IU missed five field goals in its 33-27 win against Rutgers on Saturday.
Three field goals and two extra points.
It’s easy to blame junior kicker Griffin Oakes, but it wasn’t solely his fault.
Sure, the missed extra point after the Hoosiers’ second touchdown of the game was off Oakes’ foot, and the missed field goal late in the third quarter was put in the air untouched, but the other three occurrences involved other variables of the kicking offense.
The field goal that was blocked could have been three straight scores on IU’s first three drives, but instead, Rutgers scored three consecutive times to threaten the Hoosiers with a 24-13 deficit.
Oakes’ second missed field goal was a combination of a blown block by junior tight end Danny Friend and a slow approach by Oakes. The ball hit a Rutgers defender in the facemask.
The last missed kick was a snap that went through the hands of holder Joseph Gedeon, who replaced senior receiver Mitchell Paige as the placeholder earlier in the season.
The struggles in the kicking game left 11 points on the field for the Hoosiers.
Even late in the fourth quarter, IU Coach Kevin Wilson called for Gedeon and the punting staff on Rutgers’ 32-yard line, where Oakes would normally take a shot at a 49-yard field goal.
“Those guys are good, but those guys are a little bit psycho right now,” Wilson said about the kicking team.
Wilson said it’s a confidence issue, and not only does Oakes’ body language tell the story, but the statistic also back up the claim.
After being named 2015 Big Ten Kicker of the Year and missing the game-tying field goal against Duke in overtime in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, Oakes has struggled since his first game of the 2016 season.
He missed one of his two field goals in Miami in IU’s victory against Florida International, and this season, Oakes is 21-for-25 on extra point attempts.
On field goal attempts? Oakes is 11-for-20. The nearly 50-percent mark on field goals after last year’s Big Ten-leading 82-percent mark has drawn a lot of criticism from the IU fan base and rightfully so.
But Wilson hasn’t said if he intends to replace Oakes or Gedeon as respective placekicker and place holder.
Wilson also refuses to put all the blame on Oakes, and he said it’s not a talent or physical issue that has haunted the junior this season either.
“We just gotta get them honed in,” Wilson said. “Sometimes those mental demons — physiological barriers are sometimes more cumbersome than the physical barriers. We just gotta get those guys cleaned up.”
The Hoosiers came into the Rutgers game ranked second-to-last in red zone offense with eight of the 23 red zone scores coming off field goals.
Oakes gets his opportunities. He had his opportunities last year, too.
He’s on pace to equal or even surpass 2015’s total in field goals, as he attempted 29 last year and has put 20 in the air nine games into the 2016 season.
The IU offense hasn’t improved in the red zone, in terms of touchdowns, and Oakes is adjusting to a new place holder in Gedeon. Injuries on the offensive line have also contributed to the struggles.
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But the sole blame is not to be placed on Oakes.
He’s still the reigning Big Ten Kicker of the Year, and IU is still 5-4 heading into its matchup against No. 12 Penn State — one win away from bowl eligibility.
“Down the stretch, we’re going to need to kick it well in the week coming and the three weeks coming,” Wilson said. “This time of year — with the weather, wind, the opponents you’re playing — we’re going to need to kick it better.”
