Indiana University Athletics
Quoted: Week Eight vs. Michigan State
10/19/2015 4:38:00 PM | Football
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Old Brass Spittoon will be up for grabs at Spartan Stadium on Saturday.
Indiana players and coaches met with the media Monday to discuss this weekend's rivalry game and last week's loss to Rutgers. The Hoosiers (4-3, 0-3 Big Ten East) will face No. 7/4 Michigan State (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten East) at 3:30 p.m. EDT on ABC (ESPN2 reverse mirror).
IUHoosiers.com was at the weekly press conference and complied four quotes and storylines to follow.
Sophomore receiver Simmie Cobbs, Jr., on playing for the Old Brass Spittoon: "It's a pride thing. You're fighting for something your school can have if you win that game. We want to bring the trophy back for ourselves and our coaches and our fans and the school. It's definitely a big game for us."
As if Indiana needed more motivation this weekend, Saturday's contest will mark the 58th battle between the Hoosiers and Spartans for the Old Brass Spittoon.
The Spittoon has been awarded to the winner of the Indiana-Michigan State football game since the trophy's inception in 1950. The Spittoon came from one of Michigan's earliest trading posts and is believed to be nearly 200 years old.
The idea behind the Spittoon is credited to Michigan State's junior and senior classes and student council, who in 1950 proposed the idea of spicing up the rivalry with a trophy.
Redshirt junior receiver Mitchell Paige on the Rutgers game: "We played pretty well for three quarters. Looking back at film, we made a lot of plays. Made a lot of big time plays. Just, for whatever reason, things got away from us at the end. It's not anyone's fault. We all contributed to it. We were doing some really good things for three quarters, so it gives us a lot of confidence going into this week."
The Hoosiers spent Sunday reviewing film of the Rutgers loss and discussed ways to correct their errors. Paige said the fourth quarter was a breakdown where Indiana stopped playing the type of football it has come to expect.
He said it's comforting to remember Indiana's first three quarters against Rutgers went according to plan. This week's challenge is not letting off the gas.
Head coach Kevin Wilson: "I think we're pretty close, and I'm not trying to justify anything. We're sitting here 4-3, I kind of like it, because we're 4-3 and we're mad and we're losing games on the last play. And yeah, we're kind of getting close to where we want, because you're getting to where you're playing the football you want to play."
Wilson is by no means happy with losing three consecutive games, but he said he can't get too upset with his players because they're doing the right things on the field to win. The problem is their mistakes are proving costly.
Wilson said there's no reason to blame anybody or anything. The only solution is to keep fighting and trying to correct as many things as he can as the season goes and get back to playing the way the Hoosiers played during their four-game winning streak to start the season.
Offensive coordinator Kevin Johns on Michigan State's defense: "After a day and a half of film I've seen, I think they're pretty darn good...They present problems all over the place."
Indiana expects Michigan State to provide a similar defensive challenge as recent seasons. The Spartans have a Big Ten-best plus-nine turnover margin and remain one of the conference's three remaining undefeated teams.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Old Brass Spittoon will be up for grabs at Spartan Stadium on Saturday.
Indiana players and coaches met with the media Monday to discuss this weekend's rivalry game and last week's loss to Rutgers. The Hoosiers (4-3, 0-3 Big Ten East) will face No. 7/4 Michigan State (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten East) at 3:30 p.m. EDT on ABC (ESPN2 reverse mirror).
IUHoosiers.com was at the weekly press conference and complied four quotes and storylines to follow.
Sophomore receiver Simmie Cobbs, Jr., on playing for the Old Brass Spittoon: "It's a pride thing. You're fighting for something your school can have if you win that game. We want to bring the trophy back for ourselves and our coaches and our fans and the school. It's definitely a big game for us."
As if Indiana needed more motivation this weekend, Saturday's contest will mark the 58th battle between the Hoosiers and Spartans for the Old Brass Spittoon.
The Spittoon has been awarded to the winner of the Indiana-Michigan State football game since the trophy's inception in 1950. The Spittoon came from one of Michigan's earliest trading posts and is believed to be nearly 200 years old.
The idea behind the Spittoon is credited to Michigan State's junior and senior classes and student council, who in 1950 proposed the idea of spicing up the rivalry with a trophy.
Redshirt junior receiver Mitchell Paige on the Rutgers game: "We played pretty well for three quarters. Looking back at film, we made a lot of plays. Made a lot of big time plays. Just, for whatever reason, things got away from us at the end. It's not anyone's fault. We all contributed to it. We were doing some really good things for three quarters, so it gives us a lot of confidence going into this week."
The Hoosiers spent Sunday reviewing film of the Rutgers loss and discussed ways to correct their errors. Paige said the fourth quarter was a breakdown where Indiana stopped playing the type of football it has come to expect.
He said it's comforting to remember Indiana's first three quarters against Rutgers went according to plan. This week's challenge is not letting off the gas.
Head coach Kevin Wilson: "I think we're pretty close, and I'm not trying to justify anything. We're sitting here 4-3, I kind of like it, because we're 4-3 and we're mad and we're losing games on the last play. And yeah, we're kind of getting close to where we want, because you're getting to where you're playing the football you want to play."
Wilson is by no means happy with losing three consecutive games, but he said he can't get too upset with his players because they're doing the right things on the field to win. The problem is their mistakes are proving costly.
Wilson said there's no reason to blame anybody or anything. The only solution is to keep fighting and trying to correct as many things as he can as the season goes and get back to playing the way the Hoosiers played during their four-game winning streak to start the season.
Offensive coordinator Kevin Johns on Michigan State's defense: "After a day and a half of film I've seen, I think they're pretty darn good...They present problems all over the place."
Indiana expects Michigan State to provide a similar defensive challenge as recent seasons. The Spartans have a Big Ten-best plus-nine turnover margin and remain one of the conference's three remaining undefeated teams.
Players Mentioned
WR
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