Nebraska safety and special teams veteran Eric Lee Jr. blocked his foe and quickly looked back to see junior JD Spielman "flying down the field" for a 76-yard punt return for a touchdown.
What Lee, a fifth-year senior, didn't see was what teammate Marquel Dismuke did – or, more importantly – didn't do on the momentum-shifting play.
When told Dismuke threw his hands in the air with his back to his opponent, avoiding a possible infraction that could violate a new rule, Lee smiled.
"Smart play," he said.
He explained why.
"We had refs come in during fall camp, and they explained everything to us. Coach (Jovan) Dewitt and Coach (Zach) Crespo, they make drills that are oriented to us and that are legal, and it's up to us to execute them.
"We practice doing high screens and stuff, just running where the returner is going, just trying to block that defender with your body so we don't get any clipping calls and things like that."
On a day where not everything went necessarily according to plan in No. 24 Nebraska's 35-21 season-opening victory over South Alabama, that decision by Dismuke, a junior safety, exemplified progress in one important area under second-year coach Scott Frost.
Discipline.
With the new blindside block rule implemented by the NCAA this season, Frost has preached how disciplined players will throw their hands up and shield, thus avoiding a penalty.
"An undisciplined team," Frost said, "is going to light him up anyway."
Dismuke chose the former, much to the delight of his head coach.
"Marquel did the right thing," Frost said. "I was so excited for him. I went up to him on the bench and told him that was worth seven points to us."
Frost emphasizes this because he wouldn't have expected the same result a year ago.
Dismuke and Lee were among several players "in my bad graces," Frost said, when he first took over the program. He put senior cornerback Lamar Jackson in that same category.
Now, they're making the correct decisions, doing things the right way, being good teammates.
And on Saturday, making big plays.
In particular, Lee, subbing for injured safety Deontai Williams, had his first two career interceptions, including one he returned 38 yards for a third-quarter touchdown and 21-7 lead.
"If you look at the secondary, we have a lot of guys who persevered through the coaching change and what we were expecting of them," Frost said. "Now, they're some of our best teammates and today, some of our best players.
"It takes a while to learn what we expect and how we want guys to do things, and what the standards are. Those guys aren't just living up to the standards now, they're holding other people to standards and setting a new standard.
"I'm glad to see those guys having the success they're having. They deserve it."
Lee – whose Twitter handle is, appropriately, @Pick6_Lee – is equally glad, and probably even more so.
"Just being able to finally reach this day and just make the plays I know I'm capable of," Lee said, "and being able to showcase it on this level, I mean, I've been waiting for that my whole life."
Lee admitted he had thoughts of leaving the program during last year's coaching transition, but said his father talked him into staying, putting his head down and working hard.
"And when I called him after the game," Lee said, "he was in tears, just saying how proud of me he was."
Lee recalled multiple occasions throughout last season when he realized that players do things Frost's way, or no way at all.
When did he, specifically, accept that?
"We started out 0-6, and the entire staff approached everything, every week, just the same as if we were 6-0," Lee said. "Once I kind of saw things like that, I'm like, 'These guys don't have any quit.' They're giving us 100 percent, so we have to give them 100 percent as well."
Lee also said last year's team "maybe had a little bit of an ego problem" that isn't the case now.
"I think this year we're starting to see the big picture of what things can be," Lee said. "We know where this can go, and everyone, whatever it takes to get there, I think that's what people are starting to do now.
"Just a ginormous attitude change. The dynamic of the team is a lot closer."
Lee, a former cornerback, moved to safety immediately after last season. He said he's better suited for the position.
"It allows me to come down and make a lot more tackles," he said. "I feel like that's something I've always been good at. And then, just from a mental aspect, you just do so much more mentally. You have to know so much more, and it just keeps you engaged a tremendous amount."
The very play prior to his first interception, the one he return relatively unscathed for a touchdown, Lee had batted away a deep pass down the sideline.
The key to that play?
"My eyes were closed, I couldn't tell you," Lee said, smiling. "I just ran through it."
His second interception came with 4:42 remaining in the game, and thwarted any comeback hopes underdog South Alabama held, down two touchdowns.
That marked Nebraska's fifth forced turnover. Two of them resulted in direct touchdowns – linebacker Alex Davis recovered a fumble in the end zone.
Nebraska held South Alabama to 314 total yards while allowing a mere 1.9 yards per rush. Senior linebacker Mohamed Barry had a team-leading 12 tackles, and the Huskers collected 10 tackles for loss, including two apiece from sophomore cornerback Cam Taylor and junior outside linebacker JoJo Domann, who narrowly missed picking off a pass.
"The way they ran to the ball and hit – I saw a lot of hats to the ball, saw a lot of different guys doing that," Frost said. "I'm thrilled to see the Blackshirts look like the Blackshirts that we expect."
Reach Brian at brosenthal@huskers.com or follow him on Twitter @GBRosenthal.
