Oops, he did it again.
After a 75-yard touchdown return by Texas Longhorns redshirt sophomore running back/wide receiver Ryan Niblett to seal the Cotton Bowl in over the Oklahoma Sooners two weeks ago and
two returns for 88 yards in last week’s overtime victory against the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington, there were no more secrets about his dynamic, game-changing ability on punt returns.
Nonetheless, Mississippi State did not appear to learn any lessons about the danger of kicking to Niblett, booming a 54-yard punt to the middle of the field in the middle of the fourth quarter and escaping with a nine-yard return by Niblett before making the same mistake again while possessing an 86.2-percent win probability up 38-31 with 2:04 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The 57-yard bomb by Bulldogs punter Ethan Pullian out-kicked his coverage and put the ball into the middle of the field — the nearest Mississippi State player to Niblett when he caught it was 12 yards away, allowing the Texas speedster to gain momentum towards the sideline and break two tackles while maintaining his balance before making a cut inside and picking up key blocks from sophomore linebacker Ty’Anthony Smith and redshirt senior linebacker Marshall Landwehr to spring the 79-yard punt return touchdown.
The second punt-return touchdown of Niblett’s career ties him for fourth place in school history behind the three punt return touchdowns by Jordan Shipley, Aaron Ross, and Jim Moore. Considering that Niblett has accomplished that feat over three games and 16 career punt returns with two-plus seasons of eligibility remaining, the Aldine Eisenhower product is rapidly establishing himself as one of the best punt returners in Texas history and the most dangerous punt returner in the country.
That’s the wider context — the more narrow context is that Niblett’s return tied the game and put Texas in position to win it in overtime, an explosive return that capped a 24-point fourth quarter for the Longhorns and swung the win probability by 40 percent in favor of Texas.
The Horns took advantage in overtime, securing a third straight win heavily influenced by Niblett’s elite ability on punt returns as one of the breakout game changers in college football.
