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INSIGHT BOWL

December 30, 2007

TEMPE, ARIZONA

COACH LYNCH: I can tell you on behalf of really everyone at Indiana University, in particular our football program, we're thrilled to be here and the hospitality since we got in town has been outstanding, and really, we want to thank all the volunteers and the support people with the Insight Bowl and the community. It has been great.
So we're now getting in game mode here as the day before the game and we let our guys enjoy the area as well as practice, but once we leave here, we'll have an opportunity to go out to the stadium for the first time and do our final walk-through and really get into our game prep tonight as we get ready for tomorrow.
We are thrilled to be here. We have a great deal of respect for Oklahoma State and their football program. They are well-coached and have great players.
We are looking forward to a great game. I have been able to bring along our captains that have been tremendous captains in this football program, and there is a lot of stories written about this team and this group, and these two guys were clearly picked by their teammates to be the captains in the preseason.
Josiah Sears, our running back, No. 42, and Tracy Porter our corner, and punt return man, No. 9. You will have a chance to ask them questions, as well. We are really excited they were able to come this morning, as well.

Q. Really, for the players, we're from Oklahoma, so we know you have been asked this throughout the season for us. Just take us through the emotional year that it was for you losing your head coach and then putting together this play 13, getting to 13. Just kind of tell us what that's been like for you, especially as captains and leaders of the team. Start with you, Tracy?
TRACY PORTER: The whole loss of the coach, that provided added adversity. The whole play 13, we have had that concept since he got here. With the loss of him, it was a hard blow for us, but we knew -- I mean, it was a test for us to see where we were. It drew us closer together as a family. Guys stuck together. The coaches did a great job of keeping us together.
As a single leader losing your coach, you have to step up even more than you would any other time. So, you know, it was a tough job for us as seniors and captains. I think we did a great job of pulling through.
JOSIAH SEARS: Yeah, I mean, I would reiterate the same thing Tracy said as well as how tough it was and Coach Hoeppner provided a goal for us and we also provided us a slogan. But a poem he always used for us was don't quit and that became our motto this season and has been for a while.
It was just incredible how through all the adversity that he lived in his own life and had to deal with, he didn't quit. He kept pressing forward and lasted and pushed forward as long as he could.
But Coach Lynch has done an unbelievable job of making play 13 our No. 1 goal, but also instilling in us a desire to play one game at a time, one play at a time. I think that has helped us as much as anything be focused this season and not worry about the past or worry about the future and just worry about the task at hand.

Q. Tracy and Coach Lynch, describe what you have seen from Bowman and if there is a player that you played against so far this year that he reminds you of, what are some of the general strengths and weaknesses?
TRACY PORTER: I mean, Bowman, he's one of the top receivers in the country. If I had to compare him to anybody, I mean, you know, I would say he's a little dissimilar to Hardy or any other receiver, for that matter, because they both can make plays.
He is a guy, if you mess up in coverage, holding the zone, he can find it and hurt you on your mistakes. He is a tough -- he is a good receiver and a tough test for us. But I think that we continue to prepare, we will be ready.
COACH LYNCH: And I think -- I agree with Tracy. He is a great player. We played against some really good receivers. Tracy has an interesting point as corners, they got to practice against good guys every day from spring practice on.
I think the toughest thing about defending him at Oklahoma State is the balance they have in the offense. So, you know, you can gear things towards a receiver. If you do that, you will make yourself weak in the running game. That's what they do a great job of exploiting.
Like any good offensive football team that has balance, you got to be able to stop the run. That limits some of the things you can do in your coverage. He's a great player, but he is a piece of what I think is a great offensive football team.

