It's been a rough year for IU football. Fortunately, their game Saturday is a relatively
even match-up against the Boilermakers.
The teams will be fighting not only for their dignity on the field, but to avoid ending up at the bottom of the conference.
Coach Bill Lynch spoke to the media Tuesday for his weekly press conference and touched largely on the state of the team going into the storied Old Oaken Bucket game. Here's what he had to say:
On the importance of Saturday’s game:
"It's bucket week and I mean that sincerely starting when we got back on Monday. I know our guys are anxious and ready. Any time you have a rivalry game like this the last week of the season it certainly, no matter what's gone on before it, it's a big football game. I'm sure Purdue feels the same way. It's certainly the end for all the seniors in their college careers on both sides and we've got 17 that have put a lot into their football here and I have great admiration for them, particularly the fifth-year senior guys that have been through so much. They've been through three head football coaches, different guys on the staff, certainly what they went through with Coach Hoeppner, but they're also part of a football team that went to the first bowl game in 14 years. Obviously this year hasn't gone the way they had hoped, but we have a chance to do something about that on Saturday, so we're certainly looking forward to that.
On Purdue’s lineup:
Purdue has some outstanding seniors playing their last game, and you certainly have to mention Coach Tiller and the great respect I have for him and the tremendous career that he's had. I've known him for close to 25 years going back to when he was at Purdue as an assistant years ago and then when he came back as the head coach, I was coaching in the state. He's had a real impact on football in the Big Ten, really throughout the Midwest and certainly in the state of Indiana. He's done a tremendous job. I say this as a coach in the coaching profession, I think you could go around to a man and they'd all say that Joe Tiller's one of the really good guys that...He's a football coach's coach and is really enjoyable to be around, but I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. With that being said, you know, it's a fun week to coach and I know our players are certainly looking forward to it."
On the tradition of the Old Oaken Bucket Game:
"I think it's really good to have a rivalry game the last game of the year regardless of how the season's going. You only get to play so many college football games and there's great memories from all of them, but I think the memories of a game like this are out there and you know I think anybody that's played football here at Indiana through the years, they remember the bucket games and no matter where they're at they know it's bucket week. I think that's what makes it so special and particularly your older guys understand that. I'm sure we've got some freshmen that are redshirted that aren't playing that will understand it more by the time this week's over, but the older guys certainly understand what's at stake and certainly the memories that come out of a game like this."
On the state of Indiana’s offense:
"We're really fortunate that we got Roger Saffold back last week and that he made it through the game in good shape. Any time you're out and you come back you don't know, but he's in good shape and practiced yesterday. Pete Saxon made it through the game in good shape, Pagan in good shape as is Faulkner. We're in pretty good shape on the offensive line. In the backfield, we'll have to see by the end of the week on Bryan Payton. He did more yesterday than he did last week. Thigpen has made it through each of the last couple of weeks without any setbacks, so hopefully he's even better this week and in the quarterback spot, we are certainly as healthy as we've been in four or five weeks there. Kellen made it through the game any setbacks...Ben's cleared to play from his concussion and Mitchell Evans is healthier again than he's been. His injury can come and go, but I think we've got him back. We could use him all over the place like we were, particularly in special teams where he's such a valuable guy and once he got hurt, we lost him there. Once he was going to be a backup quarterback, we didn't risk him."
On the state of Indiana’s defense:
"Our defensive line is as healthy as it's been in a while. I think Deonte Mack is certainly moving better. Will Patterson is still going to be an end of the week decision, but certainly Replogle did a nice job filling in. And then in the secondary, Richard Council's probably where Will is, where we won't know until the end of the week. The other guys that played on Saturday made it through in good shape."
On adjustments made due to team injuries:
"I think offensively, going back to when the injuries started, that's when we kind of became that offense. I don't really feel that way defensively. We went from being a total spread attack, which is what we planned on doing, but when the injuries set in both on the offense, offensive line and with the quarterback spot, we had to change our plans a little bit and try to find ways to win games week by week, and I think we've had good plans. Now we were able to get it done and beat Northwestern. And then Central Michigan we had a lot of success and a lot of yards. Then when we were playing Wisconsin, we were banged up again and we knew that we had to try to slow it down a little bit, try to take a little clock and see if we couldn't run it a little bit more. It worked up until then end of the half when we had the fumble and then they kind of imposed their will on us in the second half. And then it was the same with Penn State. We felt like that's what was going to give us the best chance of winning that football game and it worked until the half and then they kind of imposed their will on us the second half again...I think that your identity is surrounded by the guys that you have healthy enough to play, particularly at the quarterback spot."
Related reading:
Who's got the edge in the Bucket Game?
Indiana vs. Purdue – One Year Later
Cupcakes? A breakdown of the IU Hoosiers 2008 Big Ten football schedule
What do you think? Are the Hoosiers ready for Saturday?
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