Kansas University’s football team had two weeks to shore up the suspect punt-team troubles that doomed the Jayhawks to a devastating season-opening loss at Southern Methodist.
Maybe KU needed another bye week.
Kansas, which flubbed three punt attempts leading to three SMU scores, fumbled away a punt try against Alabama-Birmingham that the Blazers turned into a TD the first of 20 straight UAB points in KU’s 23-20 victory on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.
“Anytime you have trouble in special teams, it affects everybody,” said KU senior center Bob Schmidt, who took over long-snapping chores for Steve Kullberg at halftime of the UAB game. “A lot of people take special teams for granted, but they’re huge. It can take away from offense and defense everything. It’s important to have those things down.”
Kansas (1-1) managed to get its first punt off barely against UAB. Punter Joey Pelfanio jumped to corral a high snap and just got off a 33-yarder in the first quarter.
“I was as pleased as anybody when we got that first one off,” KU coach Terry Allen said. “But I was disappointed after that with the blocks and snaps.”
He was most disappointed with 2:15 left in the first half, when Kullberg bounced a snap to Pelfanio and Pelfanio, trying to field the ball, had just enough time to pick it up when he was hit by UAB’s Adrian Abrams.
The hit jarred the ball loose, and Patrick Burchfield picked it up and returned it 42 yards for the Blazers’ first points in three trips to Lawrence.
That marked the end of Kullberg’s long-snapping chores and the start for Schmidt, KU’s starting center.
“Coach came to me at halftime and asked if I’d do it,” Schmidt said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, sure.’ I was kind of looking forward to making a play on defense, something I haven’t done in a long time. Steve’s a great snapper. I’ve been behind him since spring ball, but they asked me and I said I’d do it.”
Schmidt threw strikes the rest of the night.
“He’s more consistent, I can say that,” Pelfanio said. “(Kullberg) did all right in practice. He might be a little nervous when he goes out there.”
Perhaps it’s no coincidence that Kansas’ punt-team travails coincide with a change in the punt-team coach and a change in the punting approach.
Defensive coordinator Ardell Wiegandt took over the punt-team duty after Ted Gilmore departed for Houston, and Wiegandt immediately moved Pelfanio two yards closer to the snapper, from 14 yards to 12.
“I am supposed to punt in a pocket like a quarterback pocket,” Pelfanio explained. “If there’s any weakness in the middle at all, it’s most susceptible (there). It’s definitely safer (at 14 yards). I feel comfortable with 12. I have no problem with that.”
There was problems early Saturday, but the Jayhawk survived thanks to a stingy defense that allowed just 238 total yards and an offense that made just enough plays to win.
KU’s defense surrendered 69 yards in the first half and UAB scored 10 points, but defensive co-captain Tim Bowers wasn’t about to hold the defense’s prowess over the punt team.
“Most of the time, all the defensive guys are on the punt team, so essentially the defense gave up those points,” Bowers said. “We got five or six off. Only getting one blocked is no consolation at all. We’ll got back and work until we get it right.”
