Quoted: Week 12 at Maryland
11/16/2015 4:42:00 PM | Football
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana heads east this weekend to play Maryland in the first of back-to-back road games to close out the regular season.
IU football players and coaches met with the media Monday for the Hoosiers' weekly press conference leading into a noon kickoff Saturday to discuss the Terrapins (2-8, 0-6) and last week's double-overtime loss to Michigan.
As we've done every week, IUHoosiers.com compiled four quotes and storylines to follow as the Hoosiers (4-6, 0-6) continue to look for their first Big Ten win of the season.
Head coach Kevin Wilson: "My deal is we're going to keep working still. If we're doing it right, this will be the best week we've had yet. I think we've gotten better the last couple of weeks. That's our deal. Really good teams get better. We don't have the outcomes we want. There's victory and only victory, but we see progress, and we've got to keep pushing to get victory because ultimately that's what you need and want is victory."
After celebrating Senior Day last week, Indiana football heads to Maryland for the first half of a two-game road trip that will conclude in West Lafayette against Purdue. The Hoosiers join the Northwestern Wildcats as the only two teams in the Big Ten scheduled to play their final two games on the road.
IU is 1-2 on the road this season with the win coming against Wake Forest and losses coming against Penn State and No. 7 Michigan State.
Redshirt senior bandit Zack Shaw on the season's final stretch: "We talked about just going 1-0 this week. Coach has been really harping about going 1-0 this week. You've got to just look at this game. You can't be looking forward to stuff like that."
Indiana is trying to walk the line between playing with a sense of urgency and playing anxious with only two regular season games remaining on the schedule.
In one sense, knowing there are only two games left in the Big Ten schedule can add motivation. But in another, it can also increase the amount of pressure to play well.
The Hoosiers have long talked about the importance of resetting each week. That won't change now. Players and coaches continue to stand behind their "one game at a time" motto they've said time and time again over the last 11 weeks.
IU defensive coordinator Brian Knorr on his defense's ups and downs: "I don't know what it is about the third quarter. I don't know if our guys just feel more confident in what they're doing after a half of play. We get in, talk to them, settle them down. For some reason, I would imagine we're one of the best teams in the country in the third quarter. We certainly have to continue that. I think one thing we have to be able to do with our offense being so dynamic, we have to be able to get a few more 3-and-outs."
A lack of consistency has revealed two different versions of Indiana's defense.
IU's third quarter success proves how strong the defense can be. The Hoosiers have blanked their opponents in the third quarter seven times this season and hold a 102-27 scoring advantage in the period.
But then Indiana's fourth-quarter struggles show what happens when things go badly. Michigan scored three touchdowns on its final four plays last weekend to storm back in double-overtime.
Knorr's challenge to his players is to become more consistent. The talent and play-making ability is seemingly there, but it needs to show up more often for IU to win the one-possession games the Hoosiers have let slip away too many times this season.
Redshirt sophomore kicker Griffin Oakes on being named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week: "It's good. It's nice to get noticed a little bit. Obviously I'd rather have a victory, one less field goal and maybe a touchdown. It's nice to get noticed, like finally have a game where I feel like I stuck out a little bit. All the games I've had prior to this have been kind of like kicks that I expected to make. "
Oakes was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against Michigan last week. It's the second time he's earned the award in his career.
He set a career-high and matched an Indiana program record with four field goals from 39, 36, 51 and 24 yards. Oakes currently sits first in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (88.9), first among Big Ten pickers and second overall with 8.5 points per game and second in field goals (16).
