Notebook: Cobbs Emerging as Potent Threat

By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com

Winston-Salem, N.C. - Simmie Cobbs, Jr.'s, emergence as a go-to threat on the outside took another step forward Saturday.

The sophomore receiver caught a career-high seven passes for a career-best 75 yards and his second touchdown in as many weeks. Cobbs score, a 6-yard catch in the red zone, finished a 10-play, 56-yard drive to put Indiana ahead 7-0 in the first quarter.

Cobbs' steady rise has provided a much-needed boost for the IU offense.

At 6-foot-4, Cobbs is the only of Indiana's three starting wideouts taller than 6-feet. He's talked about wanting to be the prototypical long, athletic receiver the Hoosiers have built receiving corps around in the past with players like Cody Latimer and Kofi Hughes.

With 17 catches for 244 yards through four games, Cobbs has already shattered the marks he set his freshman season when he had seven receptions for 114 yards.

With 5-foot-10 redshirt junior Ricky Jones lined up opposite of him, Cobbs predicted before the season even started that he and Jones could be a dynamic one-two punch for senior quarterback Nate Sudfeld.

One-third of the way into the season, it appears Cobbs may have been right.

IU Continues To Win Turnover Battle

Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson has stressed time after time the importance of limiting mistakes.

Teams that make fewer mistakes win more games, Wilson has said. There's no secret to it.

A major factor behind Indiana's 4-0 start has been its plus-6 turnover margin. The Hoosiers' defense has forced eight turnovers, the latest being sophomore safety Tony Fields' interception against Wake Forest, while the offense has turned it over only twice.

"There are several factors in games, but turnover ratio is a good part of it," Wilson said leading up to the Wake Forest game. "I think we're recruiting better athletes that are longer. It's good to see but we've got to tighten up, too."

Indiana hasn't finished a season with a positive turnover margin since 2009. If the Hoosiers are going to continue to win games, the turnover battle will likely be a factor.

Third-Quarter Success Continues

In what continues to be a statistical anomaly gone right for Indiana, the Hoosiers extended their third-quarter shutout streak to four games, holding Wake Forest off the scoreboard.

The Hoosiers held the Demon Deacons scoreless while adding seven points of their own on a 2-yard touchdown run by junior running back Jordan Howard.

Through four games, Indiana has outscored its opponents 51-0 in the third quarter of games.

Wilson's Word:
"This is the first game we've had the lead at halftime. No game has been easy for us. If we're not awake, we're doing a bad job coaching. We know conference play is coming and there's a lot of football to play. In this day and age, the ball can get downfield, out in space. You've got to keep playing hard. At the seven or eight-minute mark, we lulled around and let them back in the game. But Wake kept playing. We can do a little bit better."

Players Mentioned

Tony Fields

Jordan Howard

Ricky Jones

Nate Sudfeld

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