Talk of The Rock: Purdue Edition
IDS football beat reporters Max McCombs and Alex McCarthy and columnist Justin Albers discuss Indiana's 33-25 loss to Purdue, what it means for the Hoosiers and where they are going from here.
260 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
IDS football beat reporters Max McCombs and Alex McCarthy and columnist Justin Albers discuss Indiana's 33-25 loss to Purdue, what it means for the Hoosiers and where they are going from here.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In the 87th battle between IU and Purdue for the Old Oaken Bucket, the old rivals stayed close for most of the game, but in the end, the Boilermakers reclaimed the Bucket with a 33-25 victory.Even though today marks senior day for 20 Hoosiers, underclassmen have led the offense for IU. True freshman Tre Roberson started under center for IU, completing 17 of 26 passes for 147 yards, while sophomore Stephen Houston leads IU with 129 rushing yards, including a 52-yard touchdown run in the opening quarter. True freshman D'Angelo Roberts has also been involved in the run game, scoring on a six-yard run in the first quarter and a five-yard run in the fourth quarter.After Houston's touchdown run, Purdue put together a touchdown drive of its own, ending with a 15-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Caleb TerBush to junior wide receiver Antavian Edison.The two teams exchanged field goals in the second quarter, as Purdue's senior Carson Wiggs hit a 29-yard field goal and sophomore Mitch Ewald made a 32-yard field goal for IU. The ensuing kickoff resulted in an 81-yard return to inside IU's 10-yard line. Junior running back Ralph Bolden scored on the next play from eight yards out, tying the game at 17 points apiece. Wiggs gave the Boilermakers a 23-17 while making two field goals in the final five minutes of the half, one from 43 yards away and one from 48.The third quarter was filled with fruitless drives from both teams, but Purdue opened the fourth quarter with another Wiggs field goal to make it a two-score game with just over 13 minutes remaining, and then scored on a short Edison run with 11 minutes left to make it 33-17.With 5:26 remaining in the game, Purdue downed a punt at the IU one-yard line, putting the Hoosiers into a situation where they had to march 99 yards and convert a two-point conversion to tie. After a pair of first downs, Roberson threw deep for true freshman Nick Stoner, but Purdue junior defensive back Josh Johnson intercepted the pass to effectively seal the victory for Purdue.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The seats of Memorial Stadium have glowed red this week with from light of theconstantly illuminated scoreboard. It has beamed one message all weekwithout fail: Beat Purdue.Not only has the scoreboard been stuck on Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. matchup againstPurdue (5-6, 3-4), but IU Coach Kevin Wilson said he has noticed talk about the Old Oaken Bucket his entire time at IU.“Since I’ve been here, that’s what everyone here talks about and not every school is lucky enough to have a rival,” Wilson said. “It’s great that in our situation, we have one and I think that’s one of the unique things of sports is when you are blessed with that opportunity.”Since the trophy was first awarded in 1925, Purdue leads the series with a 56-27-3 record, but the Hoosiers (1-10, 0-7) have won two of the last four Bucket games, including last season. If they were to beat the Boilermakers Saturday, it wouldbe the first back-to-back Hoosier victories since 1993-1994.The Purdue defense might present some problems for the IU offense with playmakers like junior defensive tackle Kawaan Short, who ranks second in the Big Ten in sacks with 6.5.Twenty IU seniors will end their collegiate careers with this game by lining up against Short and his teammates, and Co-Defensive Coordinator Doug Mallory said many players could be playing their final football game.“You’ve got to make the most of it and it starts with the week of preparation,”Mallory said. “The light’s not just going to go on Saturday and all of a sudden, you’re going to go out and play this unbelievable game.”Wilson said one of his favorite parts about big games is the week leading up to the game, especially the practices. He said the team recovered quickly from its 55-3 loss last Saturday against Michigan State and there has been a little more bounce to the Hoosiers’ step.The excitement of the week is making the job of coaches to fire up their playersmuch easier, Mallory said.“I don’t know if it needs to take any motivating here from the coaches,” Mallorysaid. “Particularly, the older kids have been around this rivalry for the last four orfive years. You would think some of that would filter down to the younger kids.”Those younger players will also be playing the final game of a season filled withopportunities for true freshmen like quarterback Tre Roberson or safety MarkMurphy. The Hoosiers have played 32 freshmen (16 of them true freshmen) thisseason, which is the most in the country.Wilson said a number of players, young and old, have grown up cheering forIU sports, so many of them know the importance of the Bucket Game. Seniorlinebacker Leon Beckum said the experienced leaders of the team have taken itupon themselves to educate the underclassmen on the meaning of Saturday’s game, which is set to air on the Big Ten Network.“The younger guys, they need to know the importance of the game and the tradition it has so they can fight that much harder,” Beckum said.
