Tom Allen has lost his voice.
When Indiana’s head coach speaks, his words struggle to come out like tires over a gravel road.
There’s reasons for this of course. Shouting into the megaphone that already amplifies his voice at practice, voicing his displeasure at an official’s call on the field or celebrating with his team in the locker room after a hard-fought win.
As Allen stood before the lectern at Memorial Stadium on Friday night, his voice was all but gone. That third reason had finally come around again.
Indiana beat Illinois 23-20 to open its 2022 season, the program’s first Big Ten win since Dec.