ISU has had just five 0-5 or worse starts in school history. Here they are and here are the outcomes of each of those seasons:

1906-07 – 0-5 start, 1-8 finish (lone win over Hanover)
1937-38 – 0-5 start, 1-17 finish (lone win over Franklin)
1980-81 – 0-5 start, 9-18 finish (ISU won four straight after its start, but stumbled in MVC play)
1991-92 – 0-6 start, 13-15 finish (ISU won 10 of 15 mid-season to recover somewhat)
1993-94 – 0-6 start, 4-22 finish (two of ISU’s wins were in overtime)

I don’t think you need to do the math to figure the odds of ISU making a full recovery. With Louisville, Lamar, Ohio and Purdue next up, none of whom have more than one loss, 0-9 is a very real and very likely scenario if ISU continues to play the way it has.

There’s just no sugar-coating it. If ISU doesn’t rectify its problems in short order, and it starts with the effort from the players, it will be a lost season.