What Indiana, Purdue are saying about MSU, Michigan

As always on Thursday, I turn the focus on the opponents of Michigan and Michigan State. Here is a look at what is going on in Indiana with the Hoosiers and the Boilermakers.

Indiana

We thought Michigan State had issues.

It has been a tough three-week stretch for the Spartans, but that doesn’t compare to the issues in Bloomington.

The Hoosiers are 2-2, having lost to Ball State and Northwestern in their last two games.

Head coach Kevin Wilson is now 3-13 in his career at Indiana, with two wins coming against FCS opponents.

Things are going so well, that this week Henry had to receive a “vote of confidence” from Indiana Athletic Director, Fred Glass.

Terry Hutchens, of the Indiana Star, has more.

“We absolutely have the right guy and absolutely have the right staff," Glass told The Star. “I gave him a seven-year contract and we’re going to stick with him. For a variety of reasons, both voluntarily and involuntarily, we haven’t stuck with a football coach since Bill Mallory.
“Our goal was to find the right guy, give him the resources to be successful and then stick with him so we get the benefit of building something. And I absolutely believe we have the right guy in Kevin Wilson."
Some may see that as the dreaded vote of confidence. Many more coaches seem to lose their jobs than keep them after similar comments from their boss. Wilson has provided reasons for those concerns.

Hutches then lists some of those reasons, which includes cursing in an IU dorm and getting into an argument with the hosts of a nationally syndicated radio program on the air.

Needless to say, the Hoosiers appear to be the right team for Michigan State to be facing this week.

Purdue

The focus in West Lafayette isn’t too surprising.

It is on stopping Denard Robinson and the Michigan offense.

LaMond Pope, of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, has thoughts from Purdue coach Danny Hope on this week’s challenge.

“They’re a lot to defend, and Denard is a big piece of that equation,” Purdue coach Danny Hope said during his weekly teleconference Tuesday. “He’s a great athlete, great player, great competitor, but he’s surrounded by a ton of good players and a fantastic scheme.”

Robinson leads the Big Ten in total offense, averaging 319.5 yards per game. He is third in the league in rushing (110.2 yards per game) and fourth in passing (209.2 yards per game).

“Obviously you have to do some things, you have to be smart with your rush lanes. If you get out of your rush lanes and he sees a big opening, he sees the seas to part, then he’s going to take off with the ball and then he’s really hard to catch,” Hope said. “He adds a whole new dimension to the ballgame. You have to do some things to make sure that you can try to minimize his production some, but if everything is geared just to stop him, then you disregard their other great players on their offensive football team, and that can really get you in trouble.”

Purdue currently ranks eighth in the Big Ten defensively, as the Boilermakers are giving up 353.3 yards per game. However, Purdue has given up the fewest rushing yards in the conference, allowing only 105.25 yards per game. Purdue also leads the conference in interceptions with eight.