This was not how Dennis Raetz envisioned his return to coaching after an absence of almost 10 years, especially with several of his former players and longtime friends on the sideline to support him.
“I’ve been around football for my whole life and I can’t remember a longer day,” Indiana State’s new interim head coach said following his team’s embarrassing 72-10 home loss to Southern Illinois. “All I know is things will be better next week.”
Raetz, who previously guided the Sycamores for 18 seasons, didn’t try to hide his disgust during the postgame news conference.
“Defensively, right now, we’re a disaster,” he said slowly, carefully choosing his words. “I tried to cut down on what we were doing today. Basically what I wanted to do in terms of coverage, they couldn’t do from the packages they’ve been playing. We were really locked in by coverages as to what I wanted to do… But we will by next week be able to do that.”
Raetz didn’t specify how the Sycamores will be able to do that when Western Illinois comes to Memorial Stadium next Saturday. But don’t be surprised if he conducts more than a few conversations with his defense coaches, who were hired by former coach Lou West, during the next few days.
Raetz also mentioned how unhappy he was with ISU’s pass coverage.
“I mean, anybody that has an arm and can throw the ball for 15 yards, they had guys wide open in the secondary,” he said.
Special-teams play, which included a blocked Indiana State punt that set up an SIU touchdown in the first half, didn’t escape Raetz’s wrath.
“I think when you start with special teams and go back and figure out who the impostors are that don’t want to protect [the punter]…,” he said. “We can’t have things like a punt blocked.”
If it’s any consolation, and it’s probably not, Southern Illinois coach Jerry Kill said his squad is pretty good at blocking punts.
“We have blocked a lot of people’s punts … over the last seven years I’ve been here,” he noted.
Speaking from behind a podium with a few of those loyal former players sticking around to listen, Raetz promised to make corrections so that opponents will be forced to punt more than once during a two-week period, which has been the case recently in losses to Eastern Illinois and Southern Illinois.
“If I go back the last three years, three years ago, we were 115th in the country in defense out of 116 [NCAA Football Championship Subdivision] teams,” he pointed out.
“Last year, we were 116th out of 116. This year, we’ve played five games and given up 55 [to Indiana], 54 [to Eastern Illinois], 72 [to Southern Illinois], 31 to a team [Austin Peay] that’s only had scholarships for two years and 13. But in the 13 [against Southeast Missouri State], the other team had the ball for 10 more minutes than we did.
“If that’s going to happen, it’s going to be within a structure that I at least understand and know that I can adjust.”
Turning to the ISU offense, Raetz offered mixed reviews before finishing with more criticism of the defense.
“I think that we’re doing some nice things on offense,” he said. “We’ve gotta cut it down to where we can protect the ball. I think we have some players with ability. [Redshirt freshman quarterback] Charles Dowdell reminds me of a young Reggie Allen [an ISU standout from the late 1970s and early 1980s]. When he figures out what’s going on in terms of coverages and what’s happening to him, he’s someday gonna make somebody look awful good… He’s a very talented young man.
“[Senior quarterback] Reilly Murphy does know what’s going on and can do some things and Dowdell’s going to get better and better. So there’s a place for both of them. Offensively, we’re going to try to cut down on mistakes … and try to play better on defense and try somehow to keep the other team from running a track meet with only one entrant.”
Hughes News & Views
Hughes News & Views: Raetz return not exactly what he had hoped for against SIU
- Hughes News & Views
-
-
Terre Haute runner sets up race to help Boston
Having competed in the Boston Marathon once before in 2003, 35-year-old Majel Wells of Terre Haute thought she should give it another try in 2013.
“My goal was just to finish and enjoy Boston,” she reflected this week. “I had an injury [runner’s knee] beforehand, so I wasn’t too worried about beating my time from 2003 [4 hours, 10.20 seconds].
“But nobody cares about what your time is at Boston anyway.”
From what I’ve heard over the years, she’s right. Unless you’re a super-serious runner, the Boston Marathon has been more about taking in the atmosphere and having fun than placing in the top 50, although Wells was pleased that she beat her previous time by finishing in 3:55.19 on April 15.
Obviously, her race time wasn’t the most vivid memory that Wells took away from her 2013 Boston experience. -
Former South players to play in Saylor benefit game
I had my first phone conversation with Mike Saylor since mid-February on Thursday and he sounded good.
