Matt Rhule believes he has pinpointed the issue that led to some field goal woes of Nebraska during the Week 5 win vs. Purdue.

In the first half, Nebraska was out of sorts offensively and the Huskers were shut out in a 0-all tie entering the break. Part of the reason behind that was 2 blocked kicks that would have given Nebraska a bit of momentum.

On Monday, Rhule says those kicks getting blocked can be traced back to the snapper — not an issue with the protection. He pointed to the quick time needed to get the kicks away.

The good news (potentially) is that Rhule says Nebraska has the right players to execute those kicks. It’s simply up to those players to perform in the moment.

It’s also an area of interest heading into a Week 6 game vs. Rutgers. Greg Schiano and his Scarlet Knights are infamous for getting after it on special teams, especially when it comes to blocking punts and kicks.

Rhule expects Rutgers to come after Nebraska’s special teas, and it will be up to the players to be ready. Here’s what the head coach had to say:

“Last week to me wasn’t the field goal protection, it was the snapper. If you’re kicking the ball at 1.5 (seconds) operation time, to me it’s the snapper,” said Rhule. “We practice so much on special teams… If we have to start changing things now, then we’re panicked. We know what to do and we have the guys who can do it. We need to go do it… We’re making those kicks in practice every day. So I expect us to make them in the games. We’re making that snap in practice.

“They’re going to come after us. They should come after us… We’ve got good players, they have to play well.”