Q. Josiah, you touched on this. How important was it that Coach Lynch was given the contract extension? He will be able to carry on Coach Hoeppner's legacy and continue the consistency in the program for years to come now.
JOSIAH SEARS: I think it was a great thing, obviously. You know, for a lot of people, they were asking us all season what it was like to have a third head coach in our careers. And, for us, it wasn't a third head coach because Coach Lynch has been here since Coach Hoepp came and was the offensive coordinator for me. He was the leader and assistant head coach. It was really more of a transition.
I think as Indiana goes forward, it will be excellent for recruiting. I can't express what an unbelievable job he has done in leading us and just -- and teaching us character and integrity. He is a man of character and integrity and that's what you want as a leader. I'm thrilled that he has the contract he has and look forward to coming back to games and watching games with him as the leader.
TRACY PORTER: And I agree with Josiah. There is only one thing that can describe Coach Lynch getting the job as fitting. He came into a difficult situation. He was familiar with the philosophy.
He still had a huge step that he had to accomplish in bringing the team closer together through the tragedy of Coach Hoeppner. And I think he did a tremendous job in keeping the philosophy that Coach Hoepp had while instilling the whole "take it one day at a time, one step at a time" and let the little things take care of themselves and accomplishing goals each and every week.
Everything else, the wins accumulated and at the end of the season, his job opportunity, he got the contract. That was just great.

Q. Coach Lynch, can you talk about your side, the emotions of losing your boss, your good friend, Hoepp, what it has meant for the season, the strive for 13 and how it has affected this program?
COACH LYNCH: Well, it's -- there is a lot to that. You got to understand it goes back three years. Tracy and Josiah were there when Terry came. Terry brought an enthusiasm. He brought an optimism that was unique and you had to know Terry. And those that are from Indiana, from Bloomington, he walked in the room and there was a presence about him.
Every day was a sunny day for him. He was a guy -- he often talked about there were no problems; there were just opportunities, and that's the way he lived his life.
To say that -- he is such a big part of this program; always will be. You walk in our team meeting room, his program goals are on the wall. His poem "don't quit" is right there, be at the right place at the right time is there because we all believe in it.
I think that happened, we had great continuity and the staff stayed together. I think in college football today there is always so much movement. If you have a staff, nine assistants, you have graduate assistants, you have operations guys. We didn't have any movement.
Everybody stayed, and we were able to elevate a graduate assistant when I was elevated to the head coach and he took over the position that I coached, so all the players had the same position coaches when they went into meeting rooms. Matt Canada became the coordinator but he was the quarterback coach so there was continuity and consistency there that really helped.
The other thing, the players and staff, we all believed in what Terry brought. He was our mentor in a lot of ways. I had been a friend of his for over 25 years, and was a guy that I had such respect for, and when I had the opportunity to join him, I said this before, it's one of those things, I competed against him for so many years. You get to the point you can't beat them, you might as well join them. That's kind of where I was.
But, you know, I think you talk to any of our players or you can hear what Josiah or Tracy are saying, his influence on this program and the people in the program was immense and always will be.
But he also, through his illness, constantly kept telling us this is not an excuse, this is not a distraction. You've got to keep moving forward, and that's certainly what we've tried to do.

