Hoosiers' Doss Turning Heads With Impressive Plays

INDIANAPOLIS -- Receiver Tandon Doss keeps impressing Indiana coaches.

The 6-foot-3, 197-pound sophomore has already more than doubled his reception total from 2008, is becoming a bigger part in the Hoosiers ground game and is doing things even the numbers don't accurately reflect.

Saturday's game against No. 9 Ohio State is a perfect example.

Doss got the Hoosiers' first scoring drive started with a 32-yard reception and it finished with a 7-yard TD catch, but what kept the drive moving was Doss' spectacular one-handed catch on the sideline. Indiana scored on the next play.

Surprised? Not coach Bill Lynch.

"If it was the first time I'd seen him do it, I'd say it was a lucky catch," Lynch said. "But he does it over and over again in practice, and I think the more he plays, the more he believes he can make those plays."

How good is Doss?

He's third in the Big Ten in receptions (32) and second in yards receiving (470). He also has six carries for 66 yards and one touchdown and has averaged 24.2 yards on five kickoff returns, giving him 657 all-purpose yards of 131.4 per game.

Not bad for a player who had only 14 offensive touches in 2008, nor one who is seemingly turning the improbable into the routine.

"You know, one time we came off the practice field and they (the assistants) said you've got watch this catch on tape," Lynch said. "When you watched, it was just like 'Wow!"'

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PUNT PROBLEMS: Indiana's most persistent, and perhaps overlooked, problem has been punting.

The Hoosiers (3-2, 0-2 Big Ten) rank ninth in the league in overall average at 39.0, better only than Northwestern and Illinois, and are last in net average at 34.0 yards.

It's a significant drop from last season when freshman Chris Hagerup averaged 42.4 yards per punt and a net of 36.6. On Saturday, things got even worse when a poor snap scuttled a punt from the end zone, a mistake Ohio State turned into a safety.

"He (Hagerup) is very capable and he will get it done," Lynch said. "He just really hasn't had the same performance that he had a year ago and that he's had in practice. We've just got to get back at it in practice."

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CONFUSION?: The Hoosiers drew two more illegal substitution penalties Saturday, and this time Lynch blamed himself.

On the first, Lynch said linebacker Justin Carrington was confused on whether the Hoosiers were sending in the punt team or keeping the defense on the field for fourth down. When the 11th player did not make it back onto the field, Lynch sent Carrington back into the game.

The explanation from the officials?

"When a guy runs off the field and is replaced, he can't go back in. We had 10 guys on the field, so we sent him back out. My thing was that we hadn't replaced him," Lynch said. "But it's my responsibility to call time out."

On the second, the Hoosiers were trying to get an extra offensive lineman to the sideline and they got caught with 12 players on the field. Again, Lynch said that was his fault.

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INJURY UPDATE: Defensive ends Fred Jones (foot) and Darius Johnson (shoulder) have been ruled out of Saturday's game with injuries.

But the Hoosiers have a short injury report.

Leading rusher Darius Willis is listed as probable after hurting his ankle in Saturday's loss and he's someone the Hoosiers need as they head to Virginia for a key nonconference game Saturday.

"He's like any running back in the Big Ten, he's going to get beat up," Lynch said. "He really hasn't been totally healthy. So he got dinged up a little bit. We held him (out) yesterday, but he'll do some work (Tuesday) and more (Wednesday)."

Right tackle James Brewer (ankle) and left guard Justin Pagan (ankle) also are listed as probable for the Virginia game. The only other player on the injury report is linebacker Leon Beckum, who is doubtful with an injured ankle.

The Hoosiers do not divulge details of injuries, citing federal privacy laws.

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QUICK HITS: Linebackers Matt Mayberry and Tyler Replogle, receiver Terrance Turner and running back Bryan Payton will be Indiana's captains Saturday. ... Mayberry leads the team with 36 tackles after posting 10 tackles in each of the last two games. ... Indiana is 5-11 all-time against the ACC. The Hoosiers are 2-1 against Duke, 2-0 against Maryland and 1-1 against Miami. The Hoosiers are 0-9 against the rest of the league and have never faced Virginia. ... Carrington is the only Virginia native on the Hoosiers' roster. He played prep ball at Liberty High School in Leesburg, Va. ... Cornerback Chris Adkins had his first career interception and receiver Matt Ernest caught his first career TD pass against the Buckeyes.