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Do not line up a punt near your own end zone.
That timeless rule is now likely ingrained in the head of Nebraska’s Cam Taylor-Britt after giving Illinois the first two points of the 2021 college football season on Saturday.
Taylor-Britt inexplicably lined up a Blake Hayes punt while retreating inside Nebraska 5 in the first quarter. Taylor-Britt caught the punt, then his momentum carried him to the goal line. When he realized what had happened – and a tackle was heading straight for him – he panicked. But not before his knee has fallen over the goal line and the ball is in the end zone.
As you can see, Taylor-Britt took the ball out of the end zone. This is, as you know, not legal. He was originally called up for an illegal forward pass from the end zone and Illinois was given a safety. The game was reviewed after it was clear Taylor-Britt was in the end zone, although the knockdown did not change the outcome. Illinois still got the two points.
We’re guessing Taylor-Britt was inclined to line up the punt so close to the goal line because Hayes’s first punt of the game went out of bounds within a yard of the end zone. But taking the risk of a punt near the end zone becoming a touchback is almost always better than lining it up and risking a fumble or safety.
Illinois have done nothing with their possession bonus after safety and may have lost starting quarterback Brandon Peters to a shoulder injury. Peters was sacked on the ensuing possession and landed hard on his left shoulder. He was replaced by former QB Rutgers Artur Sitkowski and Sitkowski was quickly sacked on the third down before a long failed field goal attempt.
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