Co-Offensive Coordinator Kevin Johns said something Tuesday nobody expected to hear before the season began: the Hoosiers have been lacking depth at wide receiver.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The 55-3 loss to Michigan State on Saturday cemented the fact IU would not take home the Old Brass Spittoon. The players, such as junior defensive tackle Larry Black, Jr., turned their attention to the next prospective trophy: the Old Oaken Bucket.“You’ve just got to forget it and keep moving on,” Black said. “It’s already out of my head. I’m ready to head back home and get the Old Oaken Bucket.”The Old Oaken Bucket is given annually to the winner of the IU-Purdue game. The Hoosiers (1-10, 0-7), who won the Bucket game last season, now look to bounce back from a game in which they allowed 470 yards of offense and 174 rushing yards to Michigan State, ranked last in the Big Ten in rushing.True freshman quarterback Tre Roberson, who started his fourth consecutive game, completed 10 of his 23 passes, throwing two interceptions. Though he was replaced in the second half, he said he expects both himself and the team to recover against the Boilermakers.“We’ll all bounce back pretty well,” Roberson said. “We’re all excited about the Bucket game. I’m excited about playing my first Bucket game, so I think we’ll all bounce back and get back focused and go ahead and try and get Purdue.”Like Roberson, IU Coach Kevin Wilson will participate in his first game against Purdue. This won’t be his first experience with a rivalry game, but he said for the team to find success against its rival, it must start with itself.“We just have to use it to figure out who we are as a team,” Wilson said. “The rivalry is part of it. The biggest rival I ever played was my high school rival. “Everyone’s got that big rivalry, and we are just lucky to have that big game every year and have a true great rivalry. We have to play better, though. The game is mostly about us improving as a team.”Among the positives from Saturday’s loss to the Spartans was senior wide receiver Dre Muhammad, who grabbed nine receptions, a career high.Muhammad spent his freshman year at Purdue, developing a friendship with a few of the Boilermakers, such as current Colts and former Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter. Despite his history, Muhammad said the game will have the same importance for all seniors on the team.“It’s the same for all our seniors, even though I was there my freshman year,” Muhammad said. “I got a lot of friends on the team. I would say it’s like any other game, but it’s not. It’s the Bucket Game, so obviously, it’s a big game for me and the rest of the seniors.”Moments after losing by 52 points, players stressed how important it was to immediately put the loss behind them and focus on the Boilermakers (5-6, 3-4) and the defense of the Old Oaken Bucket.“I’m ready to go back out there now, but we have to watch the film, get over it, make up our mistakes and get ready for Purdue because they’re a good football team, too,” Black said. “We need to keep the Bucket back at home.”
IDS football beat reporters Max McCombs and Alex McCarthy discuss Indiana's 55-3 loss to Michigan State, what it means for the Hoosiers and where they are going from here.
