As usual, IU coach Bill Lynch spoke to the media this afternoon. Here are some highlights.
Team making progress?
One of the thoughts I've heard this week has been the idea that IU is actually improving - it's just the fact that playing three straight games against top 25 teams (Iowa and Wisconsin the past two weeks; Penn State this week) has kept them from the winning side. Not that the Hoosiers are a great team, but if they were playing games against teams like Michigan State and Minnesota in the past two weeks - would they be posting wins? So I asked coach Lynch if he thought it was harder to guage progress playing good teams.
"Maybe in some ways, it helps you gauge your progress because you know when you do something well, you are doing it against a really good football team. If you are playing a team that is not as good and you have some success, you do not know if it is because you are executing well or if you are taking advantage of their weakness. The people we have been playing against have few if any weaknesses.
Lynch went on to talk about the improvement seen in the offense - especially the fact that the offensive stats have been better in conference games than the nonconference games prior to Big Ten play (presumably easier games). What do you think? Have you seen improvement from IU against Iowa and Wisconsin? Or is it still the same ol' IU?
Wildcat formation
Lynch was asked about the Wildcat (er, Wild Mitch) formation which was rarely seen on Saturday against Wisconsin. He said two factors limited their use of the package - 1) Wisconsin prepared well for it, and 2) Mitch Evans was playing on a bum ankle.
Follow the jump for Lynch's thoughts on the Wisconsin game, the upcoming Penn State game, as well as injury updates and game captains for this week.
Thoughts on Penn State
"Penn State is one of the quality teams you see at the top of the Big Ten. I think the characteristic you see in Ohio State, Iowa, and Penn State is that they really play great defense. Penn State's defense is very similar to Ohio State and Iowa's defense in that they don't give up very many points and yards. You really have to earn everything you get."
Lynch also talked about the experience of playing well in hostile environments already this season being competitive in games against Michigan and Iowa.
On the must-win status of the game for IU
"Honestly, we are not talking about that. Where we are and where we have played hard every game, except for the Virginia game, we have concentrated on the process we have to do each and every day to get better. Sometimes when you talk about a game being a must-win and everything you work for goes out the window, then you get away from what we have done pretty well."
Thoughts on Wisconsin
"Going back and looking at the Wisconsin game, I thought it was a very well-played game of football. I say that because the game was a good, clean, hard-fought football game. There were a limited number of penalties and there were some turnovers, but the turnovers were not sloppy. In the turnover Wisconsin had, the player was looking right into the sun and we caught a break. We were all having trouble in pre-game warm-ups looking into the sun. Ben was hit on the one interception, but I thought it was a well-played game.
"I thought our guys came out and played well the second half. Offensively, unfortunately we had the one turnover, but we moved the football and were able to establish the run. I thought our wideouts played well throughout the game and our defense was able to get some stops. Wisconsin is a tough team to stop the entire half because they are a very good offensive team. I am proud of how our guys responded after halftime after the way Wisconsin played the first half.
There were fewer questions about the Wisconsin game this Tuesday than there have been in any past Tuesday press conferences concerning the previous opponent.
Injuries
I recapped the injuries a few posts below, but here's what Lynch said concerning key injuries. Lynch said LB Tyler Replogle (head) and S Austin Thomas (shoulder) suffered their injuries in the Wisconsin game - both were listed as questionable in the preliminary injury report.
- On Replogle: "Tyler will be out on the practice field in full pads, but he will not be hitting much."
- On Thomas: "Austin practiced yesterday, but we have to be careful."
- On Ray Fisher's possibility of playing against Purdue: "I would really doubt it. You see him bouncing around out there and he is a positive guy. I would love for that to happen, but we certainly not counting on him returning right now."
- On Darius Willis being banged up: "I think Darius is a great back and a difference maker, but he hasn't been healthy. He is playing with a lot of different injuries and will continue doing so."
Game captains
The game captains for the Wisconsin game will be Will Patterson, Ben Chappell, Mitchell Evans and Terrance Turner.
