I need to watch the game again before this season starts ... pure enjoyment - that was a happy day/week/month... what they could not handle is taking the field in a bowl game where it was OBVIOUS both sides were playing their hearts out to get a win, and losing that game to not only a Big Ten team (automatically inferior in their view) ... but a basketball school like Illinois who was "supposed" to be a doormat.
Frankly, it shattered their entire self image and sent them spiraling, haha.