In which Tim Beckman tries to answer a series of questions without being fired.
Oh, and he also informs us that Nathan Scheelhaase, Terry Hawthorne and Jonathan Brown are all good to go this week.
Here's the full transcript:
"I'll just start off a little bit about recapping last week - what we did, some of the things, some of the things we thought were necessary. Of course, we had coaches out on the road recruiting, but we did a lot of self-evaluation, which is what you do when you have a week off. It's not really a week off; it's more of evaluating what you've done, things you've got to do better. There's a bunch of things we've got to do better. But an opportunity for our players to evaluate the way that they've played, the coaches to evaluate the way that they've coached, everything involved in the program. We also were able to utilize last week to try and get some guys healthy. To utilize opportunities to get in the training room more and more. And we did a little bit more mental preparation, though we were out on the football field for three extra practices. So we utilized that last week realizing that those last games are done. We have five more in front of us. Were taking it one day at a time. I talked about challenging this football team to own the day. Which means basically `Hey, do everything to win that day, because it's one day at a time.' And that's exactly the way we need to take it. We've got a great opportunity to come back to Champaign and play in Homecoming, which we all know what Homecoming is about here at Champaign and at the University of Illinois. A very proud, proud tradition and one that we're excited about coming back home and getting prepared to play a good Indiana football team."
How would you evaluate yourself?
"Well, you know, 2-5 is not going to get any pluses anywhere. And that's something that I want to improve. I haven't been 2-5 before, so we'll utilize the things that I've got to do to get better. There's nobody perfect in this world, I think there was only one person who was perfect in this world. So I'm going to try and strive to get myself as good as I can become also."
How much did this team need the bye week now?
"It was at a good time, there's no question. To get guys healthy, to evaluate some of things we have done. We sat in there as an offense, I met with the whole offense, and we showcased the plays that have been our negative ones throughout the last part of the season. And then I sat with the defense and did the exact same thing, the negative ones. You can see the negative runs. Out of the 14 negative runs that we've had, 10 of them have been because of missed tackles. Make the tackle in the hole and it doesn't go for 40 or whatever it did. Make the tackle when you're supposed to, get yourself to the football. But then we showed positive ones too. Things that, `Hey, we are succeeding because we're doing it here, we're making the tackle or we're making the block.' It was very, very important for our players to see that success is just a step away if we do it the way we're supposed to do it."
What updates can you give on injured players?
"Jonathan Brown has been playing through a lot of pain these last couple weeks. We were able to utilize this time to get him back. Last night, he was the old Jonathon Brown, so that was very good to see. All of these guys, you know, there's guys that haven't been playing as much, that might not have been starters that really take pride in being on our special teams. Jack Ramsey hasn't played in the last two weeks and he's a special teams guy. You know, someone else has to step in there because we have depth issues. It's good that we've had that opportunity to get some guys healthy."
What is Terry Hawthorne's status?
"He's back. He's back to full status, and it was good to see. Again, last night we had a practice under the lights, and Terry was full Terry Hawthorne."
How have you seen Indiana grow throughout the season?
"Well, the maturity. The quarterback is a young man that we knew about a little bit about in his high school days. He's a very, very talented young man and you've seen that offense progress. Basically the last three weeks, just break down what they did against a good Michigan State defense, what they did at Ohio State and Navy. They are definitely getting better as that year progresses, with that offense that they're running."
Do you change the approach after the slow start?
"Stick with the plan, stick with what you believe in. Stick with what you do. It's been successful, so there's no reason why it can't be successful. So that's what you do. We're going to practice basically the same way that I've been practicing at Toledo, Oklahoma State and Ohio State. I'm doing exactly the things that we need to do to make ourselves successful."
Is the biggest challenge for this week's game mental or physical?
"I think a little bit of both, that's a great question. I mean, mentally, our team has to focus and realize - and I brought this up the other day - it's been a year (since our last Big Ten win) and we've got to get through that belief or whatever it is and play 60 minutes of football. I think also, we're playing a good football team. Indiana has moved the football well. They've done a very good job with what they're doing on offense. Giving up a few points too many on defense, but they're playing good football now and had a chance to win that football game. Really, the last three they've had a chance."
How do you except the team to respond after the week off?
"I expect them to respond like champions. Like they're supposed to, like we're trying to move this program forward. And I've challenged them. The same way I've challenged the coaching staff and everybody else that's involved in our program. We have to move this program forward. It cannot stay stalemated. And to move that thing forward, we need a victory. We need to move forward and get ourselves better each and every practice."
Is the Big Ten loss streak weighing on the team?
"Oh, I think there's been a huge effect on them. And it's one way that you just have to continue to strive to beat it."
How has Jonathan Brown has performed even though he's been injured?
"Courageous, I guess, would be the biggest word, because he hasn't been 100 percent and you can see that just on film. But it's not just Jonathan; Supo (Sanni)'s been the same way. (Both he and) Steve Hull, they've stepped up and tried to do what they were capable to do to try and help us win football games."