The former Terre Haute South High School boys basketball coach, who’s been battling cancer this year, has been traveling back and forth to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for chemotherapy treatments. -
Recent South swimmers Roach, Bray heading to DI nationals
I’m sure most of you with office jobs can relate.
When work gets busy, sometimes it’s easy to skim over our emails. After all, how many times do we need to read the same nonsense from alleged Nigerians wanting to make us rich if we’ll send them several thousand dollars first?
So after having three consecutive days off, that almost happened to me when I returned to work Tuesday. Then I realized that the message from Jeff Thompson, Terre Haute South High School’s boys and girls swimming coach, contained significant news. -
NCAA Division III basketball tournament returns to Rose-Hulman
The last time Rose-Hulman served as host for the NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament, its game was played inside an old World War II airplane hangar.
You “old-timers” should know the building I’m talking about and the matchup wasn’t really that long ago — March 6, 1997, to be exact. -
DAVID HUGHES: Childhood friends use faith, sports to get them through
When I learned in February 2009 that a rare form of appendix cancer would devastate my life and cause me to miss work for several months, Mike Saylor was among the first to offer assistance.
-
Book review: Thumbs up for ‘Trophies and Tears’
Now might be too late for giving Christmas presents, but the book “Trophies and Tears: The Story of Evansville and the Aces” is a fascinating read for longtime Indiana basketball fans, particularly those older than 40.
Written by award-winning Kyle Keiderling of Henderson, Nev., and released in hardcover format in mid-December, the 480-page “Trophies and Tears” documents the rich tradition of the University of Evansville men’s basketball program through recent interviews and research of old yearbooks and newspaper/scrapbook clippings.
The book contains many cheery moments — behind-the-scenes details of all five NCAA College Division (now known as Division II) championships won in the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s by the Purple Aces and their legendary coach Arad McCutchan — although some of those moments don’t seem so cheery from an Indiana State perspective when the Sycamores found themselves on the losing end of scores. -
Hughes, News & Views: Wishing for Colts-Broncos playoff matchup from Santa
There’s plenty of tragedy in the world to bring us down if we let it, so let’s have a light-hearted column today — my annual Christmas gift requests for Santa Claus.
I already know one of my gift wishes is becoming less likely to happen. That would be for the Indianapolis Colts to face the Denver Broncos in the AFC playoffs. -
Colts' loyalty tested by Manning, Broncos
We’re approaching the halfway point of the NFL season and so far it’s been surprisingly enjoyable.
I wasn’t sure how I would handle following two favorite teams — 1a.) the Indianapolis Colts and 1b.) Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos — but the new arrangement hasn’t caused me any loyalty conflicts yet.
-
HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Sorting out the sports air waves
My name isn’t attached to them, but I’m the one who usually puts together the “Sports on the air” television/radio listings that appear daily on this newspaper’s Scoreboard Page.
-
Hughes, News & Views: North junior ready to go racing
When we last visited 16-year-old Rachel Gutish, she was finishing sixth in the Women’s Enduro X race in the nationally televised Summer X Games at Los Angeles.
-
HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Yelovich still striking the ball long on LDA Tour
In June 2011, I wrote a feature story about former Indiana State basketball center Mick Yelovich making a name for himself as a golfer on the Long Drivers Association (LDA) Tour.
-
HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Colts? Broncos? Maybe there’s more than enough room for both
I’ve got a longtime buddy who I’m fairly sure rarely, if ever, reads this column.
-
HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Point of Jones’ return
Since May 14, Indiana high school basketball fans have wondered why Jim Jones would want to come out of retirement at 74.
-
HUGHES, NEWS & VIEWS: Questions abound for Indy 500, Manning, baseball sectional
Phones are ringing less frequently in the Tribune-Star sports department this week.
-
Hughes, News & Views: Hutson getting ready for final stretch toward Olympic Trials
If Kylie Hutson were a cross-country runner, she’d be approaching the final stretch of her biggest race in about three weeks.
-
HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Rose basketball alumni offer advice to current team
Bryan Egli and Joe Puthoff, both Rose-Hulman basketball starters I covered in the late 1990s, took their degrees from the prestigious engineering institute and found successful careers in the Indianapolis area.
Egli, also a former West Vigo High School multi-sport standout, lives in Carmel and works for Thieneman Construction in Westfield. Puthoff lives in Indy and works for Rolls Royce Aircraft Engines. -
DAVID HUGHES: Super Bowl odds getting stranger and stranger
Today’s annual “Super Bowl odds column” feels special to me because I’ve been a diehard NFL fan since 1967 and next Sunday will be the first time the big game takes place in our great state of Indiana.
