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LINCOLN, Neb. -- For weeks, Nebraska coach Mike Riley has been lamenting his teams inability to consistently return punts. Hes not the only coach with that problem as the punting game undergoes a dramatic transformation, with different kinds of formations and Australian kickers seemingly everywhere.The number of punt returns per game in the Bowl Subdivision since the start of the 2015 season is the lowest on record, and average yards per return also have declined.I think thats the most interesting thing in the last less-than-a-decade in college football, really -- the change in punting, punt formations, how the punts come out, Riley said.Nationally, last years per-team average was 1.57 returns a game. This seasons average is 1.59. Prior to 2006, it had never been lower than 2.23. Also, the average punt return has been less than 9 yards for seven straight seasons.In the Big Ten this year, there have been 1.85 returns per game per team. The average runback has fallen to 7.87 yards, lowest among the Power Five conferences, and only Michigan and Iowa average better than 9.Michigan star Jabrill Peppers is the Big Ten leader at 17.5 yards per return. Iowas Desmond King is next at 8.74. There are only 33 players in the FBS averaging 9 yards or better; there were 68 in 2002.One of the reasons for the drop, Riley said, is that punt-return units are facing formations that spread the field, compromising their ability to hold up coverage people at the line of scrimmage and set up blockers for a return.The different punt formations, punt styles that have come up have really made the punt-return team almost more of a defensive unit, making sure you cover everybody, Riley said. Theyre spread over the field, they go in motion, and that never used to happen in a punt. Everybody would stand back there with a personal protector, a couple of wingbacks, a couple of gunners. You knew where everybody was. You could rush or you could hold up, so its a little more complicated now.Another factor is that the art of punting has evolved with the invasion of highly skilled Australian punters into the college game.In the Big Ten, Ohio States Cameron Johnston and Marylands Wade Lees are starting for their teams. Daniel Pasquariello is the backup at Penn State, and Rutgers has Tim Gleeson, who has been injured. Johnston is fifth in the FBS at 47.2 yards per punt. Ahead of him are two of his countrymen, national leader Mitch Wishnowsky of Utah and third-place Michael Dickson of Texas.The Aussie punters typically are older and come from rugby and Australian rules football backgrounds. They often kick while moving, taking a handful of steps to the right or left before letting it fly, a far cry from the relatively immobile punters American fans are so used to. Rugby-style punts arent pretty, but they are effective, rolling toward the boundary and giving the coverage unit enough time to get downfield to limit return opportunities.They also execute sky punts that fly high and roll out, low punch shots into the wind that hit the ground and go another 15 yards, feathery pooch punts that pin opponents deep and floating, hard-to-catch knuckleball punts.Dan Orner, a private coach from Charlotte, North Carolina, who works with NFL and college punters and kickers, said the directional punt with a hang time of 4.8 to 5.1 seconds is still in high demand. But Orner said the influence of the Australians is undeniable.While were throwing the ball around at tailgates, Orner said, theyre kicking it around.The Australian influence, Orner said, has pushed American punters to add to their repertoires.Marylands Lees is the oldest player in the FBS and one of the most recent Australians to arrive. Hes a 28-year-old freshman and a former professional Australian rules football player.The only way to pass to a teammate is to kick the ball, Lees said of his old sport. To pass to my teammate, I have to kick him the ball while Im being tackled or trying to evade my defender. Accuracy and precision have to be spot-on. Thats why we can get so accurate.Lees said he first kicked an American football less than two years ago. He worked with a coach in Melbourne who helps connect Australian punters with U.S. colleges. Most of his punts are rugby-style, but he is comfortable doing whatever special teams coordinator Pete Lembo calls for in different situations, based, among other things, on where the return man is lined up and where the ball is on the field.All I have to do is just execute the punt and hope to get a fair-caught ball, Lees said, and Ive done my job.---More AP college football: http://collegefootball.ap.org jerseys nfl wholesale .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. cheap mlb jerseys . Vaives lawyer Trevor Whiffen claims the former 50-goal man wasnt provided with a copy of the claim beforehand and that he would not have agreed to the allegations made against the NHL had he been asked to review its contents. http://www.chinajerseysnflcheapwholesale.com/ . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. china jerseys nfl . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. cheap stitched nfl jerseys . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Angelina Nadai Lohalith did not qualify for the medal round in the womens 1,500-meter run Saturday night. She did not come anywhere close. She not only finished last in her heat, she ran a time that was 31 seconds slower that the next slowest runner and 47 seconds slower than the winner.But she was not devastated. She was proud. As well Lohalith should be because she is an inspiration on and off the track. Lohalith, you see, is one of the 10 athletes competing with the Refugee Olympic Team, and just being able to run in these Games is an amazing advance in her life. And perhaps it can similarly be a little advance for her fellow refugees.Even though I came in last, Im happy, Lohalith said. I was able to compete and able to finish off the race. Next time, I believe that I will be in front of them rather than be at the end. Im representing refugees from all over the world. Im becoming their ambassador now, and that made me happy.James Nyang Chiengjiek likewise finished last in his 400-meter heat, six seconds behind the next runner ahead of him. He also is an athlete from South Sudan on the refugee team. And he, too, was very proud to be running here.I think its a very important moment for all the refuges. Not me alone, Chiengjiek said. We are not getting the medals we hoped to get, but this is for spreading peace. I thank the IOC for giving us this chance. It is very important we are here today. Also, we have met and gotten to know so many people. I hope when we go back, we will have that experience, and it will help us in the future.While many people sympathize with refugees and the agonies they endure, some take negative views. They argue that allowing refugees into your country will take jobs from citizens. That they may be terrorists. That they are beneath the rest of us. Lohalith and Chiengjiek hope the performances of the refugees here will help end such views.When some people hear refugees, they do not see them as they are, Lohalith said. They do not see them as human beings. They see them as refugees, something negative. But we can do something better in our life. Like in sport. Refugees can do something for their lives. Wherever they are, they can do something positive.Lohalith escaped the war in South Sudan to the Kakuuma refugee camp back in 2002 while Chiengjiek left just before that to avoid being made into a child soldier.dddddddddddd The two each began running while in school, little dreaming that they would one day be running on another continent in the Olympics.Fortunately, the IOC voted to allow a team of refugees to compete in the Rio Olympics, picking a total of 10. Five (all runners) are from South Sudan, two from Syria, two from the Democratic Republic of Congo and one from Ethiopia. When the refugee team marched in during the opening ceremonies, they received perhaps the most enthusiastic ovation of any team other than host Brazil.I think it has been an amazing experience for them because it is something they have never dreamed about happening, said Luiz Fernando Godinho with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. They are very conscious of the role they are playing here at these Games. They know they are not here to win medals, that they are here to support the refugee case.We always look at the athletes to be looking for some personal achievement, and they truly are not looking for that. They know their limitations but they know they are here for a cause. They are leaders of tomorrow.Both Lohalith and Chiengjiek are staying in the athletes village and being treated just like all the other Olympians, which is what refugees hope for in their lives. They are people like you or me, Godinho said. If they have the chance they can achieve important things. They are normal people. The only thing they need is a chance to prove themselves and achieve important things.Lohalith and Chiengjiek are proving themselves and achieving something important. And they hope their performances here will inspire other refugees that they, too, can do what seems impossible. After all, Lopez Lomong was a South Sudanese refugee who wound up running the 1,500 in the 2008 Olympics and also carrying the flag of the United States after becoming an American citizen.Start making your mind to think positive, Lohalith said. And every time you go out, think positively that you will be able to tackle all the challenges that come in your life. ' ' '