When Indiana football played Ohio State last season in Columbus, the game swung OSU’s way on two massive special teams plays.
The Hoosiers will hope to avoid any similar gaffes this time around, with much more on the line. Both teams grade well in special teams, overall, on Pro Football Focus — IU is 10th in the country at 86.7, while the Buckeyes are 19th at 81.0.
While much of the attention surrounding this game will center on Fernando Mendoza and Julian Sayin vying for the Heisman Trophy, special teams could always prove pivotal — for better or for worse, for both teams. Here’s our look at some key players to watch for on special teams in the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis on Saturday.
Punt returners: Brandon Inniss and Jonathan Brady
The aforementioned game-changing special teams moments from last year’s game both came with Indiana’s punt unit on the field against Ohio State’s punt return.
Former Hoosiers punter James Evans dropped a snap late in the first half that set up OSU with a very short field, that led to an easy touchdown. And early in the second half, Evans failed to kick it away from Ohio State star Caleb Downs, who ran the punt back for a touchdown.
If there are any big returns on Saturday, Ohio State’s Brandon Inniss and Indiana’s Jonathan Brady are the players to watch. Inniss took over punt return duty this year, and he’s tied for 19th in the country with 11.7 yards per return. Brady won IU’s punt return job in fall camp, and he’s fared even better than Inniss. The Cal transfer is fifth in the nation and second in the Big Ten with 17.5 yards per return with a touchdown, back in week 1 against Old Dominion.
Ohio State punter Joe McGuire is averaging just 41.5 yards per punt this season — not a noteworthy figure, by any stretch. But he and OSU’s punt coverage team have been effective in limiting opponents — only two of Ohio State’s 22 punts have been returned, at all, this year. Notre Dame is the only team in the country matching that number.
Kickers: Nico Radicic and Jayden Fielding
IU kicker Nico Radicic earned Big Ten Kicker of the Year honors after making all 13 of his field goal attempts and all 70 extra points. Head coach Curt Cignetti showed some hesitancy early in the season using Radicic on longer field goals. He’d sometimes opt to go for it on fourth down instead, or have Brendan Franke try the long ones — Franke drilled a big 58-yarder at Oregon. But Radicic has shown some more range over time. His season-long is 46 yards, which he’s done twice, against Iowa and Maryland. The redshirt sophomore has made a few really clutch kicks this year, particularly a game-tying 44-yarder at Iowa in the fourth quarter.
Franke has missed Indiana’s last four contests after leaving the UCLA game with an apparent injury on a kickoff. Quinn Warren has handled kickoffs in his place, and the Hoosiers haven’t attempted a field goal longer than 50 yards since he went out. It’s unclear whether or not he’ll be able to return against the Buckeyes.
His counterpart on Saturday, Jayden Fielding, has also been solid this year. He’s 15 for 17 on field goals, with misses from 53 yards against Minnesota and 38 yards against Wisconsin. Fielding’s two longest makes of the year both came at Ross-Ade Stadium against Purdue: a 49-yarder and a 45-yarder. He’s also 53 for 53 on extra points.
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