Kickers get no respect. They take all kinds of crap from their teammates — you should have seen Corey McKeon razzing Jordan Congdon during interviews Saturday — and all they do is win football games in the most gut-wrenching situations.

Congdon’s 40-yarder was one of the all-time clutch jobs in my book.

This football team really, really needed to win, and it all came down to the leg of a freshman.

His mom, Gayla, could barely watch. Mom and dad (Scott) were both in tears after the kick went through.

“Actually, this week,” Gayla said, “I started thinking, ‘OK, this game could come down to my son’s foot. A bowl game could come down to my son’s foot.

“About when they crossed the 50-yard line, (Scott) can tell you, I started almost hyperventilating.”

And Dad?

“I was excited for him to have the chance,” Scott said. “The only thing I was concerned about was all the wind whirling and twirling around. But you could tell he was focused.”

Because of a personnel issue, the Huskers ended up icing their own kicker by taking a timeout to avoid a penalty.

No one talked to Congdon during the break except for assistant Scott Downing, who oversees the kicking game.

“I just told him the things we always talk about in practice,” Downing said. “Watch your first step and stroke it through. That’s all we talk about all the time. He’s a tough kid mentally.

“In a situation like that, where everything was going nuts, he was calm.”

How calm? Congdon admitted to one negative thought, but the humor of it provided some much-needed relaxation.

“When we were driving down,” he said, “I kind of thought, if I miss that one, I’m not coming back to the locker room. I guess that made me a little calmer.”

The San Diego native has hit nine field goals in a row and 15 this season. His mentor, former NFL kicker John Carney, would be proud.

It was Carney, a Notre Dame alum, who told Congdon that the best way to prepare for a pro career would be to kick in the unpredictable weather of the Midwest.

“He came here to kick in this wind,” Gayla said, “so that he would have to be forced to deal with the climate so he would be ready for the NFL.

“The Pac-10 has not put many kickers in the NFL because they don’t have to kick in inclement weather.”

After the game, Congdon’s mom was clutching the game ball, the very ball that beat the Wildcats and put the Huskers in a bowl game, when she talked about NU coach Bill Callahan and how great Nebraska has been so far for her son.

“He’s a great match for our son, and we knew that when we met him,” she said. “We believe in his vision.”

There you go, Steve Pederson, something for your next e-mail to season-ticket holders.

Mrs. Congdon also sang the praises of Downing.

“We know kickers all over this country who are kicking for D-I teams,” she said. “They don’t get any coaching.”

And another thing.

“Zach Potter saved four points today,” she said.

The freshman from Omaha did come up with a couple of big blocks along with Barry Turner’s help.

Downing didn’t want punter Sam Koch’s effort to go unnoticed, and I don’t blame him.

Koch, the senior from Seward, helped save Senior Day with three amazing efforts in the fourth quarter — a 58-yarder to the KSU 13, a 49-yarder to the Wildcat 5 and a heroic 25-yarder after a bad snap that ended up at the Cats’ 22.

“He was able to get it off and still save it,” Downing said. “That could have been a huge change in the game.

“I’ve never been around anybody who produces in big situations like Sam does.”

Koch, who has to be a leading candidate for the Ray Guy Award, was also the holder on Congdon’s winning kick.

“Once I got the ball down, and it was gone, I knew. I could feel it, it was going in, and I looked up. I was probably the first one to jump in the air because I could see it. I had a great view of it.

“Jordan did a hell of a job today.”

Yes, he did. The kid saved a season.

Reach John Mabry at 473-7320 or jmabry@journalstar.com.