NEW YORK — The good?

Nebraska won enough football games to qualify for a bowl game for the first time since 2016. Even more good? The Huskers beat Boston College 20-15 on Saturday in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in New York to mark the program’s first bowl win since 2015.

Clearly, there is positive momentum at Nebraska.

Now, the bad.

The bad was Nebraska’s poor special teams rearing its ugly head once again. Mistakes in the third phase of the game caused Nebraska to nearly lose its 20-2 lead late in the third quarter in stunning fashion.

First, BC blocked a John Hohl extra-point attempt after Nebraska’s second touchdown of the first half. The snap from Camden Witucki was fine, but holder Brian Buschini dropped the ball as Hohl was making his approach.

With the chaos in front of him, Hohl’s kick went low and was easily blocked by BC’s Max Tucker. Ashton McShane scooped it and scored 2 points from 87 yards.

Then in the fourth quarter, Buschini had a punt blocked after BC’s Victor Nelson split both Jason Maciejczak and Dylan Parrott, who were part of a three-man shield (Mason Goldman was the third member of the shield, but had his own Eagle to block).

And just like that, BC scored a touchdown one play later to make it a 20-15 Husker lead. The Eagles scored 13 points in under 2 minutes of game action.

The collective gulp from Husker fans was heard everywhere.

“It’s no secret. To be where we want to be next year, we have to be the same defensively, probably a little better in some areas,” Matt Rhule said after the game. “We have to really improve on offense, and I think we’re all seeing at times signs of what it’s going to look like. And then special teams, we need a complete and total overhaul of that. We have to be better at that. I always put those things on my shoulders, we’ll get it done. But it has not been good enough this year.”

There was also a moment where Nebraska tried a fake field goal, where Buschini, the holder, took the snap and tried running for a touchdown on BC’s 8-yard line. The play didn’t come close to working.

“The fake field goal, probably should have just dropped back and thrown it again,” Rhule said. “But we had the numbers there and the kid just made a good play.”

Ed Foley’s special teams haven’t performed up to the standard he and his boss, Rhule, constantly talk about. Both the field goal and punting units have struggled with snaps throughout the season.

Nebraska went to the transfer portal for help at long snapper and added New Hampshire’s Kevin Gallic.

“We’ve had snapping issues all year long. I think we’ve tried to already address that for next year,” Rhule said.

With Buschini playing his final season at Nebraska in 2024, the Huskers also added veteran transfer punter Jack McCallister, who started for Washington the past three seasons.

As Rhule always does, he tries to remember the positives, too.

In that regard, Rhule liked how the unit executed a fake punt pass vs. BC, where Buschini completed a pass to Isaac Gifford for a first down. That was Buschini’s second completion for a first down of the season.

“The fake punt was kind of a big call. A gutsy call that they’ve worked and executed,” Rhule said.

Key stats of the game in Nebraska’s win over Boston College

A good showing in the red zone from Nebraska’s offense

Nebraska turned the ball over twice, but John Butler’s defense put out the fires

If BC was going to win this game, it needed to run the ball — that didn’t happen

ENJOYING INSIDE NEBRASKA?

LINCOLN — An on-again, off-again effort to ensure public access to the Niobrara River is back on.

If the purchase of the Rocky Ford rapids area happens this time – it was blocked more than once a decade ago – it would maintain the public use of an important take-out point for those floating and kayaking the nationally designated scenic river.  

A National Park Service representative and the private owner of the Rocky Ford rapids separately confirmed that discussions are underway to have the federal agency purchase the 26-acre site around the rapids, which is the ending point for many float trips down the Niobrara and a popular spot for camping and picnicking in north-central Nebraska.

About 75,000 people each year visit the 76-mile-long, federally designated scenic stretch of the Niobrara River, making it one of the state’s most popular tourist attractions. Because Rocky Ford is in private hands, there’s always a worry that public access to the scenic spot will be shut off, or that access fees will become too expensive.

“There is no better deck in the state of Nebraska,” said Rocky Ford owner Brad Arrowsmith of the view from a cabin on the property.

“That place is therapeutic,” he said.

Arrowsmith, a rancher from Mills, purchased Rocky Ford eight years ago after a canoe outfitter’s effort to sell the property to the Park Service, and later to the Niobrara Scenic River Council, both fell through. 

Members of the state’s congressional delegation, as well as local ranchers and representatives on the Niobrara Council, were among those who opposed federal ownership of the property.

In 2018, Arrowsmith said he purchased the rapids to retain local control and to avoid a new private owner from shutting off access to Rocky Ford. The river there has one of the state’s few Class III rapids – rapids with high waves and rocks that require an experienced paddler.

But when the $2.5 million sale to the Niobrara Council fell through, Arrowsmith retained ownership and a canoe outfitting business continued. He eventually took over the business.

But the semi-retired rancher, 58, said he’s more interested now in enjoying the “retired” side of his life and ditching the “semi” portion.

“I never bought it to get into the outfitting business in the first place,” Arrowsmith said. “My hair’s a little whiter than yours. I’m tired.”

So talks began a few months ago to sell the property to the Park Service.

Susan Cook, superintendent of the Niobrara National Scenic River office in Valentine, confirmed that she’s discussed a purchase with Arrowsmith.

“We’re just starting to look at it,” Cook said.

She declined to say whether the Park Service had money allocated for the purchase – as it did a decade ago – or where the money to purchase the site could come from.

Arrowsmith said that he’d also offered, again about a year ago, to sell Rocky Ford to the Niobrara Council, but was again rebuffed.

He said he’s also been approached by a private party to purchase the site and continue the outfitting business.

“At the end of the day I’d love to keep it in local hands … but I’m not sure they can come up with the change to do it,” he said.

Just how quickly, or how long, a purchase might take is unclear. Arrowsmith said he has made improvements to the property that make Rocky Ford more attractive for a buyer.  

“It’s not the old ratty wood walkway up to the office,” he said, adding that he also replaced a “monstrosity of a retaining wall” on the land.