Who's kicking who?

Anyone else confused? \nIU has played five games, and in each one, the Hoosiers have missed either a field goal or an extra point. Field goals -- ones from further than 35 yards -- are understandable. But what IU is doing isn't.\nThe Hoosiers have two kickers -- sophomore Adam Braucher and freshman Bryan Robertson -- who have combined to miss five extra points in 17 attempts. IU opponents have missed only one of their 18 point-after attempts. IU's field goal efforts -- again from Braucher and Roberston -- have failed on four of five tries. Makes you wonder if these two are kicking with the correct feet. \nThe good news is Braucher and Robertson are young, so they have time to improve. The bad news is if they don't improve, it could be a long, bumpy road for the duo ... and IU might be better off betting on the two-point conversion.\nNot all of Braucher and Robertson's misfirings could have made a difference had they hit them. Let's establish this: kicking isn't what's losing football games for IU. But it is a glaring detriment to a team that is unstoppable one week and despicable the next. \nBut how are so many of these two's kicks sailing left, right and low? It's befuddling when you look at their accolades. \nBraucher, a high school soccer player, nailed eight of 10 field goals during his senior season at Charlotte High School in Punta Gorda, Fla. One of his successful attempts was a 51-yarder. He's supposedly hit from nearly 60 yards in practice. Too bad we can't hurry, run over to the practice field and attempt field goals from there during the season. \nThis season, Braucher has missed from 41 and 44 yards and botched an extra point before being replaced by Robertson, whose high school success is pretty much unmatched.\nAfter his senior season at Seymour (Ind.) High School, Robertson was the only kicker named to Street and Smith's first-team All-American squad. Foxsports.com listed Robertson as one of the top 100 high school football players in the country ... a kicker? Yeah, and he stayed home to play for the usually kicking-rich Hoosiers. \nRobertson hit 34 field goals for the Owls and set the state record for the most field goals in a career. During that same time, he hit 183 extra points. In his senior season, Robertson hit five field goals of more than 50 yards and missed only eight extra points in 51 attempts. Robertson also owns the state record for the longest field goal, a 61-yard rocket. \nWith those gaudy statistics, it's just plain unbelievable that Robertson hasn't been able to kick anything straight since arriving in Bloomington. Everything wobbles, spins sideways and falls to the ground without passing through the uprights. \nSince taking over for Braucher, Robertson has missed four extra points in 12 attempts, including three at Wisconsin. He's also shanked two field goals, one from 28 yards and the other from 44. Saturday's wobbly 28-yard attempt against Illinois would have given IU a 9-7 lead heading to halftime. The lead would have been 9-7 because Illinois blocked Robertson's extra point earlier in the quarter. \nRobertson did finally hit a field goal against Wisconsin. From the incredible distance of 28 yards. \nHey, kicking isn't easy. Most people couldn't kick a football from here to two feet from here. But most people don't kick for a Big Ten football program. \nWe want these crazy-footed guys to hit field goals. We're supposed to be able to go to the bathroom or pick up some nachos after a touchdown without worrying about whether we should stay to see if IU hits the extra point. \nLet's hope these missed kicks have been the sum of nerves ...or some suitable excuse. Let's hope Braucher and Robertson get their feet straight. Let's get this fixed.