Two days after tying a conference record and extending an IU record with three kickoff-return touchdowns in a single season, sophomore running back Marcus Thigpen took home some hardware.\nThe league named Thigpen Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week following his record-setting game against Illinois. He tallied 197 yards on four kickoff returns Saturday, including a 98-yard touchdown in the third quarter.\nAfter such a big game and leading the nation in most kick return categories, Thigpen said he expects to see fewer kicks come his way.\n"My coaches told me to expect less balls," Thigpen said after the Illinois game. "I've got no problem with that."\nThigpen leads the nation in total kick return yards (543), touchdowns (3) and kick return average (42).\nLost in the jubilation after sophomore kicker Austin Starr's game-winning field goal was all that had to go right in order for it to happen.\nStarr's actual kick aside, the whole play started with junior long snapper Tim Bugg. Bugg's snap and senior quarterback Graeme McFarland's hold were both flawless. With the snap and the hold down, Starr was able to deliver the win, Starr said.\n"Honestly, I wasn't thinking anything. Nothing was going through my head when I went out there," Bugg said of the last-second kick. "I just got over the ball; I heard Graeme call ready, and that was that. I just did my job."\nBugg has been long snapping for IU since last season. He started six games of the season before being sidelined for the rest of the year with a knee injury suffered in the Ohio State game in October 2005.\nLong snapping is also a Bugg family business. Tim's younger brother Brandon is a redshirted freshman and is also a long snapper.\nAfter Bugg's snap, Starr had to rely on one more set of hands to get the kick through the uprights.\nMcFarland said many of the same things Bugg did about what he had to do in order for the kick to be good: He just did his job.\n"You don't want to dwell on 'What if I mess this up?'" McFarland said after practice Tuesday. "I just wanted to go out and do what I've been doing all year."
Carrying the running weight\nJunior fullback Josiah Sears is doing something this season that he never envisioned. Through six games, Sears leads the team in rushing yards (199), average yards per carry (6.4) and rushing touchdowns (4). He also has the second longest rush from scrimmage this season, a 25-yard run.\nCoaches have used Sears as a short-yard runner, usually in goal line situations, throughout the season.\n"Just the fact that I weigh almost 250 pounds, I can get up in there a little better than a 200 pound guy," Sears said after practice Tuesday. "I'm built for that, so I guess that's why I do it."\nComing into the season, Sears had only 103 yards on 24 carries in his career, all of which he accumulated last season.