Q. A few minutes ago Coach Lynch said Indiana is better now than Alabama was at the same time last year. For all three of you, has it sunk in how far this program has come in such a short time to be compared to Alabama?
COACH LYNCH: No. Honestly, one of the things that I think -- we got to give these kids a lot of credit because they become a good football team and it has been a three-year process. I think we've seen it come about.
And those of you that followed us a great deal from about the middle of last season on, we became a pretty good football team. We had our struggles in there early on and that's when Hoepp had the second surgery.
Once we bounced out of that, I think we became a pretty good football team. We came up short going to a Bowl game a year ago. We went into the off-season feeling like we are going to be a good football team.
We went into spring practice, and that's when Hoepp couldn't go anymore, and I talked to him a lot before practice started. We both thought this will be a good football team; let's keep going. I remember talking to him right after spring practice and I said, Coach, we're better. We're faster. We've got more confidence. This is going to be a good football team.
And he agreed. Unfortunately, he never could bounce back and eventually passed away. I think as a coaching staff and I think as players, we feel this was going to be a good football team. We weren't trying to compare ourselves to anybody else or any other kind of program.
Our goal was to get a little better every day. We felt like over the course of three years, we got a little better every day. And I think one of the things you have to do in a football program is you have to become competitive.
We played 12 football games this year and we were pretty darn competitive in 10 of them. There was one we weren't real competitive. We didn't play very well at Michigan State.
We were competitive at Wisconsin, but finally they got after us. The other ten games we were competitive. Once you get to the point of being competitive, you will win your share of games.
So are we surprised how far we've come? No, we worked pretty hard. I think you got to give these kids credit. We got some pretty good football players. They've developed confidence and grown closer. I think because the system stayed the same over the course of three years, they've proved they're a good football team.
JOSIAH SEARS: Yeah, I think like what Coach Lynch said last year after the Purdue game, it was a terrible disappointment. I know personally I was distraught for quite some time and you could read that in most of the players on the team and their work ethic through the winter workouts and spring ball.
I remember talking with a coach just during spring ball, we were doing a drill or a team drill or something and I could just -- we felt better. I could tell that we were a better football team and we were getting better.
And obviously the wins came this season. But like Coach Lynch said, I think it has been a process and we have been getting better over the course of the past few years and just feel that, and hopefully this is my last game, but hopefully Indiana is able to continue that, and I think they will with the recruits that are coming in and the way players are being coached and the way they're responding to their teaching.
TRACY PORTER: To go along with Coach and Josiah, I definitely think the Indiana football program has gotten better over the three years. We've won more and more games each and every year to come up to this point.
And I definitely think that coming into this season, guys are more committed to workouts. Guys are more committed to doing things as a team, and we knew that if we took care of business in the off-season and worked as hard as we possibly could during the fall camp, the wins would accumulate and we would be Bowling somewhere in December. We stuck to the whole philosophy of taking it one step at a time, doing everything one day at a time, and just like we envisioned, wins accumulated. Here we are today.

Q. Bill, Kellen had a rocky stretch there in the middle of the season where he had trouble holding onto the football. Do you feel like he learned from that? Now when you're on a national stage tomorrow night, are you worried that he will try to do too much?
COACH LYNCH: No. And I think some of that is -- we forget that Kellen is a sophomore. And playing the quarterback position, especially in a spread attack, that ball is in his hands a lot in both the run game, the pass game, and obviously he takes off and runs with it, as well.
He has got it in his hands more than anybody else on the football team. Now, certainly, we've got to take care of it. And he's worked on that, and Matt Canada, the quarterback coach, has made that a point of emphasis. He has made an awful lot of plays for us. He made a lot of plays for us down the stretch those last three weeks, too, after that tough stretch you're talking about.
I thought he had a great season. But, again, I don't worry about that tomorrow night at all. I think -- I will be honest. I'm sure everybody around the country that's playing in Bowl games, you're never quite sure how your team will react early on when you haven't played in over 40 days. You practice hard and you do all that. It is a little bit like your opener, though.
Until you play somebody else again and get used to the speed of the game, there is an uncertainty. We're not unique there. I think everybody that is in Bowl games has that. Shoot, that's part of the fun and it is the same for both teams.

Q. Coach, talk a little bit about what you have seen out of Tracy Porter on tape and what he brings to the Cowboys.
COACH LYNCH: Very similar to Kellen in that he is such a threat. They feature the option more than we do, and obviously the quarterback is such an important part of the option.
He also runs the spread, ride-and-decide-type play where if the run -- depending on the read, he will pull it and run. He is a threat now. He's a -- he runs the ball very well and he is a good passer. In that sense, he is very similar to Kellen. You got to account for him.
That's why the defense, I think, has had a great month of preparation. They stress you pretty well. The quarterback is such an important part of that offense just like Kellen is to ours.

