Indiana football coach Bill Lynch broke the season down into quarters while talking to his players on Monday.

"If you break the season down into quarters, we're heading into the fourth quarter," Lynch told them.

Oops.

Lynch was giving his players reason for hope after gut-wrenching back-to-back losses dropped the Hoosiers to 4-5 overall and 1-4 in the Big Ten Conference.

Without mentioning the words "bowl eligible," the players know they can get there by winning two of their final three games, starting at home on Saturday against the University of Wisconsin.

The only problem with Lynch's choice of words is fourth quarters have not been kind to his team.

One week after blowing a 25-point lead in losing to Northwestern, Indiana led by as many as 14 points in the second half against Iowa and took a 24-14 advantage into the fourth quarter.

But Iowa quarterback Rick Stanzi had fourth-quarter touchdown passes of 92 and 66 yards on back-to-back series as the Hawkeyes escaped with a 42-24 win.

In fact, the Hoosiers have held fourth-quarter leads in all three conference road games, including a 36-33 loss to Michigan in its Big Ten opener.

"It wasn't a case of our kids relaxing, or thinking they had the game won, it was a matter of not making enough plays and our opponents doing that," Lynch said on Tuesday during the Big Ten coaches' teleconference.

If that's not enough, Indiana had a couple blown calls by officials go against them and a crazy interception that was touched by four players before being returned 86 yards for a touchdown by Iowa.

That would be enough to crush the spirit of almost any team. Yet, Lynch refuses to let his players use the officials as a cop-out.

"In some ways, it gives your kids an excuse," he said. "I think there were 173 plays in that game. We have an opportunity in each of those 173 plays, so those certainly are the things we're focusing on."

The Hoosiers have made strides in Lynch's third year, but the results haven't always shown in their record. Indiana snapped a 14-year bowl drought and went 7-6 in his first year, before falling back to 3-9 last year.

Lynch's contract runs through 2011. First-year athletic director Fred Glass said last week he expects Lynch to remain through then and beyond.

The Hoosiers finished a renovation this year to Memorial Stadium, which enclosed the north end and added new football offices and a weight room.

"We've got some really good young players that have blended well with some experienced older guys," Lynch said. "We have a new director of athletics, a new facility here, so we're certainly moving in a positive direction and excited about the future."

Still, it can be hard for a program to get over the hump, especially in the Big Ten. Lynch is still looking for his first win over a ranked opponent.

"I think any time you're an elite team in a league like the Big Ten, you've got something special going - and Iowa has something special going right now," Lynch said. "Teams that have those magical years come up with plays when you need (them).

"When you're trying to build a program, you're going against those teams, it's tough, because they're very difficult to beat. We're getting close. We're going to get ours one of these days."

One of the issues is a secondary that was without two starters last week. Cornerback Ray Fisher will miss the UW game, Lynch said. That's a double blow because Fisher leads the Big Ten and ranks fourth nationally in kickoff returns, averaging 37.4 yards.

Safety Nick Polk, from Milwaukee Vincent, was also a game-time scratch after injuring an ankle in practice, although he could be back this week.

The Hoosiers have intercepted eight passes in the past two games, but converted them into only three points. The pass defense ranks last in the conference, allowing 256.7 yards per game.

"We've got one of those football teams that's going to keep fighting and keep battling," Lynch said. "I don't think they're going to get discouraged by a couple tough losses."

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