How did it get this bad? How did Illinois go from the Pasadena Express to the Stupor Chief in less than two years?

It's not as if the schizophrenic Illini haven't been here before. After going to the Sugar Bowl in 2001, they thought they had arrived. But they went 5-7 in 2002 and 1-11 in 2003. By the end of 2004, Ron Turner was gone.

In an eerily similar scenario, the 2007 Rose Bowl again was followed by a 5-7 season filled with painful near-misses. And now Illinois is 1-5, with no end in sight. Only one other school from a BCS conference, Washington State -- which is 1-5, like Illinois -- has less than two wins.

Ron Zook's knack for recruiting, which was Turner's Achilles heel, was supposed to spare Illinois another derailment.

But this is Illinois, where only two coaches have had winning records in 50 years. One, John Mackovic, left for a better job. The other, Mike White, was banished by a recruiting scandal.

Midway through Zook's fifth season, the Illini are 0-5 against major-college opponents. They have managed only one first-half touchdown in those games. And Saturday's 27-14 loss at traditional tail-ender Indiana added to growing unrest with Zook and athletic director Ron Guenther.

So where has the Zook revival gone awry?

1. TALENT. For all the recruiting success Illinois has enjoyed under Zook, it still has issues. Zook's key recruits -- quarterback Juice Williams, receiver Arrelious Benn and linebacker Martez Wilson -- have had their moments, but not lately.

The strong-armed, hard-running Williams hasn't acquired the polish envisioned, and seems to be pressing as a senior, which is only making things worse. Benn has a bright NFL future, but is hampered by the messiness around him. And Wilson, who shaped up as a key to Illinois' linebacker-thin defense, is out for the season with a neck injury.

Recruiting is an imprecise science. And with Illinois struggling in many areas where it supposedly recruited well, its evaluations of who to recruit is in question.

2. COACHING. This always has been the knock on Zook. He seemingly had put it behind him with the 2007 BCS bowl breakthrough, but it resurfaced last year, when the Illini let several winnable games slip through their hands and missed a great opportunity to post back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1989-90.

Illinois commits too many penalties, comes up with too few turnovers and creates too little on special teams, which is supposed to be a Zook specialty. And his staff isn't getting it done, either.

The departure of offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, who has his own problems as New Mexico's coach, has been particularly difficult on Williams. Locksley's replacement, former TCU offensive coordinator Mike Schultz, looked like a good hire, but Locksley brought out the best in Williams.

New line coaches this season have failed to bring the cohesion needed on offense and the dominance that has been expected on defense. And the co-defensive coordinators haven't produced the kind of defense they'd like.

Frustrated fans and alumni are clamoring for Zook to be gone. It's too early for Guenther to go there, particularly because Zook has 4? years remaining on a contract that's worth $1.5 million a year. But even if Zook remains in 2010, the staff figures to have a major reshuffle.

Coaching is teaching. And Illinois is coming up short in that area.

3. SCHEDULE. This is where Guenther hasn't done Zook any favors, and Zook's open-date tweaks haven't helped, either. Mix in a front-loaded Big Ten schedule, which happens, and an emerging program's problems have been magnified.

The Missouri opener, a series that ends after 2010, was a good idea that hasn't worked out. And finishing the season with a trip to Cincinnati, plus a Dec. 5 home date with Fresno State, to accommodate two byes and shorten the gap before a bowl game, seems presumptive now, to put it politely.

Illinois' failure to follow the lead of other Big Ten schools and put together a friendly nonconference slate is magnifying the problems. Indiana and Northwestern do it. Penn State and Wisconsin do it. Illinois is not in a position to play one of the most ambitious nonconference schedules in the nation. When Zook didn't have his team ready for the gun-to-your-head Missouri game, it set a tone. Having only one more game, vs. under-sized Illinois State, didn't give Illinois enough experience to develop before it was thrown into a Big Ten maelstrom against Ohio State and Penn State.

The irony is that if Guenther is going to make a change, he will have to think about doing it with a game or two left. By Dec. 5, newly hired coaches at many other schools will already be scurrying about, making recruiting plans and hiring assistants.

4. INTANGIBLES. The Illini weren't as good as they looked when they went to the Rose Bowl. And they aren't as bad as they look this fall. Faced with soaring expectations, they're pressing, and that's only making things worse. Purdue's Danny Hope joined the chorus Tuesday of Big Ten coaches who say Illinois ''may be the most talented team in the league.''

They're not doing Zook any favors by saying that, particularly because there's not much evidence to support it. And they are making it more difficult for Guenther to stand by Zook. With Juice gone and Benn likely to leave, too, Illinois' prospects won't improve significantly next year.

Unless the Illini get something done in the second half -- and it's difficult to see that happening -- the tough questions are only going to become tougher.

Comment at suntimes.com.

TWO RONS, TWO HITS, TWO ERAS

Ron Turner was known for running a smooth offense. Ron Zook is known for strong recruiting. Both took Illinois to unexpected heights, reaching BCS bowl games. And both followed that with shockingly quick plummets. Unable to sustain that momentum, they slipped to 5-7 in seasons marked by wrenching losses and with curious road trips. Illinois lost at Southern Miss in 2002 and vs. Western Michigan in Detroit in 2008.

RON TURNER'S UPS AND DOWNS

YEAR OVERALL BIG TEN

2001 10-2 7-1 Sugar Bowl: LSU, 47-34 loss

2002 5-7 4-4 Key losses: Southern Miss, San Jose State, double OT to Ohio State

2003 1-11 0-8

2004 3-8 1-7 Ron Turner fired

RON ZOOK'S UPS AND DOWNS

YEAR OVERALL BIG TEN

2007 9-4 6-2 Rose Bowl: USC, 49-17 loss

2008 5-7 3-5 Key losses: Minnesota, Wisconsin, W. Michigan

2009 1-5 0-4 Zook's fate: ????