Indiana University Athletics
Gibran Hamdan Press Conference
10/22/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
October 22, 2002
Bloomington, Ind. -
Q: Talk about what happened in your mind with the mental attitude of the team. Did you notice it?
"I would say that I noticed it throughout the week, but I wouldn't say it was the reason that we didn't perform as well as we should have against Iowa. There are a lot of things that go into it especially with a young program and you have to understand how to deal with successes as well as failures. I think that it might have played a little part, the success we had against Wisconsin in possibly not performing as well against Iowa, but I also think that we did a good job and the coaching staff did a good job in preparing us for the Iowa game. We prepared enough to win, it is unfortunate that we didn't make the plays to do so."
Q: IU has struggled on the road in the past, is that a mental thing?
"I don't think that there is anything to point to. There are a lot of factors when you go on the road, you are traveling to another destination, you are not sleeping in your own bed, and you are going into a hostile environment. There are a lot of things that go into that, but essentially what it comes down to is that it is a football game on a field. It is a matter of going into a hostile environment and playing well. The field is the same dimensions and our game plan is going to be solid. There is nothing that is hanging over our heads."
Q: Would you make an adjustment as a quarterback when you play on Astroturf?
"I believe that their turf is very similar to the Utah turf, and what I noticed against Utah, is that it is not true Astroturf. From the Utah game, I felt the surface was great to play on, I didn't feel that it was that much of a difference from the grass. I don't think that we have to make an adjustment or compensate for it. It is going to be important to go out there in warm ups and understand what you can do on the turf and what kind of things you might not be able to do that you would be able to do on grass. From a standpoint of timing I don't think that anything should be different."
Q: Why did the yards seem to get tougher when in the red zone?
"The area to work with is smaller, the defense has to defend less of a width and depth. There are a lot of things that play into it and obviously my decision making wasn't as good in the red zone as it was out in the field, and that is something that I need to work on. My decision making in the red zone doubles in importance as it does when you are out in the middle of the field."
Q: Did the interceptions affect you mentally?
"From a standpoint of disappointment and hurting the team and not being able to lead the team to score, it affects you in that regards, because a good quarterback in my mind is somebody that can lead their team to touchdowns. When you are hurting the team by throwing interceptions, that affects you from a standpoint that you weren't successful in that regards. From a standpoint where it affects me to where I am going to be hesitant, that will never be the case from me and I will never play the position that way. I am going to go out and throw the ball as I did this week and the week before. This game is a game of inches and if you start thinking about not throwing interceptions, you can get yourself in a lot of trouble. I am going to go out and use the game plan and throw the balls that need to be thrown, this time throwing it to the guys on my team."
Q: How does good practice lead to good games? How did last weeks practice affect this past game?
"Everything is relative. I thought that we had a tremendous week of practice the week before the Wisconsin game. I don't have the right to talk about that because I have never been a coach and I have never seen it from that standpoint. As a player, when you practice well it gives you confidence and it gives confidence in your teammates and it builds a chemistry going into the game that everybody knows what they are doing and things should run very smoothly. A good week of practice in terms of a players mind will get you confidence and get you prepared for the upcoming week. I thought that the guys were prepared and the coaching staff prepared us well. That is in the past and what we need to worry about is practice this week."
Q: You've played three ranked teams, and now you are going up against three teams that are struggling. Can you talk about that opportunity?
"We have played some talented opponents, but I think that everybody in this conference is talented. I don't think that this team going into games is thinking about rankings and the rankings of the teams that we are playing at the time. We go into a game thinking that that is our opponent for the week. Nothing that the Associative Press or ESPN tells me is going to tell me anything about their team, I turn on the film and see what I see. It is a matter of going out and executing. Any team can beat any other team on any Saturday in the Big Ten, that is something that we all know."