First Quarter, 10:05
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>During IU’s bye week, the focus was not on the Michigan State-Indiana rivalry. This week, however, all eyes are fixed squarely on the Spartans in East Lansing, Mich., junior center Will Matte said.“Honestly, before I got to IU, I didn’t know this was a trophy game,” Matte said. “Obviously, after being here for a couple years, we haven’t been able to play them, but I’ve been hearing about it, especially now. It’s game week.”The Old Brass Spittoon was put into effect in 1950 as the prize for the winner of the nearly annual game.Michigan State has won 40 of the 53 battles for the Spittoon and won the most recent contest in 2008. Just five players on the current roster played against the Spartans in 2008. The matchup will become more common in coming years, senior offensive lineman Justin Pagan said.“It’s not regularly (played) before, but now, every year, they’re our cross-divisional opponent, so it’s going to come back,” Pagan said. “We want to start off right and get the Spittoon.”When the Big Ten moved to a two-division system, each team was assigned a cross-division rival, and since Michigan State-Indiana is one of the oldest rivalries in the conference, they now will play each other regularly. A more commonly played opponent in recent years has been Illinois, which is also in close proximity to IU. Both Matte and Pagan are from Illinois.“It would seem like it would make a lot more sense with Illinois, because there are a ton of Illinois kids at IU,” Matte said. “It’s fun to just create rivalries. It always makes it that much more interesting when you’re playing for a trophy.”The trophy won’t be the only interesting aspect of Saturday’s game for sophomore wide receiver Jamonne Chester. Growing up in Detroit, Chester not only grew up a fan of the Spartans; his high school mascot at Redford (Mich.) Covenant Christian was the Spartan. Chester played both football and basketball suiting up alongside a close friend who would continue to wear a Spartan basketball jersey into his college days. “I grew up a Michigan State fan, man,” Chester said. “My boy Durrell Summers went there. Michigan State was at our practice, our games, every week. I was a Spartan in high school, but I guess not now. I play against them now.”Chester is still close with Summers, who played for Tom Izzo’s squad from 2007 to 2011. Chester also played football against some current Michigan State players in high school, including a game of seven-on-seven football against junior running back Edwin Baker.The rivalry with the Spartans isn’t the only game for a trophy remaining on the Hoosiers’ schedule. The final game of the season is against Purdue for the Old Oaken Bucket.“The Bucket Game speaks for itself,” Matte said. “That’s always a crazy atmosphere, and it will be really fun playing Michigan State for the first time. It’s someone new I haven’t seen and I’m looking forward to the opportunity.”The final two games carry meaning for the 1-9 IU team, especially the seniors, Pagan said.Co-Offensive Coordinator Rod Smith echoed Pagan’s sentiments.“Obviously, the season hasn’t gone the way anybody wants it to go,” Smith said. “We’ve been, for the most part, competitive playing with a bunch of young guys, so (we have) the opportunity to still go out and have stuff to play for. Trophy games, Big Ten games.”For the younger players on the team like Chester, the final two trophy games carry the promise of ending the season on a high that can extend into next season, Chester said.“It’s a big opportunity for us,” Chester said. “If we win these two games, we’ll have momentum going into next season, having both of these buckets and having something to fight for and hold on to.”
Senior safety Jarrell Drane, who has suffered injury problems during his tenure at IU, will miss the final two games with the ankle injury suffered early in the year, IU Coach Kevin Wilson said.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After IU lost to Virginia early in the season, players said they had to find a way to play well while having fun. For the first time since that game, players made similar statements after a 34-20 loss to Ohio State on Saturday.“It was just us having fun and playing ball the way we’re capable of,” junior defensive tackle Larry Black Jr. said. “We’re capable of doing that every game. We just need to do it more often.”Advantageous field position helped the Hoosiers jump out to a 10-0 lead, as the opening kickoff landed out of bounds and the IU defense forced its first turnover since Oct. 8 against Illinois.After Ohio State’s true freshman quarterback, Braxton Miller, put the Buckeyes on the board with the longest quarterback run in OSU history — 81 yards — the difference between the teams was never more than seven points until the final minutes. IU Coach Kevin Wilson said he wasn’t surprised at how close the game was, despite the 27.5-point spread.“We thought if we played up to our ability, we could have a chance,” Wilson said. “We talked about having some fun and playing hard and not worrying about mistakes.”Sophomore wide receiver Kofi Hughes, who led all receivers with eight receptions for 147 yards and a touchdown, said they found added inspiration from a newspaper article that claimed playing IU was like having a bye week.“That was our motto all week and coming out to the game: ‘Hey, it’s just a bye week. We’re just a bye week,’” Hughes said. “Of course, we’re not like that, and we came out with an aggressive attitude that we’re going to run the ball.”IU ran the ball for 159 yards but allowed more than 300 yards on the ground for the second straight week. Three Buckeyes rushed for more than 100 yards. Ohio State found the most success on the ground during the third quarter, in which they rushed for 148 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown run from Miller.“They were very effective in the third quarter,” Wilson said. “We knew the quarterback draw was going to be the lead play. Even when it’s not draws, you have to account for him, and that’s just smart football. To let him out was disappointing.”Despite allowing 34 points, players said strides were evident. Senior linebacker Jeff Thomas, who returned from a separated shoulder to play, recovered a fumble in the first quarter, and junior safety Alexander Webb picked off a pass from Miller in the third quarter and also led the team in tackles with 11.IU sacked Miller six times. Redshirt freshman linebacker Chase Hoobler had two sacks and compiled nine total tackles.“This week, we just wanted to prove ourselves as a defense,” Hoobler said. “We’re not hitting how we should the last couple of weeks, and for me, personally, I just had to step it up.”Black said he understood the strides on defense but wasn’t satisfied with the team’s play on third down. The Buckeyes converted three of nine third down chances.“We definitely took a step forward, but we’ve just got to get off the field on third down,” Black said. “We had them at third-and-10 or more on a lot of occasions. We just need to convert it and get off the field.”
