Here are some highlights from the Tuesday afternoon press conference with IU coach Bill Lynch.
Reflecting on Akron game:
Coach Lynch reviewed some positives and negatives from IU's 38-21 win against Akron.
"Our game was the way we wanted the game to go," Lynch said.
- Turnovers - Lynch mentioned IU dominated the turnover battle. He pointed out that all three INTs were around the same spot on the field.
- Big plays weren't factors - After emphasizing limiting the big plays, IU gave up just one big play against Akron (the first quarter TD pass on a missed tackle by CB Ray Fisher). The Zips had one more significant run after the outcome was already clear.
- Third-down improvement - The offense was 10-for-15 on third down conversions, while the defense held Akron to 1-for-7.
- The offensive and defensive line - IU didn't give up a sack for the second straight week.
- Finding balance on offense - "I was more concerned about that than the total number of yards" Lynch said. "When we become balanced, we're tougher to defend."
- Kicking game - "We had some very, very good things and we had some mistakes," Lynch said. Against Akron, Fisher returned the opening kickoff for a score, but the Hoosiers also had a blocked field goal and a kickoff out of bounds.
Follow the jump for his thoughts on the team's upcoming visit to Ann Arbor.
Captains for Michigan game:
Greg Middleton, Nick Polk, Jarrod Smith and Mike Reiter will be the team captains this week.
Michigan game:
Lynch mentioned that only three guys - Kirlew, Polk and Justin Carrington are the only current players on the roster who traveled with the team to IU's game at Michigan in 2005. All three were redshirted and did not play.
He said the game is a measuring stick game for the Hoosiers. "Anytime you get into Big Ten play, they are all measuring sticks at this point," Lynch said.
Last week, the IU coaching staff piped in crowd noise inside Mellencamp Pavillion to prepare for the two game road swing. With fewer than 20,000 in attendance at Akron, that's one-fifth the size of the expected crowd at Michigan. Will Coach Lynch crank up the volume during practice this week?
"It couldn't be any more annoying than it was last week," Lynch said.
Overview of season:
Lynch compared the season to a game. With 12 games on the schedule, the first three non-conference games he called the first quarter.
"We held our own the first quarter. In fact, we had a good first quarter," he said. The second quarter consists of three teams unfamiliar to IU - Michigan, Ohio State and Virginia - none of which any of the current players have played against.
Rodger Saffold on being three wins from a bowl game:
Rodger Saffold took a few questions following Lynch's press conference. Here's a quote from Saffold on being halfway to bowl eligible:
"We've got to take each game as another step toward our goal," he said. "You can't say 'We can get a win here and a win here and a win here' - you want to win every game to be in the best possible place you can put yourself"
