Nebraska football's Brian Buschini had a special day Saturday. For the former Montana transfer, however, it was just another day at Memorial Stadium.
"(I) just try to go out there and do my best everytime," Buschini said in his postgame comments to the Huskers Radio Network. "Sometimes I do really well, sometimes I don't. I always try to get better."
Buschini's comments were aired on Monday's episode of Sports Nightly following the Huskers' 14-7 victory Saturday over Rutgers. The senior punter had an excellent performance against the Scarlet Knights, notching the Big Ten Conference's Special Teams Player of the Week honor Monday.
The specialist overcame two blocked punts and an injury to remain on the field for his team, aiding Nebraska's defense by pinning Rutgers deep on nearly every boot. Buschini averaged just over 50 yards per punt against the Scarlet Knihgts, including 61- and 69-yard punts.
"A big part of it is my faith. God does give me that ability to play here. I think every chance that I have to go out there, I'm going to take it," Buschini said. "Its my senior year. I'm going to try to enjoy it with my teammates as much as I can because I just love those guys so much. My back hurts a little bit, but who cares."
Buschini was also a key figure of one of the memorable moments in Nebraska's win, completing a 30-yard pass to receiver Jaylen Lloyd on a fake punt from Husker territory. Buschini said he never wavered in his ability to open up the playbook.
"I feel good about my throwing ability," Buschini said. "Jaylen told me he was going to score, but he got tackled. We're going to have to talk to him about that. It was fun. It was something we had talked about."
Buschini continued that coach Matt Rhule and special teams coordinator Ed Foley stated they would "owe it to the football gods" to run a fake punt if Rutgers was not set to cover the gunners such as Lloyd. Buschini added further he's comfortable with more chances later this season.
"I really feel like I have a good enough arm to pull off a lot of fakes. That's something we have been working on in practice for over a year now to be honest with you. We've been kind of hiding it in the shadows and threw it out there today. Hopefully we're not done," Buschini said.
Sports Nightly co-host Jessica Coody commented that many of Buschini's teammates were complimentary of the punter's play, saying that numerous players said he "flipped the field" and was an asset when the offense could not keep the ball rolling. Buschini was happy to assist when called upon during the Big Ten battle.
"On the second to last punt, I didn't get as clean of a hit on it as I wanted – I rushed it a little bit. The last one was good because we got it up in the wind and it carried a little bit. With our defense today, it was incredible," Buschini said.
The punter added that the stellar play of the Blackshirts "takes all the pressure off me" and allows him to just "kick the ball." He also credited the defense for bailing out the team after one of Buschini's punts was blocked, resulting in a first-and-goal from Nebraska's one-yard line. The Husker defense stalled Rutgers and held the Scarlet Knights without points in that possession.
Buschini was also confident in the special team's ability to control the Nebraska weather. Lincoln, Neb., faced stiff heat of nearly 95 degrees with 25-mph winds reported during the contest.
"We play in a unique stadium that does a terrible job of blocking the wind. We felt all week we'd have an advantage regardless of which way we were going. They had a young kid – it showed today. He kept hitting touchbacks. Its a chess game," Buschini said.
The former Montana Grizzly continued that the wind changed directions after pregame warmups, flipping from the south stadium to north later on. He also credited Rhule for playing with the wind at Buschini's back in the fourth quarter, giving the Huskers a chance to "control the critical moments" in the final stages against Rutgers.
Buschini and the Huskers have a bye week following their 5-1 start to the season, and aim to be healthy prior to taking on No. 18 Indiana on Oct. 19 in Bloomington. Hear more of Buschini's comments from Sports Nightly.
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Austin Jacobsen is a radio broadcaster and former Sports Director in Central Nebraska. He has seen the Cornhusker state from all corners; growing up in the Panhandle, completing his college degree in Kearney, working in the rural Sandhills, and now residing in Omaha. Austin is a statewide, regional, and national radio award winner and can usually be found at a high school football field on Friday nights and tuning in to the Huskers wherever they travel. If he is not on the road, Austin enjoys movie dates with his girlfriend and their dog, Ava.
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