The sting that comes with a loss such as the one Indiana suffered against Minnesota doesn’t fade quickly.

IU Coach Tom Allen still felt it Tuesday, and he added during the weekly Big Ten teleconference that the game was a “frustrating setback,” too. So for the Hoosiers’ bye week to arrive at Week 10 of the regular season brings much-needed relief.

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“First bye week here, and it’s been a long haul to get to it,” said Allen, his team the last of any Big Ten program to have one in 2018. “Our guys mentally and physically needed a break.”

IU, at 4-5 and 1-5 in the Big Ten, needs two wins to clinch bowl eligibility. It welcomes Maryland (5-3, 3-2) to Bloomington on Nov. 10 before it travels to Michigan (7-1, 5-0) and caps the season with Purdue (4-4, 3-2) at home. None of those games is a guaranteed win.

But the points of emphasis Allen and his staff outlined this week when they sat down to plan it don’t directly focus the team's energy on any of those three opponents.

IU went back to the fundamentals in practice. Offensively that meant blocking technique and ball security for a team that has seen its offense hampered by costly holding calls and fumbles. Defensively that meant tackling for a group that has missed too many.

Then there’s the health of the team. Younger players, when necessary, have taken the bulk of the reps so taxed upperclassmen can rest. Allen named junior left tackle Coy Cronk, who practiced this week, and redshirt sophomore husky Marcelino Ball as two players who were dinged up against Minnesota that should be available against Maryland.

Redshirt junior linebacker Reakwon Jones, however, might miss a couple of weeks with a lower-leg injury that is not as severe as initially believed.

Allen wants all his players’ minds to be in the right place, too.

“You’ll know for sure if it was successful with how you finish, I think,” Allen said. “We had a good team meeting (Tuesday) just talking about some mental things that’s back to basics work. Check our guys and make sure that the things that we established in the beginning, the things that we talked about, about how this process sees itself through and what you have to do as an individual player to help us achieve our goals. Make sure you’re still thinking that same way.”

The bye week allows for more recruiting, too.

IU’s last day of practice came Wednesday and some coaches even hit the recruiting trail Tuesday. The rest, Allen included, will have left by Wednesday night.

“(Coaches will) be in place for a full day on Thursday, full day on Friday and even into the weekend to recruit,” Allen said.

The Hoosiers’ 2019 class ranks 39th nationally according to 247Sports Composite ratings, with two four-star recruits in Carmel defensive lineman Beau Robbins and Avon running back Sampson James headlining the group. As of Oct. 31 there are 17 total, with 14 three-star prospects and a two-star long snapper.

“We definitely still need to consistently pursue receivers,” said Allen, with one well-known target being Warren Central High receiver David Bell. “O-line, D-line is still a huge priority. And secure a quarterback for this class. Those would kind of be the main focal points, I would say, but I’m really liking the group we have put together. They’re very excited about coming to Indiana and several will be mid-year guys that will be here in not too many more weeks.”

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Jordan Guskey on Twitter at @JordanGuskey or email him at jguskey@gannett.com.