Q. Coach, how have you been able to keep the excitement in check? Especially the last three days for Josiah and Tracy, how have the last three days been for you guys?
COACH LYNCH: I think that's part of going to a Bowl, too. You got to enjoy the experience. We want this to be something that for these guys, it is their last game in Indiana, but there is a whole bunch of them here that we want this to become a habit, and we want them to enjoy the experience.
I talked to them from day one about you find out the maturity of your football team that you can handle, the enjoyment, the freedom, getting out and seeing and experiencing it, but also locking in with football, it is time to take care of it. I think the guys have done a good job.
We had a tough time coming. We lost a day of practice because we had some flight delays. Again, I think it shows these guys have been through so much. There has been so much adversity, a little delay on a tarmac didn't bother them at all. Missing a day of practice, it seemed like we went out the next day and we picked up right where we left off. I think they've handled it very well.
Now we are kind of in that -- from this point on, we're in the full-game preparation. Again, there is different ways of going about -- going to a Bowl game and how you prepare. I like the approach we've had, and I think we will be ready to play.
JOSIAH SEARS: We've had the opportunity to have a lot of fun. Back home, they put us through two-a-days before we came out here. I think we could just practice in the morning and have a little free time in the morning, and we've had the opportunity to see, I don't know, nice things here, the mall and different things.
We had a lot of fun last night. We had a team family dinner and a talent show. Some of the talent on our team was shown and displayed last night which was pretty entertaining.
TRACY PORTER: The whole Bowling experience is supposed to be both fun and you have to, you know, come and prepare for the game, as well. We had two goals coming in to Tempe, Arizona, for the game: The first one is to win the football game, but the second one is also to have fun.
So I think that, you know, the guys as a team, we did a great job mixing in having fun, once we had time with the coaches. Also, when it was time to practice, the guys buckled down and were focused and ready to play. I definitely think that the long delay that we had didn't slow us down because guys were more excited to get here than anything. Once we finally got on the plane, guys were excited and ready to touch down.

Q. Josiah, I don't remember the exact quote before the Purdue game, but it was something along the lines of "I hate Purdue" or "I grew up hating Purdue." Not to make this game seem any less, now that you have beaten Purdue, was that as big as anything you could accomplish as a football player?
JOSIAH SEARS: I do recall avoiding the word "hate" because I can't say "hate," I don't think, right, Coach Lynch? Dislike intensely (laughter).
That was a special night. I wish I remembered more of it with the injury I had. It was a great night and I think it was a great night for our program, an opportunity to build on that and kind of get over the hump. It had been a while since we had beaten Purdue. It was just a great experience for all of us.
I know I will never forget the things I do remember. It was incredible holding the bucket and putting the eye on the bucket and all the really neat things we got to do associated with the game.
COACH LYNCH: Let me clarify that for some of you. He had a concussion early in the game. When says he doesn't remember, he is really an intelligent guy. He got dinged up a little bit that night (smiling).

Q. For you guys, I would imagine, isn't it kind of fun to be in Bloomington and tell everybody football season is still going on in January instead of everybody talking about I.U. basketball?
JOSIAH SEARS: Absolutely. There is more excitement about football in Bloomington than there has been in a long time. I remember the Monday after the Purdue game, I think 80% of the team wore their letter jackets and we were getting more slaps on the back on campus than ever before. It is great and everybody is proud.
A lot of kids from my classes are road-tripping it out here and doing what they can to make it to support us. That's a really cool thing.
TRACY PORTER: I mean, definitely. I don't think we had to go out and tell everyone, you know, about where we were going because advertisements, like the billboards, commercials, that took care of itself.
And those that were at the Purdue game, they knew once we got that win and it solidified the Bowl, the whole thing was where we were going.
So the buzz was around campus. Everyone was happy as well as we were. Every time -- I mean, walking on the campus with your football gear on, they see you and give you a pat on the back and say "nice game," "see you in Tempe," "see you at a Bowl game."
It was an experience and to come here and live it out was that much more exciting.

