Wilson's 1st homeoming

Wilson works for ‘good game performance’

Saturday will be the 99th Homecoming in IU’s history, but it will be the first for head football coach Kevin Wilson.

He has experienced homecoming games at the other places he has coached, such as Miami (Ohio), Northwestern and Oklahoma, but for the first time, he will oversee an entire team coming onto the field for its homecoming game.

In past seasons, teams Wilson has coached haven’t spent much time getting involved in homecoming festivities, and the Hoosiers will likely also stick to a similar schedule they have had in previous weeks.

Although his routine and the routine of the team hasn’t changed much from what it is normally like, the game itself will take on a little more magnitude than other games because of who and how many will be in attendance.

“As a coach and a team, you know this is one of the weekends that a lot of the alumni target to come back, and you want to play well,” Wilson said. “To me, it’s a little more about making sure that you have a really good game performance.”

Performing in games has been tough for the Hoosiers this season, as they enter Saturday’s matchup against Northwestern with a 1-7 record. The past two weeks, IU has played in front of loud, rowdy crowds at Wisconsin and Iowa, which has provided many younger players on the team a great deal of energy, Wilson said.

The stands in Memorial Stadium have The stands in Memorial Stadium have looked barren at times, even though Wilson commended the energy of the crowd at games like the season-opener against Virginia.

“It’s our fault on performance that we’re not getting a more enthusiastic or bigger crowd now,” Wilson said. “We need to change the way we play and our culture, and the fans will follow what we do.”

Wilson was the offensive coordinator at Northwestern from 1999 to 2001. He traveled there with coach Randy Walker after they had coached together at Miami (Ohio) and led an offense that was top in the Big Ten in 2000 and went to the Alamo Bowl.

Wilson said he knows a couple of the guys on the Wildcat sideline but said the top priority is getting a win Saturday. 

If IU were to beat Northwestern (2-5) on Saturday, it would be the first Big Ten win of the season and the first of Wilson’s head coaching career. He also said it would mean a great deal for seniors and fans as well.

“We need to start winning games. We need to win at home,” Wilson said. “We need to win homecoming. It would mean a lot for us to start putting the product on the field that we take pride in playing in this house.”

Team stays positive going against Wildcats

When they meet at noon Saturday for IU’s homecoming game, struggling IU and Northwestern squads will have lost a combined 10 games in a row.

IU Coach Kevin Wilson and the rest of his staff have put effort into keeping the team morale high through a 1-7 start.

“I’m trying to keep them pretty positive because if we’re not, who else is going to be?” Wilson said. “So, my gig each day is that we’ve got to be the guys with the enthusiasm, and we’ve got to make sure that we keep finding good in what we’re trying to do.”
IU has a tough test ahead with a Wildcat offense that averages more than 400 yards of offense per game.

Last week, Northwestern (2-5) racked up 406 yards of offense against a Penn State team that allows just 281.9 yards per game, the second fewest in the Big Ten.

“They’ve struggled a little bit by record, but offensively, they’ve been very, very
impressive,” Wilson said. “Last week, (they) put the most yards anyone (has) against Penn State to date.”

Although senior Northwestern quarterback Dan Persa suffered a turf toe injury last week and might sit out, sophomore backup Kain Colter is capable and ranks 10th in the Big Ten in rushing.

True freshman Tre Roberson, who became the first true freshman in IU history to start at quarterback last week against Iowa, will likely start again for IU.

Co-Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach Rod Smith said Roberson shouldn’t have a huge problem making adjustments between weeks.

“It’s going to be similar in a lot of aspects in terms of the style of defensive play,” Smith said. “They do some things different, but at the same time, there’s some similarities, which is good. There’s a little carry over that you can teach him on film.”