Indiana improves to 8-0 without QB Kurtis Rourke, riding defense and run game to best start since 1967

The magical start to the Curt Cignetti era hit some real adversity last week with the loss of starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke to injury, but the Hoosiers have responded in resounding fashion with a 31-17 win against Indiana to improve to 8-0 on the year. 

With the win, Indiana continues to match its 1967 Big Ten championship season with its first 8-0 start since that year. Cignetti is also the first Indiana coach to ever start his tenure with an 8-0 record, and first in the Division I era (since 1973) to lead two different schools to 8-0 starts in consecutive seasons after getting James Madison out to a 10-0 start in 2023. 

And while Indiana has won every game this season by 14 points or more and is one of just two teams in the country to never trail, Saturday's win against Indiana did not come easy. With Kurtis Rourke out of the lineup, backup quarterback Tayven Jackson was tasked with leading the offense and in the early possessions the Hoosiers were having trouble moving the ball with their usual efficiency. The first three possessions included two three-and-outs and a turnover on downs, but the luckily the Indiana defense showed up in a big way to set the tone against the Huskies. 

Washington was driving into Indiana territory after the first three-and-out and for a moment it looked like the Hoosiers would be facing a deficit for the first time all season. That's when sophomore D'Angelo Ponds jumped the route on a screen pass to log the first of his two interceptions in the game and sprint 67 yards the other direction for the game's first touchdown. 

"I thought it was a gutty win," Curt Cignetti told the Big Ten Network after the game. "Defense made some plays in the first half, the interception for a touchdown and another interception that set up a touchdown. The defense wasn't perfect, but they had a lot of stops." 

After Ponds' second interception of the first half it took Indiana just two plays for Jackson to connect with wide receiver Omar Cooper over the middle of the field for a 42-yard touchdown. 

It was a gut-punch for Washington, who through 17 minutes of game time had more total yards of offense and more first downs yet trailed 14-0 on the scoreboard. And even without Rourke in the lineup, the Hoosiers knew that their early offensive ineptitude was not likely to continue throughout the afternoon. 

Sometimes well-coached teams win by beating teams at the margins and sometimes they can win based on how they respond and adjust during a game. Indiana's win against Washington featured both, as splash plays on defense and special teams impacted the field position battle and the scoreboard but there was also some in-game adjustments that allowed the Hoosiers to put the game on ice in the second half. 

Washington's defense, led by Steve Belichick, presented Indiana with some different coverage looks that made it tough for Tayven Jackson and the passing game to get going. So the Hoosiers turned to the downhill rushing attack and it served them well on multiple fronts. Senior running back Justice Ellison was a willing workhorse with 123 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries and both Ty'Son Lawton (12 carries, 41 yards) and Jackson (six carries, 17 yards, one touchdown) were able to give the ground game some balance. 

A heavy dose of the run game helped wear down Washington's defense and keep the clock running as the Hoosiers protected their lead throughout the second half. The mentality was on full display early in the third quarter when Washington cut the lead to just three points after a Tayven Jackson interception and then Indiana responded with a 14-play, 75-yard drive that ate up 7:42 of game clock to push the lead back to 10. 

Moving forward for Indiana there will be a lot of deserved attention on the status of Kurtis Rourke as he continues to recover and rehab from the surgery to repair his injured finger. The outlook was reportedly optimistic following the procedure, up next are two games before the Hoosiers hit a late off week in prior to the Nov. 23 showdown with Ohio State in Columbus. Indiana is at Michigan State next week and then hosts Michigan on Nov. 9, and while the run game and defense answered the call against Washington the absence of Rourke could be felt in a bigger way away from home next week or against the reigning Big Ten champs in Michigan. 

But even if Rourke isn't able to return next week for Michigan State, what Indiana showed in a gritty win was the result of a team that's incredible well-coached and versatile. Rourke may be one of the Big Ten's best quarterbacks but his success is not the sole reason for Indiana's success. This is a total team effort to match one of the greatest seasons in Indiana football history, and with each step that keeps the Hoosiers on track to contend for the Big Ten title it makes 2024 look like it could be one of the greatest season in program history as well.