SUDFELD, OAKES COLLECT B1G HONORS
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana senior quarterback Nate Sudfeld was named Offensive Player of the Week and redshirt sophomore kicker Griffin Oakes was recognized as co-Special Teams Player of the Week, the Big Ten announced Monday. The honor is the first for Sudfeld and is the second straight for Oakes and the third overall in his career. This is the first time two Hoosiers have collected offensive and special teams conference accolades in the same week.
Four IU standouts (5 times) have notched league awards in 2015. Junior running back Jordan Howard was named co-Offensive Player of the Week following the Wake Forest game, true freshman safety Jonathan Crawford was named co-Freshman of the Week following the Western Kentucky game, and Oakes snared his first of 2015 following the Michigan game.
Sudfeld matched career marks with four passing touchdowns (4th time) and five total scores at Maryland. He went 23-of-35 (65.7) for 385 yards, the second-highest total of his career, and carded a career-best 195.8 passer rating.
The Modesto, Calif., native leads the Big Ten in passing yards per game (283.4; 20th nationally), passing yards (2,834; 24th), total offense per game (286.2; 23rd), total offense (2,862; 27th), passing efficiency (149.1; 33rd) and yards per attempt (8.5; T-21st), is second in yards per completion (14.1; 15th), is third in touchdowns (20; T-28th), is tied for fourth in fewest interceptions (5) and is sixth in completion percentage (59.9).
Sudfeld is first in passing touchdowns (54), 350-yard games (4) and four-touchdown games (4), tied for first in 400-yard games (1), 300-yard games (9) and 200-yard games (18), second in completion percentage (60.6) and three-touchdown games (8), third in passing yardage (7,140), completions (547) and 250-yard games (11), fourth in total offense (7,239) and fifth in attempts (903) on IU's career lists in 35 games (24 starts).
His five 300-yard games in 2015 are second, his 2,834 passing yards are fourth, his 20 touchdowns are fifth, and his 2,862 total yards are sixth on the program's single-season list.
For the second time in as many weeks, Oakes matched an IU single-game record with four field goals (8th time), from 21, 19, 48 and 36 yards, hit all five of his extra points, finished with 17 points and converted his fifth onside kick attempt in six career tries. His kickoffs helped limit one of the nation's top return specialists, Will Likely, to just 65 yards on five returns, a 13.0 average. Oakes had three touchbacks and averaged 63.4 yards.
The Greenwood, Ind., product is first in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (90.9, T-5th nationally), field goals (20, T-7th), and among B1G kickers (13th) and tied for first among all players (T-22nd) with 9.3 points per game. Oakes has 45 touchbacks on 73 kickoffs. He leads the conference in touchbacks (8th nationally) and touchback percentage (61.6, 15th), and he is 2nd in kickoff average (63.3, 21st).
Oakes is 20-of-22 (90.9) on field goals and 42-of-45 (93.3) on extra points in 2015. He is second in field goals, tied for fourth in PATs and fifth in points (102) on IU's single season lists. In his career, Oakes is tied for seventh on the program’s career field goals chart, hitting 33-of-40 (82.5), and tied for eighth on the extra points ledger, connecting on 65-of-68 (95.6).