Special teams were huge in Hawaii’s 28-20 victory over Colorado to start the 2015 campaign Thursday. New coordinator Jake Cookus is off to a good start.

The question now is if the kicking game can help at least make Ohio State sweat Saturday, as UH heads into The Horseshoe as a heavy underdog against the defending national champion.

The special teams are not considered a vulnerable spot for the No. 1-ranked team in the country.

Australian Cameron Johnston was seventh in the nation with a 45.3 punting average. None of his kicks were blocked, and opponents managed only 58 yards on 10 returns.

Sean Nuernberger made all 89 extra points and was 13-for-20 on field goals in 2014 as a freshman.

The Buckeyes have all kinds of talent to man the non-kicking positions, including former quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Braxton Miller, who is now an H-back. He’s at the top of the depth chart at punt returner heading into the Virginia Tech game.

"They’re pretty good at everything," Cookus said.

Although he comes from FCS coaching gigs at Weber State and most recently Montana, Cookus is no stranger to big games and big crowds at the highest level of college football.

As an Oregon State safety in 2000, Cookus intercepted Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington three times and the Beavers won the Civil War 23-13, earning a date with Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.

Cookus also played in the 1999 Oahu Bowl at Aloha Stadium, when Hawaii beat Oregon State, capping UH’s 9-4 bounceback season from 0-12 the year before.

UH head coach Norm Chow said Cookus, who also served as co-defensive coordinator at Weber State, came highly recommended.

"I didn’t know him, but I’d heard about him and he has a great reputation," Chow said. "The special teams did a heckuva job (against Colorado)."

On the fifth play of the game they set the stage for Hawaii’s first score. Keelan Ewaliko blocked a punt and recovered it at the CU 16.

"You just try to take advantage of things you see on film and try to win the hidden yards battle," Cookus said. "We looked at last year’s film on them and since they had the same coach we felt like a lot of their schemes would be the same."

Kicker Mauro Bondi (two touchbacks) and punter Rigoberto Sanchez (punts downed at the Buffs 11 and 4) allowed UH to dominate field position in the first half. And Sanchez was 2-for-2 on field goals, with a 27-yarder to end the first half, and one from 34 yards to complete UH’s scoring with 12:45 left in the game.

The OSU game will be a homecoming for Paul Harris, who returned four kickoffs for 72 yards against Colorado, and led Hawaii with 68 rushing yards on 17 carries. He is a transfer from Ventura College (Calif.) who was born in Columbus and graduated from Marion-Franklin High School there.

UH does need to improve on its kickoff coverage and punt returns, and Ohio State has no soft spots, including special teams.

But the kicking game can sometimes be the best chance for heavy underdogs to make big plays.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.