Q. You guys touched on this earlier. The win over Purdue was such an emotional game and then you guys have something like a month-and-a-half lay-off. How difficult is it to pick up where you left off and keep up the intensity and emotion for tomorrow?
JOSIAH SEARS: Obviously, you know, a month and a half is a long time, and we're not sure exactly how long it will take to get a little bit of rust off.
I think the coaching staff did a great job of letting us hit and giving us an opportunity to run the plays and stay in shape and do things like that so we wouldn't be too rusty.
As Coach Lynch said, it will take a little bit of time, because it is 47 days, to adjust to the speed of the game again, because even if you are scrimmaging or going as live as you can, it is not quite as fast as the game. It will take a little time. I think we will remember it pretty quickly and adjust well.
TRACY PORTER: Yeah, definitely. I mean, you know, having a long lay-off, you are going to be rusty at different things. You haven't played at game speed in over a month. But the enthusiasm is there. The guys are excited. It is just a matter of finally getting out there and going against Oklahoma State, adjusting to the speed of the game and just going out and having fun.

Q. How much of an advantage or disadvantage as this being your first Bowl experience versus Oklahoma State who experienced this last year?
COACH LYNCH: I think once it is kick-off tomorrow night, I don't think it is a factor. I think we're a different football team than we were a year ago at this time. I think we got better in our Bowl preparation.
I am anxious to watch us play. As a staff, we talked about that. Certain individuals, you get all those practices, you get a chance to get better. We worked a lot on just fundamental execution.
I think the guys have said it, too. You get adjusted to the speed of the game and away you go. But I really don't think once you are in that game, where we were a year ago versus where they were, really doesn't factor.
JOSIAH SEARS: I think for a lot of us, it's like being little kids again, because we're so excited to be here, be on vacation kind of for the first three days before the game. It was like Christmas before we left. One of the managers dressed up like Santa Claus when they gave us our travel suits. We just had the opportunity to have a lot of fun with it.
When it comes down to it now, we're getting ready for a football game. That's really the important thing. It is another football game. For Tracy and I, it is our last football game in an Indiana uniform, which is a sad thing. But at the same time, it is a great thing because our last game is in Tempe, Arizona, and it is going to be a lot of fun playing together for the last time.
TRACY PORTER: Yeah, it is definitely exciting to be out here and playing in your last game and doing it in December in warm weather. I wouldn't give that up for the world.
To come on your final game, set these high goals, high standards for a team, knowing we can accomplish them if everyone sticks together and follows the philosophy, that definitely helps out.
To have the leadership that Josiah, myself, as well as the coaches and the rest of the seniors on this team, to go out and lead this team into a Bowl game, it is definitely exciting. We are definitely glad to be here.

Q. Talk about the emotions of following through on the Play 13 and getting to this point and the excitement of that, and also then finishing it off and winning tomorrow night.
JOSIAH SEARS: Definitely, we were -- you know, it was definitely something we have been thinking about for a long time, was getting to 13 and playing 13 and as Coach Lynch taught us, we are trying to do that one game at a time. When it came with the Purdue game, it was the ultimate way to do it, I guess. It couldn't have been more dramatic and more exciting.
Tracy and I got the opportunity after the game to hold the bucket that we won with Mrs. Hoeppner in between us, and that was really special. I have a picture of it at home. I will probably put that up on my wall forever because it was just -- it was incredible.
We're just, like I said -- we're excited to be here and just ready to play now.
TRACY PORTER: Definitely, winning that sixth game, becoming Bowl eligible, leading in Purdue, knowing that everything is on the line, it is your rivalry game, you can solidify the fact you are going Bowling in this game, you have a sellout crowd, you have the bucket on the line. It was added emotion for us.
To have guys coming in, excited for that last home game in an I.U. uniform, just to come out in front of that packed crowd, to get the victory, have the crowd storm the field and know we're going Bowling, to wind up here is just amazing for us.

