Indiana University Athletics
IU With Room To Grow Heading Into Ohio State
10/1/2015 3:39:00 PM | Football
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Ohio State is No. 1 in the country and has the nation's longest winning streak for a reason—the Buckeyes are good.
But Indiana isn't 4-0 by accident, either.
Head coach Kevin Wilson will be one of the first to say his Hoosiers are far from perfect. They're not where they need to be yet. But with each week, they've faced adversity and managed to make enough plays to come out with wins.
In preparing for the toughest opponent to date, Wilson assured the media IU will be focused on gameday. His players are familiar with Ohio State's track record.
"If we don't have a good performance this week, it won't be because we're getting ahead of ourselves," Wilson said. "We're very blessed to be 4-0, but we have a lot of improvement we have to make."
Wilson hasn't shied away from being honest in self-assessment.
Offensively, the Hoosiers have racked up a Big Ten leading 522.2 yards per game, but the offense has stalled out past midfield too often. Defensively, his team is yet to allow a point in the third quarter, but IU has been too inconsistent for Wilson's liking.
"To me, that's encouraging," Wilson said. "We're not always playing our best, but yet we're still seeing a lot of good things. So when you're playing bad, you can always get better. Well, we're playing pretty good in spots, and if we could just kind of keep synching and working and getting it together…It's better, but it's a long way from what I think it ought to be."
Ohio State didn't lose much from their 2014-15 national championship team in the offseason. The Buckeyes began the year as the unanimous No. 1-ranked team in the country and haven't lost grip of the top spot since.
The Buckeyes rank fourth in the conference in both scoring offense (34.5 points per game) and defense (12.2 points per game.) They don't have many glaring holes statistically, which Wilson said is a reflection on the way head coach Urban Meyer recruited and built his team.
"We know when you play in the Big Ten East, you'll play these guys," Wilson said. "And we embrace that challenge."
Glass promotes discounted tickets on radio
Indiana Athletic Director Fred Glass made a guest appearance on Inside IU Football with Kevin Wilson on Wednesday to encourage more IU students to take advantage of $10 general admission tickets for Saturday's game against No. 1 Ohio State.
With tickets quickly running out, Glass said Indiana expects its first sellout since the Michigan game in 2010. With the student section already sold out, filling a capacity crowd of 52,929 appears obtainable.
"We really want students to have an experience here," Glass said. "We want this to be one of those games where (students can say), 'I remember when Ohio State came in here and was undefeated, the No. 1 team in the country, defending national champions and it was a great game.'"
Glass also commended Wilson's work, saying the program's history 4-0 start is a reflection of Wilson turning the program in the right direction.
"Kevin says all the time that Indiana University is an excellent place," Glass said. "Excellent academics, excellent internationally, excellent in research. We should have an excellent football team. That's what he said about building, and I think he's done a fabulous job of leading this program."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Ohio State is No. 1 in the country and has the nation's longest winning streak for a reason—the Buckeyes are good.
But Indiana isn't 4-0 by accident, either.
Head coach Kevin Wilson will be one of the first to say his Hoosiers are far from perfect. They're not where they need to be yet. But with each week, they've faced adversity and managed to make enough plays to come out with wins.
In preparing for the toughest opponent to date, Wilson assured the media IU will be focused on gameday. His players are familiar with Ohio State's track record.
"If we don't have a good performance this week, it won't be because we're getting ahead of ourselves," Wilson said. "We're very blessed to be 4-0, but we have a lot of improvement we have to make."
Wilson hasn't shied away from being honest in self-assessment.
Offensively, the Hoosiers have racked up a Big Ten leading 522.2 yards per game, but the offense has stalled out past midfield too often. Defensively, his team is yet to allow a point in the third quarter, but IU has been too inconsistent for Wilson's liking.
"To me, that's encouraging," Wilson said. "We're not always playing our best, but yet we're still seeing a lot of good things. So when you're playing bad, you can always get better. Well, we're playing pretty good in spots, and if we could just kind of keep synching and working and getting it together…It's better, but it's a long way from what I think it ought to be."
Ohio State didn't lose much from their 2014-15 national championship team in the offseason. The Buckeyes began the year as the unanimous No. 1-ranked team in the country and haven't lost grip of the top spot since.
The Buckeyes rank fourth in the conference in both scoring offense (34.5 points per game) and defense (12.2 points per game.) They don't have many glaring holes statistically, which Wilson said is a reflection on the way head coach Urban Meyer recruited and built his team.
"We know when you play in the Big Ten East, you'll play these guys," Wilson said. "And we embrace that challenge."
Glass promotes discounted tickets on radio
Indiana Athletic Director Fred Glass made a guest appearance on Inside IU Football with Kevin Wilson on Wednesday to encourage more IU students to take advantage of $10 general admission tickets for Saturday's game against No. 1 Ohio State.
With tickets quickly running out, Glass said Indiana expects its first sellout since the Michigan game in 2010. With the student section already sold out, filling a capacity crowd of 52,929 appears obtainable.
"We really want students to have an experience here," Glass said. "We want this to be one of those games where (students can say), 'I remember when Ohio State came in here and was undefeated, the No. 1 team in the country, defending national champions and it was a great game.'"
Glass also commended Wilson's work, saying the program's history 4-0 start is a reflection of Wilson turning the program in the right direction.
"Kevin says all the time that Indiana University is an excellent place," Glass said. "Excellent academics, excellent internationally, excellent in research. We should have an excellent football team. That's what he said about building, and I think he's done a fabulous job of leading this program."
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