Hoosier Quotes vs. Southern Illinois
9/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 16, 2006
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Indiana Coach and Player Quotes
vs. Southern Illinois
Sept. 16, 2006
Interim Head Coach Bill Lynch
Opening Statement:
It was obviously a disappointing day for us, and we have to give a lot of credit to Southern Illinois. They're a very good football team that played a great game. They withstood the beginning of the game, changed the momentum in the second quarter, and really for the most part, controlled it for the rest of the game. We didn't bounce back really at any one phase once they started gaining momentum, and that's on us. I do think that Southern Illinois is a very good football team, and they deserve a lot of credit for the way they played today.
On starting Kellen Lewis:
We felt that going with Kellen was the best thing today. Once we got in the fourth quarter, Kellen got us into a nice drive, and we just didn't play well in that last situation. Obviously not the very last one, but the one before that. We got the ball down and had a chance, and we just didn't execute about three plays in a row and then turned it over on downs.
On the game:
It's a football game, but we didn't get it done for Coach Hep, so we all feel bad about that. I do think we have to realize that it's a long football season, and this is the third football game of the season. We have to learn from how we played today, playing through some adversity, and all those kind of things, and bounce back next week.
On taking over as head coach:
The emotions of a good friend going through what he went through this week, that's tough and there isn't a tougher guy than Terry Hoeppner, and we have to take from his lead and keep going.
On Southern Illinois' defensive play and its effect on Lewis's running game:
They were conscious of him and tried to keep him from taking off. We had our chances, we really did, and we just didn't play well enough or take advantage of field position. Turning the ball over will come back and hurt you in a close football game.
On the offense:
We had four scoring drives for touchdowns, but other than that, we didn't have rhythm offensively most of the game. We had a drive there with five minutes left, and we came up short. Other than that, we just didn't have rhythm offensively. We had way too many drops, and I'm not going to sit here and point at any one group because when you go back and look at it, you see so many things that come into play.
On the positives from the loss:
We're going to find positives, and there is so much football left to play in the season, that's the thing about it. We'll watch tape and we are going to move on. I really do believe we will get better.
Senior safety Will Meyers
On the game:
"Southern Illinois is a good football team, and they lined up and beat us today. It's tough losing a game we thought we should have won. We thought we had it in control, so it's really disappointing."
On the Southern Illinois running attack:
"Their running back ran well and they did something's to get on the ball. Their offensive line blocked well and they did a good job. They got on a roll with momentum and we didn't answer the call, we didn't bounce back."
Redshirt freshman quarterback Kellen Lewis
On the game:
"We didn't play as well as we did in the first quarter, and that gave them a little bit of confidence. It was frustrating and when you let them hang around, and give them a little help, they can come back."
On the Southern Illinois defense:
"They did a good job of switching up the coverages and moving guys around. We didn't come out with the same intensity that we had in the beginning."
Sophomore running back Marcus Thigpen
On the game:
"We wanted to come out here for Coach Hep and get the win, but we didn't get that done and it was a wake up call. We have to go out there and practice hard for Connecticut."
On Kellen Lewis:
"We have been practicing and it's not hard to adjust to Kellen. He's a good player."
Junior linebacker Adam McClurg
On the team's preparation during the week:
"We practiced hard like we do every week. Now we need to come out and execute."
On the game:
"We had it in our hands and its one of those things that just slipped out from under us."
