Column: Without Roberson, Hoosiers must trust in Coffman

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Not to a program that has been through hell and back during the last calendar year. It’s not fair, but is life ever fair?

That question might have been asked by every player on the IU roster following the news that sophomore starting quarterback Tre Roberson had been lost for the season to a broken leg suffered Saturday afternoon against UMass at Gillette Stadium.

Prior to severely breaking his left leg, Roberson was having an outstanding game, completing seven of 14 pass attempts for 88 yards and one touchdown as well as accumulating 114 rushing yards on five carries. Roberson recorded two rushing touchdowns, yet his performance on the field hardly made headlines.

Forget about whether this regretful occurrence was fair. It changed the course of the IU offense for the rest of the 2012 campaign.

Oh, and that potential redshirt season for freshman quarterback Nate Sudfeld? Forget about it. The 6-foot-5-inch, 216-pound quarterback entered Saturday’s contest minutes into the fourth quarter, preventing the possibility of a redshirt season.

Instead of focusing on the negativity swirling around Saturday’s contest, consider the positives.

The 45-6 victory against the Minutemen doubled the Hoosiers’ win total from last season and was the third win of IU Coach Kevin Wilson’s era.

For what it’s worth, the astounding victory marked the first triumph for the Hoosiers against an Football Bowl Subdivision team since defeating Purdue in the final game of the 2010 season.

It also brings the Hoosiers to a 2-0 record on the season, four games shy of completing the quest to become bowl-eligible for the first time since the 2007 season, when IU played Oklahoma State in the Insight Bowl.

However, instead of Roberson leading the team on that quest, it will be sophomore Cameron Coffman, a transfer from Arizona Western College in Yuma, Ariz.

Originally slated as the Hoosiers’ primary backup quarterback, Coffman was thrust into the spotlight as soon as Roberson was injured.

Hoosier fans might scoff at IU’s chances with Coffman directing the offense. They’d be foolish to do so, especially without taking a look at Coffman’s final statistics from Saturday’s game.

In his first game action at college football’s highest level, Coffman completed 16 of his 22 passing attempts for 159 yards and one touchdown. That’s not too shabby for a kid whose only collegiate action was at a junior college level a year ago.

Sure, he didn’t look steady at times, but did the coaching staff expect him to play with poise and composure, given the circumstances? Of course they didn’t. But Coffman should grow only more comfortable with every first-team practice rep he plays during the coming months.

Coffman also has the comfort of a rushing attack that saw eight players combine for 341 net yards on the ground in the win against UMass. He has a deep receiving corps to catch the ball. Eleven Hoosiers recorded receptions Saturday.

Losing Roberson hurts, but it’s not the end for Indiana football.

­— ckillore@indiana.edu