IDS football beat reporters Max McCombs and Alex McCarthy and columnist Justin Albers discuss Indiana's 34-20 loss to Ohio State, the changing role of sophomore wide receiver Kofi Hughes, what it means for the Hoosiers and where they are going from here.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Both IU and Ohio State lost their first two games in Big Ten play. Since then, the teams have taken opposite paths to Saturday’s matchup in Columbus.While the Hoosiers (1-8, 0-5) have lost their previous three games by a combined score of 163-69, the Buckeyes (5-3, 2-2) have defeated two ranked opponents in Illinois and Wisconsin.Ohio State has relied heavily on its run game, centered around running back Dan Herron, who has rushed for 274 yards and a touchdown in the last two games. Despite the Buckeye rushing attack that ranks 36th in the nation, IU Coach Kevin Wilson said focusing on that dimension of the Ohio State offense would not be smart.“We can’t get lulled to sleep with their run, run, run,” Wilson said. “They hit you on a crack-and-go, they hit you on a double move, they hit you on a good play action because that’s their style. They are good in the pass game. ... They just get you asleep.”Like the Hoosiers, Ohio State has given playing time to a true freshman quarterback this season after an experienced starter left. True freshman Braxton Miller has seen playing time in the wake of Terrelle Pryor leaving for the NFL. Pryor completed 24 of his 30 passes for three touchdowns against IU in 2010.Both quarterbacks have the ability to run the ball, but Miller has not yet become the player Pryor was last season, junior defensive tackle Larry Black Jr. said.“I wouldn’t compare him to Pryor yet, but he’s going to get there,” Black said. “He’s still a freshman, so we still have to be able to take advantage of that.”Ohio State has been a fairly conventional, straightforward offensive team this season, different from the spread attack the IU defense faced against Northwestern last week, Co-Defensive Coordinator Doug Mallory said.“It’s two totally different offenses,” Mallory said. “They don’t spread you out as much as what we saw last week. They play in tighter spaces and they count on their size and physicality to knock you out of there.”Against a more conventional offense in Penn State, the Hoosiers allowed 16 points, the lowest total allowed by IU all season. Defensive line players for IU will have an easier time against this offense, Black said.“Coming straight off the ball, man on man, there’s a chance for you to make more plays,” Black said. “It’s kind of fun.”Senior linebacker Jeff Thomas, who missed last week’s loss against Northwestern with a separated shoulder, is expected to return, Wilson said. He added that after senior linebacker Leon Beckum played hard last week upon returning from injury, he wants Thomas to do the same.On the offensive side of the ball, sophomore wide receiver Duwyce Wilson is likely out for the season with an ACL injury, but junior center Will Matte has been practicing and should be involved. Though Matte was listed as first on the depth chart this week, Wilson said redshirt freshman Collin Rahrig, who has played center for the last two games, will likely also get time at center.Twelve freshmen started for IU last week, which is the most in the FBS this season. Mallory said the young players are going through a bit of transition, and coaches are trying to simplify the schemes for them.“When you’ve got a confused team out there and you’ve got kids out there making mental mistakes, you’re probably doing too much,” Mallory said. “It’s not what we know as a staff, it’s what the kids know, what they’re able to get out there and execute.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Two weeks ago, senior wide receiver Damarlo Belcher caught his 189th career pass, putting him just shy of the all-time Hoosier receptions record.He didn’t know it then, but it would be his last reception in an IU uniform.Belcher was dismissed from the team Monday for a violation of team rules, according to a press release from IU Athletics. He ends his IU career two receptions behind James Hardy’s 191 catches for the most in school history. Belcher led the Big Ten in receptions last season with 78 for 832 yards and four touchdowns.The Fort Wayne native leads the Hoosiers in receptions this season with 25, even though injuries have limited him to playing in six of the team’s nine games. He suffered a bone bruise in his knee in the third game of the season against South Carolina State.With his 25 receptions, Belcher has amassed 286 receiving yards this season with one touchdown, a 65-yard grab against Ball State in the first game of the season. Sophomore Kofi Hughes has played in all nine games and is second on the team with 20 receptions.Belcher served a one-game suspension Saturday, missing IU’s 59-38 loss to Northwestern. Prior to the 2011 season, Belcher was on the Biletnikoff Award Watch List. The wide receiver was also named to Big Ten Players to Watch List, but now, Belcher will be the one watching as his team plays its final three games of the season.
