Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support the IDS in College Media Madness! Donate here March 24 - April 8.
Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

sports football

If Sudfeld is out, now what?

Murphy’s law says anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

There was one sure thing going into this IU football season.

If Nate Sudfeld were to get injured, the Hoosiers would be in trouble.

The hypothetical became reality in IU’s 45-29 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday in Kinnick Stadium.

Sudfeld was brought down by four Iowa defenders two plays after Shane Wynn dropped a perfect Sudfeld pass in the end zone that would have gotten IU off the field.

Sudfeld was not seen again on the field.

The temporary Chris Covington era began, and it was not ideal.

I cannot blame him for struggling. I doubt it is easy going from cozily taking notes on the sideline as a true freshman to playing in front of 68,590 opposing fans on homecoming ?weekend.

Regardless, Covington was unable to establish himself as a pass threat at all. He went 3-for-12 passing for 31 yards and threw two interceptions. One was not exactly his fault.

Without him as a passing threat, teams were able to stack the box against the run game and make it difficult for IU to establish any consistent movement.

The Hoosier’s success with Covington all came as a result of big plays from junior running back Tevin Coleman, ran for 219 yards.

Coleman broke plays because the offensive line worked its butt off and Coleman can do things physically that few others can.

Besides these few breakouts, though, the IU offense seemed irrelevant as the defense actually hung on tight in the second half.

The question becomes: What do the Hoosiers do if Sudfeld is out long-term?

IU Coach Kevin Wilson said there was separation in Sudfeld’s shoulder and they will find out more ?tomorrow.

It is likely he will not be back for a few weeks at the least. This means Covington may be expected to lead IU for a little longer, if not the whole season.

There is also fellow true freshman Zander Diamont that IU has been planning on redshirting. Wilson said they will see how long Sudfeld’s timeline is before deciding if using Diamont is necessary. They do not want to waste a year of eligibility.

Murphy’s law rears its head again as the Hoosiers will face Michigan State, one of the best defenses in the entire country, right as IU has its most offensive ?uncertainty.

It is frightening to have to put in a freshman quarterback against such an intimidating defense, because a bad beating so early can ruin a young quarterback’s psyche.

Take a look at Covington. He is a physically impressive player. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 214 pounds, he looks even bigger and is incredibly athletic.

He showed signs of being very gifted at scrambling and is an imposing runner when he finally gets room.

Also, he has a strong arm and on his last drive he finally displayed a few quality passes through traffic during the last few minutes of the Big Ten matchup.

He may not be very good yet, but I assume he will look much more prepared when he has a week to actually practice as the No. 1 guy and the coaches base a whole game plan around him as the first string quarterback.

A lot of noise has been made about how he was brought in to play linebacker, because he was a quarterback in high school and put up 1,993 yards and 26 touchdowns passing as a senior.

If freshman quarterback Zander Diamont ends up getting the call any time soon, that may be even more frightening.

The Los Angeles native is listed at 175 pounds and is a very raw player.

Him taking the kind of hits Michigan State may be applying is not very safe for him or for IU.

Covington is also raw, but I feel more confident he could make plays on physicality alone right now.

“Chris Covington is, hands down, the best,” Wilson said after the game about the backup ?quarterbacks.

Nonetheless, the Hoosiers are in trouble without Sudfeld.

He was finally beginning to get his downfield passing swagger back, and IU could have stolen this game if he were healthy.

The future for the 2014 Hoosiers is as clouded as ever, and things may get ugly quick.

Get stories like this in your inbox
Subscribe