Indiana Head Coach Tom Allen

COACH ALLEN: We just played a great football team. There's no other way to put it. Coached in the SEC and that's the kind of team we oozed to play about every week. Especially the elite ones.

So the speed that they have and the size that they have is pretty special. So hats off to them.

Disappointed in the finish. Very proud of our start to the game and most of the third quarter. But there's no consolation in that. So very disappointed the way that we finished, especially defensively. Definitely some things we've got to address with our guys.

But really proud and excited for our program; the way they responded. The fans, the way they came out today, was special for us. I really feel like that there's something to build off of for sure. I'm disappointed that we didn't finish better to give them something to go home with.

But as I just told our team, a BreakThrough is a mindset; it's a culture change; it's an expectation. For me, we didn't finish for sure. But I'm really proud of the way everyone has gotten on board with us and supported us, and we're going to learn from this one and we're going to press on. Got a long season ahead of us and got a big game next week.

So, questions?

Q. You talked about being disappointed on the defensive side with the way you finished. What do you feel like went wrong late third, early fourth quarter?
COACH ALLEN: I think from a schematic standpoint they were doing some things that put you some (ph) basically you address one thing and it exposes another. We had a couple busts in assignments that, as I said all along, you make one mistake and it's a big play, and they are so fast, it's hard to catch them. So we couldn't afford to do that.

We're still not where we need to be depth-wise. It is what it is. We have to recruit better. We take out our No. 1s -- that there's not big of a drop off and right now there's too big of a dropoff. I felt like especially in some of those big plays in that third quarter, it shouldn't have happened. It should have been catches and tackle. But that's the part that frustrates me, giving up those kind of plays, because those, in my opinion, those are avoidable.

Q. Not being able to run the ball and throwing 65 times, - how much of that was a factor in how good Ohio State's line is?
COACH ALLEN: Talking to their guys, they think they got five first-round draft picks over there, eventually. That's not normal.

They are pretty elite up front, for sure. Made it tough. Yeah, you've got to run the football and obviously we didn't want to throw it that many times but at the same time, it's kind of what they forced us to do.

I think that, you know, we know we have to run the football and that's going to be a huge priority for us. But it was -- there wasn't the same matchups up front that you like to have each week. But they are a great football team.

Q. What can you tell us about Westbrook?
COACH ALLEN: Well, he'll have the MRI in the morning. That's all I know. We'll find out then. I've learned to try not to jump to conclusions. But we'll see. We'll see tomorrow.

Q. Is it a shoulder?
COACH ALLEN: No. It's his knee.

Q. You touched on this third quarter. What was it offensively you all could not regain that rhythm, especially pacing?
COACH ALLEN: Well, you know, it's like anything. When you're trying to get in rhythm as a tempo offense, you have to get first downs. When you don't get first downs, that affects the ability to do that, you know, and so in order for us to counter their size and their athleticism up front, we needed to go fast. And when you don't get first downs, you can't go fast.

So that makes it challenging, you know. But I thought our offense did a lot of great things. I thought Richard played extremely well. So we've got to get some key stops. We can't give up those big plays. I'm a defensive coach. That's on us.

Q. What was the day like for you going through the walk? This is your first game here at IU.
COACH ALLEN: It brought tears to my eyes to be honest with you. As I was walking through, just so appreciative of the support of the people here and just seeing so many faces, family, friends, people I've known for a long, long time.

So that was special, for sure. I really appreciate our fans showing up the way they did. I encourage them to continue to support this football team, and the guys that give so much for us. That was very, very unique for me and I'll cherish that one for a long time.

Q. You were pretty animated after they scored their sixth touchdown. Did something set you off? Is it a matchup problem? Effort problem?
COACH ALLEN: Yeah, it was effort, to me. The individual that gave that up, even the way he took the field, I got after him when I saw that. I almost took him out if I'd of had time. I should have called timeout and take him out because I didn't like his body language, and he gave up a play.

