When Indiana junior kicker Griffin Oakes trotted onto the field for his first field goal attempt against Michigan State last Saturday, a new teammate was holding the ball for him.

That new teammate was IU redshirt sophomore punter Joseph Gedeon, the third placeholder for the Hoosiers' field goal unit this season. The change was part of what IU head coach Kevin Wilson hoped would cure the recent struggles of the field goal unit.

"After we had our blunder at Wake Forest, I asked Oakes, what do you want, because to me that's his team," Wilson said. "We addressed that [Monday] morning. You need to make sure, and as coaches we're going to help you, but you get your group right."

Oakes went with Gedeon because they practice together as specialists anyway, according to Wilson, thus creating a greater comfort level. But the change, at least so far, hasn't solved the field goal unit's problems.

Against Michigan State, Oakes missed his first two field goal attempts from 50 and 40 yards out before nailing a 20-yard attempt in overtime to win the game.

In the Wake Forest game, it was redshirt senior wide receiver Mitchell Paige who had placeholding duties. Oakes missed his lone field goal attempt in that game as well.

Wilson made it clear that he still trusts Paige and that Paige doesn't have bad holds. He just left the decision up to Oakes because it's Oakes' responsibility to get that unit right.

"It's kind of like, you know, a lot of times you ask the quarterback which play you like, which one are you more confident in," Wilson said.

Last season, Oakes made 24 of 29 field goal attempts, an accuracy of 82.8 percent, en route to earning the Big Ten's Kicker of the Year award. This season has been a different story.

Through four games, Oakes has converted on just five of his nine field goal attempts this season for 55 percent accuracy. Improved play from the entire field goal unit as a whole will be critical against an Ohio State defense that has allowed just three field goals across 56 offensive possessions so far this season, a testament to the Buckeyes' ability to not only limit offenses but force teams out of field goal range.

Going forward, Wilson said Indiana will still use Paige as a backup placeholder in case of injury or other another emergency situation. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Danny Cameron will also be available if necessary.

No matter who Oakes uses at placeholder, it will be his name that shows up next to the makes and misses for the field goal unit.

However, the ability and responsibility to convert those attempts doesn't fall on just Oakes, according to Wilson.

"He can only make a field goal when the other 10 guys do their job," Wilson said. "If you can't snap it, you can't hold it and you can't protect, the kicker gets all the credit. Everybody football play is an 11-man job, and right now that team's gotta get better."