Indiana University Athletics
Wilson Remains Confident Heading Into East Lansing
10/22/2015 3:02:00 PM | Football
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Kevin Wilson hasn't strayed too far away from his script this season.
Good or bad, he's repeatedly said his team needed to move on to the next play. It's a mantra his players have seemingly embraced all year.
Through success and failure, Wilson's message hasn't changed, nor will it change when Indiana (4-3, 0-3) plays Michigan State (7-0, 3-0) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in East Lansing, Mich.
"You're not going to play well and beat Michigan State and programs like that by sitting around hoping they have an off day," Wilson said. "They're not going to be perfect, but you have to aggressively go after the opponent."
Wilson doesn't necessarily think his team has to do anything differently against Michigan State. Talent wise, he's backed his team from the early stages of the season and hasn't backed off his comments since.
"This is a good football team that's close to exploding and getting over the hump," Wilson said. "We haven't figured it out and we're not great, but this is a really good football team. We're getting close to playing good football. We want to start doing that more consistently."
That consistency factor is where Wilson's "next play" mantra comes in. Indiana started playing inconsistently when players lost focus after building a double-digit lead against Rutgers, which he said ultimately ended up costing the Hoosiers a win.
Wilson placed added responsibility with his seniors and team leaders this week at practice to embrace their roles and keep their teammates focused.
They've responded with what Wilson said was a high-energy week of practice heading into a rivalry game with the Spartans for the Old Brass Spittoon.
"We're trying to keep the team with a positive energy," Wilson said. "We're not sugar coating anything, but continuing to improve. Continuing to bring the fight and energy."
Wilson said more than anything, he's looking for his team to be assertive this weekend against a Michigan State team that's won 33 of its last 36 games. IU has played some of its best football this season when playing proactive, not reactive.
Wilson's fine with players making mistakes if it means they're trying to make a play because the good and bad could balance out. That's the type of defensive attitude that's led to 13 takeaways this season, led to explosive offensive plays and made all but one game being decided in the fourth quarter.
"We're sitting here as a team that's disappointed, and at the same time, we've played enough good football," Wilson said. "We know we're a good football team, and we expect to keep playing and we're going to have our best week.
"It's going to be a tough, tough challenge against Michigan State, but we're going to do everything we can to continue to improve, get better, put a plan together and go up there and play as well as we can."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Kevin Wilson hasn't strayed too far away from his script this season.
Good or bad, he's repeatedly said his team needed to move on to the next play. It's a mantra his players have seemingly embraced all year.
Through success and failure, Wilson's message hasn't changed, nor will it change when Indiana (4-3, 0-3) plays Michigan State (7-0, 3-0) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in East Lansing, Mich.
"You're not going to play well and beat Michigan State and programs like that by sitting around hoping they have an off day," Wilson said. "They're not going to be perfect, but you have to aggressively go after the opponent."
Wilson doesn't necessarily think his team has to do anything differently against Michigan State. Talent wise, he's backed his team from the early stages of the season and hasn't backed off his comments since.
"This is a good football team that's close to exploding and getting over the hump," Wilson said. "We haven't figured it out and we're not great, but this is a really good football team. We're getting close to playing good football. We want to start doing that more consistently."
That consistency factor is where Wilson's "next play" mantra comes in. Indiana started playing inconsistently when players lost focus after building a double-digit lead against Rutgers, which he said ultimately ended up costing the Hoosiers a win.
Wilson placed added responsibility with his seniors and team leaders this week at practice to embrace their roles and keep their teammates focused.
They've responded with what Wilson said was a high-energy week of practice heading into a rivalry game with the Spartans for the Old Brass Spittoon.
"We're trying to keep the team with a positive energy," Wilson said. "We're not sugar coating anything, but continuing to improve. Continuing to bring the fight and energy."
Wilson said more than anything, he's looking for his team to be assertive this weekend against a Michigan State team that's won 33 of its last 36 games. IU has played some of its best football this season when playing proactive, not reactive.
Wilson's fine with players making mistakes if it means they're trying to make a play because the good and bad could balance out. That's the type of defensive attitude that's led to 13 takeaways this season, led to explosive offensive plays and made all but one game being decided in the fourth quarter.
"We're sitting here as a team that's disappointed, and at the same time, we've played enough good football," Wilson said. "We know we're a good football team, and we expect to keep playing and we're going to have our best week.
"It's going to be a tough, tough challenge against Michigan State, but we're going to do everything we can to continue to improve, get better, put a plan together and go up there and play as well as we can."
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