To me, that's the kind of thing that, you know, you control. You know, each young man controls that. So I'll be very animated on things like that.

Q. Special teams performance, looked like Haydon had a good game -- all three of his extra points but what needs to improve for going forward in the season?
COACH ALLEN: You know, we need to do a better job on our kickoff returns. But their speed, the way they kick it schematically is a sky-type kick, and they want to let their speed get down there and they are there in a hurry. That's one we have to work on for sure.

I thought the mechanics on our punt team, there was a couple situations where we didn't have personnel out there together. That's something we've got to make sure we get corrected but there were some positives for sure.

I thought Haydon, that's his first game, ever, in his life of playing football. You know, so he's played Aussie Rules, which is totally different. He was nervous for sure but I thought he did some good things. He's got a lot of talent.

Q. Simmy missing all of last year -- some catches --
COACH ALLEN: Yeah, he's way better than he was before. He's come back very motivated. Coach Heard, is I think the best receivers coach in the country, and everywhere we've been together, he's produced to that level. I think that, you know, Simmy has responded. He needed a guy like that to motivate him, to show him how it's supposed to be and hats off to him for responding. Yeah, he's a grown man and he did some great things with some really good athletes.

Q. Your thoughts on --
COACH ALLEN: Yeah, he just needs to keep being who he is. That's a big part of our offense and he's a matchup problem for sure. Proud of him. You know, I don't know how many catches he had tonight, I haven't seen every stat but he didn't have very many last year. We said it all along; that he was going to be a big part of what we wanted. Proud of the way he caught the football.

Q. The interception in the red zone early but bounced back, how important is it for him to get back out there?
COACH ALLEN: Absolutely. That's part of it. You're going to play quarterback, I told him over the summer that the head coach and the quarterback have to have the same mindset. You know, they are going to get too much of the blame when things go bad and too much of the credit when things go good, and that's part of those positions. Those positions demand that and you have to be able to take it.

So you make a mistake, you've got to flush it. It was a tipped ball that he threw and had it not been tipped, it would have been a touchdown. That was a pretty critical point in the game. He's learned. That's part of his growth is to be able to make a mistake and flush it, because he's got to protect the football. We did have that fumble later on, have to work on that. Obviously our plan was to get the ball out fast and we were able to do that most of the time.

Q. The pressure tonight, just the one sack --
COACH ALLEN: You know, biggest thing is it's more, you know, what they were doing in the routes, you know, because you've got to be able -- to get pressure, there's certain things you have to do coverage-wise, and there's matchup problems with that, with the speed. You know, and so we try to do quite a bit of dropping where we covered with eight, just because that's something that I feel like with the quarterback like that that's not an accurate quarterback, that's what you try to do.

And so didn't really expect us to get a bunch of sacks on because of the way we approached it but we just wanted to -- and even the ones that he got were just caught underneath and it wasn't like they just ran down the field on us. We were just trying to -- it's a matter of, it's a chess match and if you're going to pressure, you're going to play certain coverages behind that.

Q. You guys went for a couple fourth downs, which might have been in field goal range. What was Griffin Oakes' range tonight?
COACH ALLEN: Well, you know, based on what direction you're going; he's in the mid-40s range. He's at about 50 yards before but tough into the wind. I knew field goals weren't going to beat this team. So we were very -- we were going to be aggressive. You know, that was our approach.

Q. What did you like about your team in the first two and a half quarters?
COACH ALLEN: They played Indiana Football. That's what I would say. We're going to build off of that. We played a great football team that more than likely will be playing in the Final Four. So that's what I would predict.

So bottom line is that for two and a half quarters, went toe-to-toe with them. We're leading them, and weren't able to finish. So that's on me. So we can talk about BreakThrough and I'm not going to quit talking about it because BreakThrough is not one game. BreakThrough is a mindset and BreakThrough is a culture and BreakThrough is an expectation, and that's where we're headed to.