-
HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Coach’s book a chance to remember North Vermillion state champs
Almost 10 years ago, February 2002 to be exact, the New England Patriots upset the high-powered St. Louis Rams to win Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans, the Winter Olympics entertained spectators in Salt Lake City and Terre Haute South High School’s girls basketball team started its tournament run toward a Class 4A state title.
-
HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Plenty of sports-related gifts for columnist's wish list
Last week, I was all set to beg Santa Claus to give the Indianapolis Colts a certificate good for one NFL regular-season victory.
Then the 2011 Colts decided to play like the 2009 Colts and clobber the Tennessee Titans on Sunday for their first win of the season. So that present won’t be necessary. -
HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: WTHI defends decision not to show Colts
When your favorite NFL team is threatening to finish 0-16, you have to figure a few fans will jump off the bandwagon.
-
HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Former South coach Rady makes it look easy
Jack Butcher, Howard Sharpe and Bill Stearman.
-
HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Wheldon's genuine personality a devastating loss to racing
Lori Wood, the Tribune-Star’s Indianapolis 500 correspondent since 2000, planned to visit a friend in California and take in the IndyCar Las Vegas 300 as a ticket-buying fan last weekend.
-
HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Past greats proud of ISU’s recent improvements
Indiana State football alum Chris “Big C” Hicks will turn 58 Saturday and he knows exactly what he wants for his birthday.
-
HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Rose-Hulman hungry for first football victory of season
The Engineers have not endured a losing season since 2004. But they’ve opened this season at 0-2, causing Sokol to admit they’re desperate for a win.
“We’re all very hungry for a victory,” he said after practice Thursday. “We all want to taste victory really, really bad.” -
Valley semipro football team reaches championship of IFL
The West Central Wildcats’ semipro football team from Terre Haute has been written about before in this column space over the last two years.
-
HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Colts cheerleaders glad to get back on field
When I heard the NFL lockout finally ended this week, I looked for someone affiliated with the Indianapolis Colts to get a reaction.
-
Amateur boxing card set for outdoors at Show-Me's
We all know what Show-Me’s sports bar is famous for around Terre Haute, right?
Chicken wings, of course. -
HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Porter’s persistence keeps his boxing career going
When I walked in Sweatbox Gym through the alley door Wednesday, I wondered if a time machine had taken me back to the 1950s, the glory days of boxing.
-
HUGHES, NEWS AND VIEWS: Seaton aces chance for more Div. 1 volleyball
Plagued by one injury after another after another, Kristen Seaton was ready to turn off the lights on her volleyball career.
In her mind, the party was over.
-
HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Semi-pro football team to kick off season today
If you’re worried about the NFL season being canceled and you can’t wait months for the college and high school seasons to begin, you can get your football fix tonight at Memorial Stadium.
- More Hughes News & Views Headlines
-
Terre Haute runner sets up race to help Boston
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
Raw: Germany Protestors Picket Barbie House
China, Others Want What's Under the Arctic Ice
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: 6 Die in Russian Ship Fire
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Suicide Bomber Kills 2 Americans, 13 Others
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
One Million Evacuated As Cyclone Hits Bangladesh
Raw: Pope Frees Doves From Cage
Raw: Texas Gov. Flies Over Tornado Damage
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Coffee Stop Leads To Arrest Of YouTube Sensation Wanted For Murder
Bearded Dragon Reunited With Owner
Marine Reunited with Warzone Companion
Beyonce Is Pregnant!
SF baseball player overpaid $500,000 RETURNS money -- and team says KEEP IT
Dad returns from Afghanistan, surprises family during Rays' first pitch
See Jennifer Lopez's New $10m Hamptons Mansion
Woman tricked into taking abortion pill
Emma Watson Goes Pantless
IRS scandal: Republicans seek to tie Obama to agency's woes
Play of the Day: Flipping to Safety
Pregnant Kim Kardashian Squeezes Her Swollen Feet Into Stilettos
Top Videos of the Week: Angry Taco Bell Guy, Glacier Moves on House, Dog Hates Baths
Cindy Crawford Stuns At Cannes
Raw: Marines Come to Obama's Aid in the Rain
CUTE: Monkey shares lollipop with dog, then HITS pooch on head with it
Miranda Kerr Looks Sexy in a Bikini Photo Shoot
