MADISON — It has been an emotional four-month stretch for the Indiana football team.

The Hoosiers lost their leader, when popular head coach Terry Hoeppner died of brain cancer on June 19, following an 18-month battle.
The team forged ahead, behind new coach Bill Lynch, who served as interim head coach for two games in 2006 and previously served as the team’s offensive coordinator and tight ends coach.

Following a 42-20 victory over Minnesota on Oct. 6, all the Hoosiers needed was one more win, for the chance to “Play 13,” which was one of Hoeppner’s slogans from last year. Indiana has not appeared in a bowl game since 1993.

“Coach (Hoeppner) knew it was going to happen and now we are just actually living it,” junior wide receiver James Brady said after the Minnesota game, of the expected sixth victory, which would make the Hoosiers bowl eligible. “We knew the bowl game was going to come and now we’re just trying to get to the biggest one possible and just surprise even ourselves.”

But after back-to-back losses to Michigan State and Penn State, the Hoosiers (5-3 overall 2-3 Big Ten Conference) are still waiting for that sixth win, going into the game Saturday against the University of Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium.

“Obviously, it’s difficult not having him around,” Lynch said recently about the loss of Hoeppner. “It’s been hard on all of us. First and foremost, we lost a great friend, as well as a great coach and mentor. The players lost their leader.

“It hasn’t been hard to maintain (what Hoeppner started), because the foundation of this program was set by ‘Hep.’ We all as a staff came with him and have been with him and certainly believe in the system and believe in what he brought. I think the players (believe) as well.”

Despite everything the team has been through, Lynch does not think the emotional tanks of his players are running on empty.

The problem against Michigan State was a run defense that allowed 67 carries for 368 yards in the Spartans’ 52-27 victory.

Indiana played Penn State no worse than even for much of the game on Saturday in Bloomington, Ind., but committed four turnovers in a 36-31 loss.

“I think the kids have done a really good job of focusing on the job at hand, and the job at hand is who we’re playing that week,” Lynch said on Tuesday. “We’ve got to do all the little things right, we’ve got to get better every day, every week. If we do that, the big picture will take care of itself.

“But if we worry about the big picture, we’ll get overwhelmed with what people are saying. I think the kids have done a really good job of that.”

Sophomore quarterback Kellen Lewis threw for 318 yards against the Nittany Lions, but also lost three fumbles. His development has been a key to a spread offense that ranks second in the conference in scoring, averaging 35.4 points per game. Lewis is third in total offense, averaging 303.5 yards per game. He has completed 163 of 265 passes (61.5 percent) for 1,952 yards, with 19 touchdowns and six interceptions.

“A lot of our offense is put on him,” Lynch said. “In a spread offense, the quarterback has to make a lot of decisions. I think, for the most part, he’s done a great job. The turnovers, yeah, we’ve got to get those corrected. He knows that.

“He has thrown the ball very well. He hasn’t thrown a lot of interceptions, for the number of throws he’s made, so I think he’s made really good judgments and he’s certainly made some plays, both throwing and running.”

Lynch said the run defense improved last week, holding Penn State to 197 yards on 47 carries, and he expects it to be better yet against Wisconsin.

But Lynch is just as concerned with Wisconsin’s play-action passing game, which burned the Hoosiers in the last two meetings. The Badgers threw for 604 yards and six touchdowns, while scoring 93 points, in the two wins.

“There’s a fine line when you play a team that can really pound you running the ball,” Lynch said. “You have to stop the run. ... If you commit everything to stop the run, a good offensive football team is going to play-action pass, to beat you down the field. They’ve hurt us pretty good the last couple years on it.”

Whether or not the Hoosiers become bowl eligible this week, they’ve still got an excellent shot with their final three games against Ball State, Northwestern and Purdue. When the Hoosiers finally take that step, they know Hoeppner will be a big part of it.

“His stamp is all over this program,” Lynch said. “Our job is to carry it on and continue to improve, which is what he’d want to do.”

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