Bottom line is, great opportunity tonight, we didn't take full advantage of it. Hats off to Ohio State for being a great football team. We're going to learn from this game, come back next week and be better.

Indiana Player Quotes
Richard Lagow:
On his mindset coming into the game against the No. 2 team in the country…
"My mindset is I'll do whatever it takes to win a football game. Just have to learn to adjust.
Hats off to them, they played a great game. It really was about us, our execution at times wasn't what we needed. The plays we were making in the first and second quarter we weren't making (in the second half), and it just comes down to execution."

On building a relationship between him and Simmie Cobbs…
"It was good to connect with him (Simmie) a couple times. The connection between Simmie and I last year wasn't what it is now, before he got hurt. Him getting hurt was terrible, but it gave us a lot of time after his recovery to get our timing down and a relationship built."

Was the game plan to throw the ball as much as you did?
"I didn't realize we threw it 65 times, but whatever it takes to win a game."

On what the team takes away from this game moving forward…
"We have a lot to build on moving forward, 100 percent. This football team is going to win a lot of games. In the second half, it came down to execution, disappointing outcome, but proud of the fight from the entire team."

Simmie Cobbs Jr.:
On getting back out on the field this season…
"It was great to be back out there; I put a lot of work in during rehab. To go from my sophomore season getting hurt early to have this performance is just a blessing. My teammates, linemen and quarterback helped me get it done."

On his chemistry with Richard Lagow…
"We have a bond, but it's really about repetition. Me and him, hanging out, talking, watching film- breaking out everything, the little things."

On what to take away from this game…
"We know we have a lot of talent. We knew this was going to be a hard-fought game and it would come down to who would make the most plays. We left a lot of plays out there on the field, but our confidence is still high, it's the first game and doesn't dictate our season moving forward. We are looking forward to Virginia next week."

Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer

Opening Statement…
"We will take 1-0 on the road, and a Big Ten victory. Much compliments and respect to our opponent, like we always have against Indiana. The 3^rd quarter was obviously the change in the game. J.T. (Barrett) still miss fired on some deep ball, but the crossing routes were working big for us. Our defense was exposed big time in the first half, our pass defense was awful. It was not complicated, they were just picking on the corners. The corners have got to step up, and see what's coming in nine days against Oklahoma. If we don't get that right, that's a problem. We just have to get some things fixed, but game one and two you identify the problems, fix them, and get going."

On the overall team play of Ohio State…
"I think it was a good first game. Obviously we made such an emphasis on deep balls, and I am somewhat disappointed because they bobbled it a little bit. That's why you go to work, give them the day off tomorrow, and go back to work on Saturday. The effort is there, our receivers played their tails off. We just have to execute. I thought they blocked the perimeter. I thought they did an excellent job when they turned and got body on body. Johnnie Dixon's and Parris' (Campbell) downfield blocks were great. We will get better on the deep ball, everything else was outstanding."

On Ohio State running back K.J. Dobbins…
"I wasn't surprised at all. I kind of tempered my emotions with you guys early on, because we have seen that since spring practice. He has had a hell of a camp. Mike Webber could have went tonight, he's about 80%, and he was on call. We get Mike back next week, and that is going to be a nice one-two punch. J.K. has even more in the tank, I don't think he had a big hit today. His long was only 35 yards, and he has breakaway speed. He was close a few times."

On the play of the Ohio State cornerbacks late in the game…
"I will have to see the videotape, obviously they must have played better. I was so much involved with the offense and I kept looking up saying, 'What the heck is going on here.' I saw back shoulder fades and fades, and then they just seemed to play much better."

Postgame Quotes - #2 Ohio State at Indiana

Indiana Head Coach Tom Allen

Players Mentioned

Simmie Cobbs Jr.

Richard Lagow

Griffin Oakes

Indiana University Athletics

Postgame Quotes - #2 Ohio State at Indiana

Indiana Head Coach Tom Allen

Players Mentioned

Simmie Cobbs Jr.

Richard Lagow

Griffin Oakes

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