Texas’ defense did its part against Kentucky, but so too did the Longhorns’ special teams.

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“It’s been huge,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said postgame. “There’s a reason we went and got Mason (Shipley) and Jack (Bouwmeester). I think Jack had six punts inside the 20. What a massive punt there late to pin them deep for us to get some decent field position coming back out on Ryan (Niblett)’s punt return. All the phases of special teams (played a part).”

Shipley was 3-for-3 on field goals and hit his only PAT attempt in Lexington, meaning he was responsible for 10 of Texas’ 16 points in the overtime win over Kentucky. Shipley hit a 53-yarder with 2:05 left in the first half, then split the uprights on a 39-yard attempt with 0:57 left in the game to put Texas ahead by three.

Kentucky would rally and tie the game with a field goal of its own at the end of regulation to force overtime. After Texas’ goal line stand on Kentucky’s first possession of OT, Shipley nailed a 45-yarder to win the game and send Texas home happy with a 5-2 overall record and a 2-1 mark in the SEC.

“Obviously it’s awesome to get those opportunities and as a kicker, you always think about those opportunities,” Shipley said.

Shipley built on a quality couple of weeks with his performance in Lexington. He was 3-for-5 versus Oklahoma on field goals and 2-for-2 on PATs. His two misses in the Cotton Bowl were on attempts of 50+ yards, so for him to make a lengthy field goal at a pivotal moment was a massive boost for Texas.

Shipley wasn’t the only player to make an impact with his foot.

Bouwmeester had eight punts and averaged 42 yards per boot. His long was 52, and six of those eight punts were downed inside the 20. Three kicks went for 50+ yards. No kick from the Aussie resulted in a touchback, and the Wildcats had zero punt return yards on the evening. Somehow, Kentucky muffed two of those eight punts but was able to recover both of them.

Then, there was Niblett. After his 75-yard touchdown return last week, Kentucky still thought it was a good idea to kick to No. 21. Niblett returned two of Kentucky’s six punts. The first return? Niblett hauled in the kick at midfield and returned it 45 yards to the Kentucky five. Two plays later, Quintrevion Wisner rushed for a one-yard score to make it 7-0 Texas in the second quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Niblett flipped the field again on a punt return. He brought in an Aidan Laros kick at the Texas 15, then returned it 43 yards to the Kentucky 42. That play set up Shipley’s eventual go-ahead 39-yarder with 1:00 remaining. Though Kentucky would tie before regulation ended, Niblett’s work in the return game set Texas and Shipley up for heroics.

Entering the contest with Kentucky, Texas ranked No. 104 in special teams SP+ and No. 8 in special teams FEI. The team that left the Bluegrass State with the overtime win looked closer to what FEI’s metrics see and made the needed plays in the third phase to help overcome many of the Longhorn offense’s struggles.