To classify Penn State football's special teams on Saturday as "hair raising" might be a bit harsh.

Punt returner Calvin Lowry did give Nittany Lions fans the bad kind of goosebumps when he fumbled in the first quarter, but that was one snafu during an otherwise solid special teams performance.

"After the play happened, I couldn't worry about it," Lowry said. "That is how the game ebbs and flows. It's not so much a matter of the mistakes, but how well you get past them. Coach just came up to me and told me to brush it off. The punter was kicking short, and we made the adjustment to move up closer."

Backup running back Rodney Kinlaw had a promising 58-yard kickoff return to start the second half, but Lions coach Joe Paterno stuck to the same reasoning he's given all year when asked about using Lions other than Lowry on punt returns.

"I've always felt, when you're going to run a punt back, the first thing you got to do is get a guy who catches the ball, and then you've got to worry about what else you're going to get after that," Paterno said. "I don't think I've seen Rodney catch enough punts in situations where I would want to think I would want to stick him in the game right now."

Freshman Anthony Scirrotto was used as a secondary option on punt returns earlier in the year.

On the return before Lowry's fumble, Lowry called for a fair catch but couldn't get up field in time to catch the ball because the punt was short. Scirrotto caught the ball instead.

"[Scirrotto] is very sure-handed," Paterno said. "Both Lowry and Scirrotto are solid kids. Lowry doesn't usually fumble, anyway. He let that one get away from him, and I think he didn't know where he was and he panicked and he just gave up his concentration."

Linebacker Dan Connor, who has seen a lot of time on special teams this season both on punt and kickoff coverage as well as punt and kick returns, agreed with Paterno's assessment of the fumble, calling it a "tough play."

"We weren't in our punt return," Connor said. "We were in a punt safe because of the situation."

On special teams, a punt safe is used to protect against a possible punt fake. On that play, Purdue needed 10 yards

on fourth down from the 50-yard line, and the Boilermakers only trailed the Lions by three points.

After that fumble, though, the Lions special teams play improved. Wide receiver Ethan Kilmer, a gunner on punt and kickoff coverage, was third on the team in tackles and forced a fumble on a Boilermaker return attempt later in the first quarter.

Defensive tackle Scott Paxson, who usually lines up as a nose tackle on punt returns, said Paterno has placed a lot of emphasis on special teams throughout this season.

" 'Kicking game.' He always tells the guys, 'You can't lose the kicking game today,' " Paxson said. "That could give them something. You could let up a big run, fumbles, turnovers, everything. You got to play every play all out."

The Lions don't have a special teams coordinator solely responsible for orchestrating the kicking game. Instead, the position coaches handle technical coaching responsibilities and Paterno makes most of the special teams play-calling decisions himself.

A lot of responsibility is placed upon the personnel on special teams, Paxson said.

"[Lowry's] back there playing centerfield," Paxson said. "There's a lot of things. He's got to make a couple calls out there. He's in charge of that, and he sees everything before we do."

Lowry did come up with an interception in the fourth quarter, and Paxson said Lowry's character kept him going.

"You get down on yourself, but you can see the character of a person though when they're down," Paxson said. "They got to come back up."