Lynch unsure of extent of injuries to key players

Receiving an Iowa punt four plays into the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 18-13 loss, IU junior wide receiver Tandon Doss moved the ball forward nine yards before sustaining a big hit at the IU 18-yard line.

Doss left the game after the play with a concussion. Prior to that, he had recorded seven receptions for 47 yards.

During his weekly press conference Monday, IU coach Bill Lynch said Doss wouldn’t practice Monday and he still was uncertain of Doss’ prognosis.

The same applied to left tackle Andrew McDonald after he left the Iowa game with an ankle injury. “Not sure right now,” Lynch said. “They aren’t going to practice (Monday), and we will know a little more each day.”

The fourth-year coach said the Hoosiers were “working” to get junior tight end Max Dedmond back from injury, as well as junior safety Chris Adkins. The safety dressed for Saturday’s game — his first all season — but didn’t play.

Belcher doing ‘fine’ after dropping late touchdown

Lynch was also questioned about the psychological state of his top receiver, Damarlo Belcher, after the junior dropped a pass in the end zone of Saturday’s game that would have given the Hoosiers a lead with 28 seconds to play.

Instead, the play turned the ball and win toward the No. 15 Hawkeyes. Iowa moved to No. 13 in the Associated Press poll after Saturday’s win.

“He’ll be fine,” Lynch said of Belcher’s drop. “It’s tough. That’s part of playing sports.
“Anybody that’s played and played at a high level, that’s going to happen. It’s part of being in the arena.”

Senior quarterback Ben Chappell echoed his coach’s sentiment.

“I told him it’s just one play,” Chappell said. “He’s made thousands of those.”

The quarterback spoke with the media in a walking boot for the second time in two weeks, though he said he didn’t wear the boot Sunday and only put it on Monday because it made his foot feel better.

Bouncing back from loss is tough, Lynch says

Lynch was also questioned about how his team as a whole would respond to the heartbreaking loss. IU is now 4-5, having dropped all five of its conference games.

“It’s hard. I’d be misleading if I said it’s not a problem,” Lynch said. “Sure it’s hard. But I think it goes to the character of the kids that we have in the program.”

Lynch said the team has discussed it and that he expects the team’s leaders to take a role in helping them move on to their next contest Saturday at No. 6 Wisconsin.

“Just reading some of their quotes after the game, that wasn’t a prompted response by me or anyone else before they went out and talked to (the media) after the game,” Lynch said.

Many of the players, including Chappell and senior safety Mitchell Evans, had resolute tones — just as they have had nearly all season.

“I think that’s how they sincerely feel about it, and I think that’s a big part of (bouncing back),” Lynch said.

Wisconsin presents an old-school running approach

The road certainly doesn’t get any easier for the Hoosiers as they head to Madison, Wis., for Saturday’s noon game against the Badgers. At 8-1 and rated the highest Big Ten team in the BCS, Wisconsin’s lone loss came at Michigan State.

The Badgers tilt their offensive attack heavily toward the rushing game. Overall, Wisconsin is the second-best rushing team in the Big Ten, compiling 216 yards on the ground per contest.

“In terms of running the football, they have a tremendous offensive line and a great scheme,” Lynch said.

He credited Wisconsin’s production and success to the team’s “formationing.”

“What I mean by that is that they will play with two tight ends, two wides, a back, and they will get in an unbalanced look and shift in motion, and you are constantly having to make adjustments,” Lynch said. “That’s a little different than the old throwback football that was one formation, I-formation, play after play after play.

“They give you plenty of looks, and they do it in the running game more than most
teams do.”