A road less traveled to Tempe

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Before earning the right to play one another in the Valley of the Sun, both IU and Oklahoma State had to weather some dark clouds hovering over their programs. \nFor the Hoosiers, it was the loss of late coach Terry Hoeppner. After passing in June the team dedicated its season to Hoeppner and eventually fulfilled his dream ‘playing 13.’ \nAs they have all year, at Sunday’s press conference senior captains Tracy Porter and Josiah Sears were asked to describe what it was like for the team to lose their head coach before the season.\n“I mean, it was a test for us to see where we were,” Porter said. “It drew us closer together as a family. Guys stuck together. The coaches did a great job of keeping us together.”\nThe loss of Hoeppner took its toll on the players, but it also left IU coach Bill Lynch with the challenge of taking the reigns unexpectedly. Lynch faced the test of keeping the team values Hoeppner instilled while also putting his own spin on the program. Both Lynch and the Hoosiers responded with the best season the program has seen in over a decade.\n“We had great continuity and the staff stayed together,” Lynch said. “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.”\nAs IU dealt with the loss of Hoeppner, the Cowboys, and OSU coach Mike Gundy, had to deal with the backlash of a now famous YouTube video. \nAfter making the decision to bench last year’s starter Bobby Reid in favor of quarterback Zac Robinson, Gundy took exception to a local newspaper’s column centering around Reid. \nGundy’s press conference where he criticizes the column has become a YouTube sensation and gave the Cowboys some undesirable attention. \n“It’s something I think people talk about now and then, but for the most part its gone away,” Gundy said in a teleconference earlier in the month. “The most stressful part was our media relations director, he felt like he was representing Brittany Spears there for about a week.” \nWhen asked about his thoughts on Gundy’s tirade, Porter was only able to respond, “Wow.” Sears approved of the tongue-lashing and elaborated further.\n“Obviously he was standing up for his player and any player would like that out of a coach. Any player would have appreciated it,” he said before pausing. “I would.”