Indiana University Athletics
Head Coach Terry Hoeppner's Weekly Press Conference
10/4/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 4, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana head coach Terry Hoeppner met with the media Tuesday, Oct. 4, for his weekly press conference.
On how he thinks the team is going to bounce back after the loss to Wisconsin:
"I tend to be an optimistic realist. I think that the leaders on the team have a grim determination right now. There is not a lot of joking around, but there is also a level of confidence that was still achieved because we went toe-to-toe with one of the better teams in this league. You have to go test yourself. We didn't pass the test, but we didn't fail. I think there is a resolve. I have seen it with a group at 7 a.m. They are lifting all day and coming in the office to watch tape. They are determined, resolved and eager to get the bad taste out of their mouth. Those are all good things."
On how the defense played against Wisconsin:
"You analyze the game. They had 377 total yards in 62 plays. That is too many yards in that many plays. They had 243 of those yards in 10 plays. They had 134 yards in 52 plays. That is outstanding. The other 10 were completely horrendous. They had three touchdowns in those other 10 plays. How did those happen? Out of those 10 plays, two of them were good job Wisconsin. For 52 plays, we played them better than many have played them. You combine that with our turnovers and penalties. No one wants a moral victory. It was said about Larry Bird that he took the negatives and learned from them and took the positives and reinforced them. I told the team that Sunday. We'll build on it. These are correctable things. They aren't physical breakdowns where our guy just wasn't good enough. We have to coach better and play better. It will be something different this week. It won't be the same offense or same defense. Our players understand that. They have a resolve and pride. They care about this team. I am looking forward to practice."
On the punt coverage unit:
"We have to do a better job. That is the first time we have had a punt returned on us in many a moon. We pride ourselves on doing a good job on special teams, and they won the special teams battle. That is too many things to overcome."
On returning home:
"I am looking forward to coming home. That is an advantage for us. Definitely, crowds help win games. I am jealous and envious of that type of environment. I would love to have that for us. They do a great job. That program, beyond on the players and coaches, is good. I know where I want to be, and that is a good example of it."
On the penalties:
"I put together a tape of all the penalties on Sunday night. Not to embarrass anyone or ridicule anyone, but you don't want to be on that tape. It is an educational process. Penalties are caused by two things. They are usually caused by carelessness or over-aggressiveness. We want guys to be aggressive. We don't want to take their stingers off. We want them to fly around out there and play football, but you have to be smarter than we are at times. It is part of the training and education of the team. We addressed each one. We also showed the consequences. Here is where the ball would be, and here is where the ball is. We had some 40-yard penalties. We can't do that. We were being careless. There are some times that you just aren't going to get the block. Most of the penalties on our returns are like that. You just aren't going to get the block. We need to cut our losses at that point. We may only get the ball to the 23-yard line, but we don't want it on the 6-yard line. You can't start there and expect to be very successful statistically speaking. You aren't going to go the length of the football field on air, let alone a good defense all the time. It continues to be a point of emphasis that we can't do that."
On Blake Powers' play to this point and against Wisconsin:
"I kept saying it is a whole different game now. We are into the conference. Maybe I oversold it. I try and be realistic with the players. We are going into the deep water with the big fish. It was his first Big Ten game. I thought the crowd was a factor, but we only had one illegal procedure because of not being able to hear. Blake said he was a little nervous before the game. Some of the throws showed that, but the throw to Hardy for the touchdown was as good as it gets. The throw to James Bailey. You have to make those throws. Just because the guy is wide open doesn't mean everyone can make that throw. It was too much of being up and down. You want your players to be consistent and be in a position to make plays when they present themselves. Ted Williams said he would only expect one perfect pitch through the course of the game, but he was going to put the bat on the ball when it came. You have to be ready when the time comes. When the play is set up and it works, you have to be able to make the throw. Blake is a tough guy. We have to keep him from being too hard on himself. We win as a team and we lose as a team. I get too much credit and blame, and so does he. I remind him of that. That is the nature of the deal. That is why they call you the quarterback."
On special teams play:
"If you watch us in practice on a daily basis, the first thing we do is punt. The second thing we do is PAT field goal. Those are the two things we do every day. We have not been as consistent. It is a physical act that requires some success to build confidence. Kleinsmith is a football player who happens to kick. You can't downplay the importance of his field goal. It wasn't like they fumbled the ball at the three-yard line. They squib the kick and Casey Nowinski made a great play. We got the ball where he could kick it. With five seconds left, there isn't time for anything else but kick. We cut our losses and I also wanted to see how Joe handled the pressure. He knocked it right through. He'll put that one in his confidence belt. It will serve us all well down the line. He is the guy. We had a great week of kicking."
On whether it looks like Illinois has bought into Ron Zook's system:
"Yeah. You hear what they say and you watch them play, it is very evident. The Rutgers game was a gut-check. They executed down the stretch and won the game. They also went out on the road and jumped on top of California."
