Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes were within several plays of losing to Indiana.
By Ryan Rodriguez
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The Big Ten held its weekly coaches teleconference Tuesday afternoon, giving all 14 Big Ten head coaches a chance to answer questions from the media and discuss this week’s upcoming slate of games.
Indiana scares Ohio State
Perhaps the most interesting game on Oct. 3 was Ohio State-Indiana, a contest in which the Hoosiers had a few chances to put it away against the No. 1 ranked Buckeyes, but couldn’t finish.
In the end, Urban Meyer and Company held on to win another close game, downing the Hoosiers, 34-27.
“Hard-fought game last week, but we didn’t make the plays we needed to get the outcome we wanted,” Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson said. “But we have a tough Penn State team to prepare for this week, so we have to start preparing for that now.”
Wilson also discussed starting quarterback Nate Sudfeld, who left the Hoosiers’ game early after suffering an early injury. Backup Jordan Howard also sustained an ankle injury.
“They were both dressed today but limited to what was going on,” Wilson said. “[Sudfeld] was cleared last week, so we’ll see how he progresses, but we’re no worse for the weary. He’s getting treatment, and we’re looking toward moving forward.”
Harbaugh dishes on Northwestern
Had you read the following sentence preseason, you would think it’s crazy. Michigan’s tilt with Northwestern Saturday is one of the most-anticipated Big Ten matchups of the season.
Two of the conference’s premier defenses will go head-to-head at the Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and with both squads as ranked opponents, the parity we’ve seen so far in the Big Ten this season only figures to increase.
“They’re a defense that plays with great effort, great discipline. They have a tremendous scheme,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said. “[Northwestern defensive coordinator] Mike Hankwitz does a great job, you see the finish and the effort that the players play with.”
The Wildcats are ranked No. 13 in the latest AP Poll, their highest spot since 2000.
Minnesota puts loss in the rearview mirror
Northwestern was a hot topic Tuesday; seemingly every coach fielded a question about the undefeated Wildcats.
Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill knows about Northwestern’s talents all too well, and he and the Gophers head to Purdue on Saturday still licking their wounds from the 27-0 beating they took in Evanston last week.
“That’s just a very good football team, Northwestern just dominated us during the course of the game,” Kill said. “I was very impressed with them, especially on the defensive side of the ball, so we’re trying to rebound off of that.”
The Gophers have had a disappointing start to the 2015 season, going 3-2 in the first five weeks in a year where some picked them to win the Big Ten West.
“I think we’ve played good defense for the most part so far, but we’ve got some areas, like the kicking game, where we need to improve,” Kill said. “So we’ve been busy doing that all week and looking forward to getting that bad taste out of our mouths.”