Indiana Cannot Let a Historic Kick Hide Its Special Teams Flaws

Paddy McAteer gave Indiana one of its biggest moments of the season against Minnesota. His program-record 60-yard field goal tied the game at the end of regulation and kept the Hoosiers alive on a night when defeat appeared close. 

That kick deserves celebration. It should also be followed by an honest evaluation of everything that happened before it.

Indiana’s bye week offers time to improve the routine details of special teams and scoring opportunities. The Minnesota game provided examples of why those areas need attention, even when the final result is a victory.

Nico Radicic had a 52-yard field-goal attempt blocked and missed from 31 yards before making attempts from 46 and 34 yards. Indiana also averaged 36.4 yards on five punts, with one finishing inside Minnesota’s 20-yard line. 

The appropriate response is a complete review of the operation. On field goals, coaches should study protection, snap placement, the hold and the kick itself. A blocked attempt and a miss should not automatically be treated as identical failures. Each requires a specific explanation before a useful correction can follow.

Practice should recreate the circumstances surrounding those attempts. That includes changing field position, working from different hash marks and requiring the unit to execute after standing on the sideline. Reliability depends on the entire group handling its responsibilities together.

Punting deserves the same attention. Distance matters, but so do placement, hang time and the relationship between the kick and coverage. Indiana should evaluate whether its punts consistently give the coverage team a chance to limit returns and force opponents to travel farther.

The offense has responsibilities here, too. Against Minnesota, Indiana scored on only two of four red-zone opportunities. A fourth-quarter possession ended with a fumble at the Minnesota 18, wasting a chance to put points on the board in a tight game. 

That makes ball security and finishing drives essential bye-week priorities. Once the field becomes compressed, defenders can close more quickly and passing windows shrink. Indiana needs decisive reads, secure exchanges and blocking that allows plays to develop without immediate disruption.

The staff should also rehearse fourth-down decisions alongside its kicking options. Knowing the preferred response to different distances and field positions can make sideline decisions more efficient when a close game accelerates.

None of this requires Indiana to abandon confidence in its specialists. It requires building confidence through repeatable execution.

The Hoosiers proved they can produce an extraordinary kick when the season demands one. Their next step is making ordinary scoring chances dependable enough that another extraordinary rescue is less likely to be required.