Indiana football sixth-year senior quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who missed the Hoosiers’ 31-17 victory over Washington on Oct. 26 due to a right thumb injury, is nearing a return ahead of the team’s 3:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday against Michigan State at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.
“Optimistic on Kurtis Rourke,” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said in a press conference Monday. “He's thrown the last few days, building up. Workload will increase as the week goes on.”
Rourke, who’s completed 74.6% of his throws and ranks top five in the Big Ten with 1,941 passing yards and 15 touchdowns, appeared to hit his thumb on the helmet of two different Cornhusker defenders in the first half of Indiana’s 56-7 win over Nebraska on Oct. 19. He underwent surgery Oct. 21.
Without Rourke, the Hoosiers turned to redshirt sophomore Tayven Jackson. Making his first start since Oct. 14, 2023, Jackson went 11 for 19 for 124 yards, one touchdown and an interception while adding another score on the ground.
“There was good and bad,” Cignetti said about Jackson’s performance. “He's got to build on the good and eliminate the bad. He'll have a good film session with (quarterbacks coach Tino) Sunseri this evening. Like everybody else — better, worse, never stay the same. Need to be better tonight in the walk-through.”
Washington became the first opponent to outgain Indiana this season, as the Huskies totaled 318 yards to the Hoosiers’ 312. Indiana, however, had a defensive touchdown on a 67-yard pick-six from sophomore cornerback D’Angelo Ponds and a 65-yard punt return from fifth-year senior receiver Myles Price that set up the Hoosiers’ last score.
Indiana’s offense, which has carried a theme of versatility throughout the season, grew one-dimensional in the second half against Washington. The Hoosiers ran 36 plays overall, 31 of which were rushing attempts. Jackson threw just five passes, going 2 for 5 for 24 yards and an interception.
Fifth-year senior running back Justice Ellison rushed a career-high 29 times for 123 yards and a touchdown, spearheading a rushing attack that tallied 188 yards on a season-high 52 attempts.
Still, the Hoosiers failed to eclipse 400 yards of offense for the first time this season, and didn’t reach 40 points for the first time since their 31-7 victory over Florida International University in the season opener Aug. 31.
Yet Cignetti feels Indiana’s offensive struggles went beyond quarterback play.
“This past Saturday was probably our most inconsistent performance,” Cignetti said. “I know all eyes are always on the quarterback. Everybody sees when he throws a completion or incompletion. We had some inconsistency throughout all 11 guys that were playing.”
Indiana’s first full-speed, padded practice of the week comes Tuesday, four days before the Hoosiers face the Spartans.
Ranked No. 13 and boasting an 8-0 record for the first time since 1967, Indiana expects to play in front of 70,000 fans Saturday, which would be its highest-attended game this season by over 15,000 people.
Rourke’s veteran presence could prove beneficial in a raucous Big Ten environment with the Old Brass Spittoon on the line — but his status remains uncertain as the Hoosiers begin their preparation.
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and columnist Jhett Garrett (@jhettgarrett) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
