It takes courage to face our individual foibles and shortcomings, to know that we likely will sometimes slip back into old habits and behaviors, acknowledge that we did just that and quickly get back on track.
More importantly, it's a potential lifeline for an Illini team that still has to face No. 18 Minnesota on the road Sunday and had been watching its season slip away.
They will wait for a single slip-up, one mistake, and then they will work day and night to create headlines and get the face time they so desperately covet.