Can the Illini steady the tailspin?

Thursday's bus ride from Bloomington, Ind., back to Champaign had to be the most somber, awful, soul-searching ride imaginable. And those coaches and players were thinking the very same thing you're thinking: Is this season about to completely unravel?

It's a fair question now that Illinois has lost four of its last five. And unlike Saturday's loss to Ohio State, which can be explained simply because the Buckeyes are a richly talented team clicking on all cylinders, the loss to Indiana is not so easy to excuse. In fact, it won't be excused.

Tupper