Bo Schembechler thought he had one of the best teams in the nation in 1979. That Michigan team, he once wrote, was ready to make a serious run at a championship.

But Schembechler, coming off of his third straight 10-2 season, was badly mistaken. The Wolverines lost four games in ’79, all by three points or less.

Why? Special teams.

The famed Michigan coach wrote in a summer memo to his coaches years later that the 1979 team fell victim to blocked punts, returns for touchdowns and one of the worst yards-per-punt averages in America – thanks to an unenthusiastic approach to the oft-forgotten side of football .

So what did Schembechler do? He assigned every coach to one position on special teams in 1980, and suggested that mistakes on the field would mean firings off the field. Oh, and he also named himself special teams coach.

The result – the Wolverines’ fourth 10-2 record in five years and a Rose Bowl win the very next season.

Flash forward a couple of decades, and Randy Walker faces a somewhat similar predicament. No, his Wildcats aren’t really primetime national title contenders. But if they’re not careful, they risk losing a season of opportunity to avoidable kicking-game blunders.

Walker brought in former Northern Iowa head coach Mike Dunbar to coach his tight ends, H-backs and, most importantly, special teams. Dunbar was brought on board for his experience in the passing game as well as the kicking game, but he won’t serve a greater purpose for the Cats than to improve a special teams unit that frustrated players, coaches and fans – and nearly cost NU a game or two along the way.

The move was prompted by the departure of offensive line coach Aaron Kromer, who took an NFL job in the offseason. Walker said he wasn’t sure if he would have named a special teams coach if Kromer hadn’t left. But hiring Dunbar and giving him the special teams responsibility was perhaps the best move Northwestern’s coach made in preparation for the defense of last year’s Big Ten title.

During the Cats’ kickoffs in 2000, the only sound louder than jingling keychains came from the pounding hearts of NU faithful in the stands. The drawback to scoring as many points as NU did last season, as fans discovered, was having to watch a kick-coverage unit that couldn’t pin opponents inside the 35 if Walker had threatened sprints lasting until Wednesday.

“The biggest thing is attention to detail,” special teams gunner Pat Durr said earlier this spring. “There’s a lot of things we didn’t do well. Maybe running down on a kickoff, not staying in your lane. One little thing – but once you get out of your lane, that could be a huge gap for the returner.”

While it’s debatable that special teams were the Cats’ greatest weakness in 2000 – tough call when your defense gives up 40 points five times – there’s little doubt that NU’s kicking game left much to be desired. Hiring Dunbar proves that Walker is committed to making a vast improvement.

Assistant coaches Jack Glowik and Jeff Genyk, who shared special teams responsibilities last year, will probably play a smaller role coaching different kick teams, with both reporting to Dunbar (similar to Schembechler’s plan).

“I like having one guy kind of coordinate it, helping me know what we need,” said Walker, who employed a special teams coach for part of his tenure at Miami (Ohio). “Because if you ask the guy who’s got kickoff return, he wants a meeting every day and extra work every day. Mike’s going to filter through some of that – figure out what we need to work on.”

Walker should set a goal for Dunbar and his players right now: Win one game this year on special teams. The Cats could have won against Iowa or Purdue last year if they had made a big special teams play.

It wouldn’t be the first time special teams made the difference in a program, either – Frank Beamer built Virginia Tech’s winning reputation on the shoulders of a punt-block team that hung its head if it didn’t stuff at least one kick a game.

The Cats would be well-served to take this same aggressive attitude on the field in September.

Their offense may not score 38 points per game again. Their defense could easily give up 40 five more times.

But there’s no reason the Cats should be beaten in the special teams game.

With Dunbar at the helm and a new emphasis being put on the kicking game, NU ought to be able to make fans believe that clinking keychains mean money in the bank.