Q. How close was James Bailey's impression at the talent show of you last night?
COACH LYNCH: I'd say a lot of it was pretty close. I'll let them answer that. We had fun, though. He is a pretty talented guy. He was pretty close.
JOSIAH SEARS: I thought it was pretty dead-on. He had done one previously in camp of Coach Hoeppner that I don't think was quite as funny because I don't think Coach Hoeppner liked it. He butchered his "don't quit" poem but it was entertaining then, too. He did an excellent job of acting like Coach Lynch.
TRACY PORTER: Yeah, I think he -- in fact, I thought he was Coach Lynch for a second (smiling).
He did a great job going up there and imitating Coach Lynch. For a second, I thought we were going to have a motivational speech, speaking from him. That wasn't the case. It was all fun and games. I definitely think he did a great job.

Q. What were your first impressions when you saw Mike Gundy's tirade?
COACH LYNCH: Wow.
JOSIAH SEARS: Obviously he was standing up for his player, and any player would like that out of a coach. Any player would appreciate it. I would.

Q. Coach, first for you to start, and you guys to chime in. Your impressions of Oklahoma State? Can you compare them with any other team you've played, the OSU defense, and, Tracy, the OSU offense? Coach?
COACH LYNCH: I thought about that. You are always trying to compare a team. I think that's what's great about a good Bowl game. You have a Big Ten team playing a Big 12 team. You have teams from great conferences that have played great teams throughout the year.
There aren't a lot of Big Ten, Big 12 matchups. I think Iowa, Iowa State and Missouri and Illinois are playing some. On a regular basis, even though a lot of the institutions are very similar.
I would think they're like Illinois. I think that's the way we've looked at it in terms of offensive scheme. I think there is probably some carryover there since Coach Fador had been with Ron Zook and mixing option with power football with a good passing attack. Both have great tailbacks that were right at the top of their conferences. Good quarterbacks that could run and throw. Very athletic offensive lines. I am looking at it from their offensive standpoint.
And defense, I think they're very athletic. They got a very pass rusher that led the Big 12 in sacks. Illinois had some dominant-type pass rushers. I think if you are going to look at it that way, I don't think records necessarily mean anything. But in terms of personality of the teams and how they play, I would say it is somewhat similar to Illinois out of our league.
JOSIAH SEARS: Their defense, what I see mostly is a lot of speed. They run really well at the linebacker level and the defensive line level as well.
I've kind of compared them to Michigan State on the defensive side of the ball when I have watched them, just how they blitz and how they cover and things like that. I think that hopefully they'll leave some holes for us for the offense.
But, you know, they're very fast and they run really well from sideline to sideline.
TRACY PORTER: Yeah, as far as their offense goes, the spread option offense, the goal -- I would go with Coach Lynch. In the option aspect, they are similar to Illinois. Once they spread out and throw the ball, I think they're definitely closer to a Northwestern, because they have big guys on the perimeter that can run and catch the ball. They have a running back that can hurt you with the option as well as running between. If I could compare them, I would definitely say they are a combination of Illinois and Northwestern.

Q. Coach Lynch, the Big Ten has taken hits in the season. It is early in the Bowl season but it is 2-1. Do you feel any need or opportunity here to kind of carry the torch for the Big Ten, help improve the record, improve the perception nationally in the conference?
COACH LYNCH: I would say we are very proud to be representing the Big Ten. I don't think there is any question, when you get to this time of year you are pulling for all your Big Ten counterparts. We certainly keep a close eye on that. I think the opportunity for the Big Ten to play the Big 12, I think that's great for both conferences. So, yeah, we're not going to put any pressure on ourselves for any reason. We are going to go play the game. But we certainly know we're representing Big Ten and proud to be doing that.

End of FastScripts

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INSIGHT BOWL

December 30, 2007

Bill Lynch

Tracy Porter

Josiah Sears