Indiana University Athletics
Head Coach Terry Hoeppner's Weekly Press Conference
9/27/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 27, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana head coach Terry Hoeppner met with the media today for his weekly press conference.
Opening statement:
"It feels like finally, we are back and preparing to play a game. It seems like it has been awhile. When you have been at it constantly for quite a number of days, then you break that routine. I would ask the question, is it good or bad? As I said, the confidence I have in the staff and in the players, we made it a positive week. If we had that week to do over, I would do exactly what we did. We went recruiting. We healed up. We hit the books. We had a good academic week. Then, we finished the week with three practices that helped us improve. Number one, we worked on the Hoosiers. That was an aspect. We didn't just play each other. We prepared for Wisconsin. Hopefully, we gained something with those extra days to work. Today starts the final week of preparation for Wisconsin. This is an exciting time. It truly is. The script was almost written perfectly. You go through this non-conference portion of the season, and then take a week off to regroup, refocus and rededicate yourselves. When we got back together Sunday evening, we had to get back to it. The break is over. Everything comes at you now.
Watching the Big Ten lately has proven that it is the most physical. It is like the old NFC Central division with the Packers, Bears and Vikings. The black and blue division. That is the Big Ten. We are the black and blue division of college football. We know that. We are going to have to tighten our chinstraps. It is going to be a physical football game. We need to match their intensity. They play very hard. It is just a good football team. When you look at it, it is hard to find any weaknesses at all. We need a great week of preparation. We need to go up there, be physical and execute."
On whether a 3-0 start has helped recruiting:
"We couldn't do any better than 3-0. Some coaches say that you don't want to talk about records, but I do. I am not going to apologize for the schedule. There was a lot of pressure on us to do this. If you looked at the schedule early on, it looks set up to be 3-0 going into the Big Ten. You combine that with being on nationwide television on ESPN Classic, people saw us all over the country. We had a reaction from across the country. You play on television and play well. Apparently, you could almost feel the atmosphere through the television. There was a level of excitement and energy in the stadium. We didn't get any commitments because of it, but I think we got closer on some guys. The level of interest has increased. We have everyone on the road. They had a good week of recruiting. It is a good time to go, when you are 3-0. Hopefully, that will pay off."
On the defensive game plan:
"Football 101. I don't think stopping the run is possible to do. It would be a good idea. Watching them on tape. I encouraged the players to watch the game on television. You get a sense of an opponent. Especially the one that you are going to play next. You learn things from watching. We always try to watch the television copy if we have it. You find out some things and hear some things you don't know about otherwise. My impressions were that Wisconsin is a throwback team. The offense is back to the future. They are going to be in a lot of big sets with big fellas out there. The offensive line really executes well and plays hard.
The back (Brian Calhoun) is outstanding. If we didn't have to play against him, he would be really fun to watch. Not only how productive he is, but the way he plays the game. He plays so hard. You knock him down. He takes big hits, then pops back up and hands the ball to the official. I am really impressed with him.
Their running game is something that gets your attention. They don't make any bones about it. They are going to run the football and then, they are going to run the football. We are going to try to contain, slow them down and at times stop the running game, but I don't think you can say you are going to go in and stop it. They do it so well. They are averaging more than 230 yards a game. It gets your attention. We spent a lot of time with the defensive plan."
On the improvement of Chris Taylor:
"So much of this game is mental. I think, collectively, the offensive line picked it up a notch, but then, the backs, especially C.T., just had an attitude change. We didn't tell him to cut different. He just cut it loose. Instead of waiting for something to happen, you have to go out and make it happen. Things usually do happen if you hit it. (Running backs coach) Gerald Brown's term is shoot it. C.T. started shooting it. There is truly no magic to it. He has a lot of ability, and he started playing up to it. We need him to continue that."
On Wisconsin coming off an emotional win against Michigan:
"Part of that other question is if the bye week came at a good time. I challenged the team that we needed to regain the momentum. We need the attitude that we had with the togetherness and playing your position. We need to have good practices. Today just needs to be a great practice. We can't settle in and get comfortable. We need to shoot it as a team. It is obvious that it was a big win for their program and the Big Ten. We only play one game a week. I am not counting on them being flat. I am counting on getting their best shot. We would be fooling ourselves to think anything less. They are a good team. They are going to play a good football game against us."
On the team putting pressure on itself:
"From day one when I started talking to the team about an attitude adjustment. We needed some confirmation. We needed more than we got from game one or two. We needed to play better and execute. We needed to see that the results of the coaching were paying off. That the results of their efforts were paying off. With the Kentucky game, it was very obvious the history of the series. The learning curve continues. The whole thing was set-up for a level of success or a degree of failure. I don't think there was anything in between. It was different. Now, we are going into the Big Ten. I think we put those expectations on ourselves that we needed to be 1-0, then 2-0, and then 3-0. I think this game will give us a good feel of where we are relative to the Big Ten. Wisconsin is not a run-of-the-mill team. This is a team that is in position to contend for the Big Ten Championship. Who knows? Maybe more. This will be a good barometer for us. The first few games you learn the basics that you can't take for granted. We passed that test. It doesn't mean we have arrived. It doesn't mean we can put it on cruise and maintain. You either improve or you deteriorate. We should have the confidence that what we have been doing works; we just have to do more of it and do it better. We'll find out relative to our competition now. If we play as good as we can play, if every guy and every coach is as good as we have, then is that enough?"
On preparing for a loud stadium:
"We heard that Michigan pumped in loud sound to the stadium. We will probably do something similar. You don't want to make it too much of a big deal. You also don't want to ignore it and think it won't be a factor. It will be at some point of the game. Our communication and our ability to function will matter. Our offensive line will hold hands. You know why they do that? The tackles can't see the ball, but the guards can. If you can't hear the count, the guards see the ball and drop their hands. The guards are holding the tackles back. When they drop their hands, the tackle knows something is going to happen shortly. The ball was just snapped. We need to get after it. That is why we do that."
On Wisconsin's defensive line:
"They really play hard. They pursue the ball. They are a really great tackling team. That is a great compliment to their defensive staff. They did lose that defensive line to the NFL, and they haven't really missed much of a beat. They are still able to play physical up front. It will be a challenge for our offensive line. Not only are they running the ball very well, they aren't allowing that many yards rushing. They are good in the trenches. It is important up front. We need to play well on both sides of the ball up front. That is why it was important for us to do what we did last week. We got a sense of some success to build some confidence. We are going to need it."
On fans at the Kentucky game:
"Crowds help win games. Our fans at the last home game were fantastic. I am looking forward to continuing to improve. The parallels to our football team and football program are similar. The team continues to get better, while the program continues to pick it up. The team and the program really aren't close to where we need it to be. We need to play better and we need to fill this place. This needs to be a hot ticket. It should be a special time. Going to a school like Indiana University, part of your experience should be to spend Saturday evenings at Memorial Stadium with your friends making memories. You want to come back and enjoy homecomings. To remember those days when the team was fun to watch."
On Lance Bennett:
"Lance Bennett is a special person. He truly has a knack for returning kick offs. He's really not the fastest guy on the team. He is obviously not the biggest guy on the team. Some guys just have a feel for returning kickoffs and he has that feel. He was a few yards short of finishing the one against Kentucky off. I know he wants another chance of doing it. Off the field, that is where the real plus of Lance Bennett kicks in. As a person, he is a guy that makes me feel good being around him. I don't know how you can ever feel down being around him. He is so positive and upbeat. He is a talented young man. I really hope he has a great year on the field. It just gives him that much more credibility off the field."