Senior wide receiver Damarlo Belcher was dismissed from the IU football team for a violation of team rules, according to a release from IU Athletics.
While 2011 marked the 99th Homecoming for IU, it was football coach Kevin Wilson's first as a Hoosier.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After struggling to gain yardage on the ground against teams like Ball State and North Texas, the Hoosiers have found a way to rush against Big Ten opponents like Wisconsin, Iowa and Northwestern.Senior offensive lineman Justin Pagan attributes some of the success to the changing attitude of the team.“It’s definitely a mindset,” Pagan said. “It’s something we didn’t have at the beginning of the year, but now, we showed that we keep pushing through it. We have that attitude to keep going, and we still have little stuff to fix.”In Saturday’s 59-38 defeat at the hands of Northwestern, both sophomore running back Stephen Houston and true freshman quarterback Tre Roberson rushed for more than 100 yards, helping IU total 319 on the ground.Through their first six games, the Hoosiers compiled 713 rushing yards as a team. In the last three games, they have totaled 759 yards on the ground.At Big Ten Media Days in August, players such as senior wide receiver Damarlo Belcher expected members of the wide receiving corps to be the standouts, not young rushers like Houston or true freshman D’Angelo Roberts.“I think Duwyce Wilson is going to have a breakout season this year,” Belcher said then. “Kofi’s going to play great, and we even have a couple of young fellas and once camp starts, we’re going to see if they’re going to be able to play.”There was no mention of Houston, Roberts or anyone else in the IU backfield. At that point, most questions were about who will play quarterback and how the passing game would progress. Houston was on hardly anyone’s radar.He transferred from Independence (Kan.) Community College during the summer and has become one of the regulars on IU’s offense in recent weeks. Houston has scored six times this season, more than any one quarterback on IU’s roster has thrown.“The more he’s played, the better he’s got,” IU Coach Kevin Wilson said. “Here’s a guy that shows up for us and again, we don’t know anything about him until mid-June, get him in here the first of July and now that’s three or four weeks in a row he keeps building.”Injuries have plagued much of IU’s receiving corps, from Belcher to sophomores Hughes and Duwyce Wilson. Belcher was suspended from Saturday’s game for a violation of team rules, and Duwyce Wilson left the game after suffering what could be a serious knee injury.Injuries and inconsistent quarterback play have limited IU’s passing attack this season. For example, Duwyce Wilson leads the team in touchdown receptions with three. Northwestern’s Drake Dunsmore had that many touchdown receptions before halftime of Saturday’s game.In past weeks, Wilson has complimented Houston on his ability to break tackles and run hard. Houston ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, adding three receptions for 32 yards.“He ran through some trash,” Kevin Wilson said. “He got more than what was blocked. I think in some ways we blocked a little bit better, too. Not that he was playing on his own out there, but he definitely took some one and two-yard plays and got six, seven, eight, nine or 10 a few times.”Houston gave a great deal of credit to the players on IU’s offensive line, as well as the coaches who helped establish his trust in the offense. The line had its best week of practice, Houston said.The offensive line has undergone many changes this year as a result of injuries. The Hoosiers lost senior Josh Hager for the season in the opening game, and junior center Will Matte has missed the last two games. Young players such as redshirt freshman Collin Rahrig, who has played center in Matte’s place, impressed Houston, he said.“We had a lot of freshmen play today,” Houston said. “I have confidence in whoever plays. Obviously, Coach does, too. He has the trust to start Tre, (true freshman wide receiver) Shane (Wynn) and we have freshmen on our (offensive) line starting, and they all did a tremendous job.”Shortly after the game ended, the focus turned to Ohio State, the Hoosiers’ next opponent, Houston said. Ohio State has allowed the fourth-fewest rushing yards of any Big Ten team this season.“We’ll see some different animals as we move forward in the next few weeks defensively with the type of defense and other teams’ ability to play great run defense,” Wilson said.
IDS football beat reporters Max McCombs and Alex McCarthy and columnist Justin Albers discuss Indiana's 59-38 loss to Northwestern, what it means for the Hoosiers and where they are going from here.
First Quarter, 12:30
Northwestern at Indiana
During a phone interview Monday, Warren Central (Ind.) football coach John Hart said true freshman quarterback Tre Roberson has "a lot of similarities" with junior Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson.