This is about what was expected out of Kansas University’s football team Saturday: some nerves, some mistakes, but some serious bright spots to get the fans really humming.

KU survived a few first-quarter blunders to wallop Division I-AA Northwestern State, 49-18, Saturday at Memorial Stadium. And while the season opener in college football always is a mysterious bag of tricks, it was one that ended up a pleasant surprise to the Jayhawks, thanks to occasional home runs whacked by the offense and special teams.

“I think we are about where I thought we would be,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “You can see some really good, positive things that really excite me about this ball club.”

Particularly on a unit that Mangino always is worrying about. Moreso than some programs, KU puts added emphasis – and standout players – on special teams, and Saturday’s game is proof of what good can come of it.

After falling behind 6-0, Marcus Herford returned a kick 88 yards, Brian Murph returned a punt 70 yards for a score, and Dexton Fields blocked an NSU punt in the end zone – all in the first half. Those three plays directly led to 21 points, which helped Kansas cruise.

It was a needed turn of fortunes for the Jayhawks after two botched snaps on first-quarter punts led to Northwestern State’s first six points – and led many to think the specials teams would be a bugaboo Saturday.

“The special teams, all the time and effort we’re putting into it, is paying off,” Mangino said. “But the little things are important. Snapping the ball to the punter, the punter catching it, kicking the ball through the uprights. Those kinds of things.”

Even then, the bright side was right there.

Northwestern State started its first two drives within 30 yards of the end zone, yet couldn’t score on either of them. The young, untested KU defense passed its first two tests of the season.

Overall, Kansas survived without being flawless, which was expected against a I-AA team that was 5-5 last year. Jon Cornish ran for a career-high 140 yards on just 13 carries, including a 69-yard touchdown run and a 33-yard carry that was his last of the night.

Freshman quarterback Kerry Meier, meanwhile, settled down and passed for 110 yards and ran for 59 more, including a 31-yard touchdown scamper in the fourth quarter.

“He’s poised and focused,” Murph said of Meier. “I think we can go a long way with him.”

The offense as a whole didn’t put up great numbers or eat a ton of clock, but KU’s other units didn’t require the offense to be world-beaters. Besides Cornish’s big run, Kansas didn’t sustain a long scoring drive until the fourth quarter, when Meier’s one-yard touchdown dive finished a 74-yard procession.

KU had another 74-yard drive later in the fourth, but those two scores were touchdowns five and six for the Jayhawks. The first four required little, if any, offensive work.

“The thing that’s interesting is that we scored 49 points,” Mangino said, “and only had 51 offensive plays.”

KU’s defense played well enough, forcing two turnovers, making NSU kick four field goals and allowing only 62 yards rushing on 30 attempts – numbers that last year’s defense made normal en route to its great season against the run.

Nobody’s trying to compare the two, because that could be unfair. But the 2006 version had a respectable debut, to say the least.

“I think we’re a lot different,” defensive end Paul Como said. “Last year we had a few leaders, but this year everyone is capable of being a leader. I think different people need to step up at different times to do what we need to do.”

That really goes across the board for a team with no established star yet. The next 11 games on KU’s regular-season schedule are I-A teams that should present a greater challenge.

But for now, the Jayhawks are 1-0 with 11 to go. It’s all according to plan so far.

“It’s always good to get that first one under your belt,” Mangino said. “That can be a tricky one.”