Kurtis Rourke appeared left for dead.
Indiana football’s sixth-year quarterback had a fast-closing gap between himself and Florida International University senior pass rusher Giovanni Davis, who beat Hoosiers redshirt senior right tackle Trey Wedig around the edge and had a clear shot at Rourke.
It was 3rd and 21, and Indiana’s already slim hopes of a first down conversion grew more faint with each of Davis’ 257-pound steps.
But as Davis reached for Rourke, he found nothing.
Rourke ducked, turned to his right and ran away. He looked downfield, saw senior receiver and fellow Ohio University transfer Miles Cross and gave his 5-foot-11, 210-pound wideout a chance.
Cross delivered, hauling in a one-handed grab for a gain of 30 yards, giving Indiana an improbable first down and, later, its third touchdown in Saturday’s 31-7 victory at Memorial Stadium.
Rourke’s Houdini act offered a glimpse at the playmaking he gives Indiana under center. His 15-of-24, 180-yard, one-touchdown, no-turnover passing performance showed the seasoned savvy he brings through the air.
And the combination of both gave Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti plenty of positives to rattle off postgame.
“I thought he made some plays, scrambled out of the pocket, made a couple of plays, and then the protection broke down a little bit on him,” Cignetti said. “I like the way he moved around because he hadn't been hit and made some nice throws.”
But the next play, Rourke and the Hoosiers’ offense fell victim to oft-seen Week 1 mistakes. Rourke, who tucked the ball and ran on a read option, fumbled, and a small pile ensued. Indiana recovered but lost two yards and wasted a snap.
Late in the third quarter, the Hoosiers were flagged for a holding penalty on 3rd and 4 and failed to beat the play clock before the next snap, leading to a 3rd and 19. Cignetti walked to the opposite 26-yard line, nearly 50 yards away from Indiana’s offense.
Perhaps nothing better encapsulated the highs and lows of Saturday’s offensive showing from Rourke and the Hoosiers.
“He missed two to four reads, which is going to happen in a football game,” Cignetti said. “And familiarity with scheme and things like that, just playing more snaps. We left at least 10 plays out there offensively, but not [due to] the quarterback.”
The latter sentiment was reciprocated in the Hoosiers’ weight room after Saturday’s game, where several players touched on the need to be better in next week’s matchup against Western Illinois University.
Rourke was one of them. He said he needs to be better, missing a handful of throws that he feels could have led to more points and put the game out of reach much sooner. The chances were there, Rourke said, and the Hoosiers need to hit them moving forward.
But Indiana is confident the Rourke-led offense will do exactly that. Senior tight end Zach Horton, who was on the receiving end of Rourke’s first touchdown pass as a Hoosier, said postgame he feels comfortable with and has full trust in Rourke to lead Indiana moving forward.
“Very smart, very respectable,” Horton said about Rourke. “That’s a quarterback I feel like a lot of people want to play for. He’s a really hard worker and he’s constantly trying to get better and fix everything he wants.”
Rourke’s first half was better than his second. During the first 30 minutes, he completed 12-of-17 passes for 147 yards. Indiana scored three consecutive touchdowns, was 4-of-5 on third down conversions and averaged nearly seven yards per play.
But over the final two quarters, Rourke went just 3-of-7 for 33 yards as Indiana went with a run-heavy approach to eat away at the clock. The Hoosiers went 0-of-5 on third downs, and apart from a 51-yard rushing score by fifth-year senior running back Elijah Green, Indiana mustered only 120 yards from scrimmage over five drives.
The Hoosiers are targeting more consistent offensive production and fewer mistakes moving forward. Rourke believes both come with game reps, and Indiana has six days to regroup, watch film from Saturday and fine tune its attack.
Indiana returns to the field at 7 p.m. Sept. 6 inside Memorial Stadium. Western Illinois, which hasn’t won a game since Oct. 30, 2021, isn’t expected to pose much of a threat to the Hoosiers.
But for Rourke, who’s hoping his sixth college season will be his best, his mind remains on the bigger picture — one that holds scenes of Houdini acts, precision passes and more Indiana victories.
“The more consistent we are, the more consistent I am as a quarterback, the more the offense moves, the more success we’ll have,” Rourke said.
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and columnist Jhett Garrett (@jhettgarrett) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
