reverse pass to clinch a 20-10 win against Oklahoma.

Right direction

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt  was disappointed with the result but not the effort of his team.

“Every man in that locker room had his mind set on winning the football game. They played that way to the end,” he said. “We’re building on defense. We did some good things on special teams. We had a chance to kick a field goal and win the game. You know your preparation and mind-set was good. You didn’t come up here and fold under the crowd, which a lot of teams have done and will do.

“We’re growing. We’re not walking yet, we’re crawling. We have a long ways to go before we’re running. We’re crawling right now, almost walking.”

What’s that you say?

Pitt defensive linemen took exception to what NU offensive line coach Dennis Wagner said during the week before the game.

Wagner said of the Pitt defensive line, “They’re really struggling.  Pitt’s guys like to play like trees  — they stand up and look around.”

Charles Sallett and Thomas Smith took exception to the remarks.

“Everybody was saying the defensive line was the weakest part of the defense. We took it as a challenge to get better,” Sallett said. “We read the things in the papers. We were just focused on trying to get that win. I took offense to it, but we came out there and it was time to perform.”

Smith was more adamant.

 “I thought it was disrespectful. This is a classy city and the classiest fans I’ve ever been around. I wouldn’t expect someone to be throwing dirt on people in the paper, especially from a coach like that,” he said. “It was childish and disrespectful and I’m just glad we don’t have to play them again.”