Hoosiers Win No. 10

Saturday, November 9

Bloomington, Ind.

3:30 P.M.

Indiana University

Michigan

11/9/2024 10:13:00 PM | Football

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By: Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Was there ever a better Indiana victory formation, with quarterback Kurtis Rourke taking a final knee and the clock ticking down to 10 seconds to 5 to 0?

The No. 8 Hoosiers' storybook unbeaten season continued with Saturday's 20-15 win over Michigan and when it was over, receiver turned difference-making punt returner Ke'Shawn Williams took notice.

"It's a blessing," he said. "It's why you come to this school. When we took a knee, I took time to look around. It was crazy. It was special."

IU, having dominated every other team with its 33-point average margin of victory, showed it could win by cliffhanger against a tradition-rich opponent. That mattered Saturday. It could matter more on Nov. 23 when the Hoosiers (10-0 overall, 7-0 in the Big Ten) travel to No. 3 Ohio State (8-1, 5-1).

"A gutty win," head coach Curt Cignetti said. "There were no style points, but Indiana is 10-0 and has a week off. Coach Cignetti will have a day off.

"It reflects our competitive character. We'll take the win over Michigan and enjoy being undefeated for 24 hours."

With IU's nine-game blowout run over, with a prolific offense stymied, the defense and the sellout Memorial Stadium crowd rose to the opportunity, white towels waving, 53,082 fans roaring, national playoff implications everywhere you looked.

In the final minutes, clinging to that five-point lead against a program IU had beaten just three times since 1966, the defense got the stop it had to have, forcing four-straight incompletions.

"We don't blink," defensive lineman CJ West said. "We have a warrior mentality, that we can stop anybody at any time. We prepare for this."

Added linebacker Aiden Fisher: "I let the defense know it will come down to us. When you put the game in our hands, I want to make sure we will take care of business."

That left it up to the offense to run out the final 95 seconds. IU needed one first down. On the first play, tailback Ty Son Lawton ran for eight yards. Then, quarterback Kurtis Rourke kept the ball when the Michigan defense, and nearly everyone else, expected him to hand it off, and ran four yards for the clinching first down.

"This shows our resilience," said Williams, forced into punt return duties when Myles Price was injured during the game. "It takes more than just the offense, more than the defense and special teams. It takes all three. When you're doing enough and staying confident and staying poised in those situations, no moment is too big."

The Hoosiers have never been 10-0 before, have never been in such a strong position to make the playoffs before. They are No. 8 in the playoff rankings.

"If you'd have asked Coach Cig in July," Fisher said with a smile, "this is exactly where he thought we would be."

This season, IU had never been challenged like this before, having won every previous game by at least 14 points. To win a close game, even if it came with multiple mistakes, is "huge," Fisher said.

"A lot of championship teams have an ugly, hard-fought win. That's what we did. We had a great, physical opponent. When you get adversity, it's how you respond to it. We did a great job of that."

Indiana's offense, so dominant all season, was shut down in the second half. After totaling 228 yards and 17 points in the first 30 minutes, it was held to 18 and three in the final 30. The Wolverines stopped the run (IU only rushed for 40 yards on 28 carries), pressured and sacked Rourke into just 16 second-half passing yards (he had 190 in the first half). They scored 12 second-half points to pressure the Hoosiers as they hadn't been all season.

"For a while, we had a hard time gaining three yards," Cignetti said. "We had protection issues. Plays we normally make, we didn't. We couldn't get anything going in the run game."

But when it mattered most, the Hoosiers got the special teams effort (Williams' spectacular 22-yard return off a shanked Wolverines punt to the Michigan 39-yard line that helped set up Nicolas Radicic's career-long 42-yard fourth-quarter field goal), the defensive stop and offensive first down they needed.

"I'm glad we played this at home," Cignetti said. "The crowd really helped us. We had our struggles, but everybody's goal is the same. I can't say enough about these guys. They have accomplished quite a bit."

Williams' fourth-quarter punt return earned special praise.

"He's a veteran guy," Cignetti said. "He had a big catch early in the game. That punt was hard to judge and catch. He caught it full throttle. He made it happen. It was a tremendous effort. Uplifting. It was the first great thing offensive we had in the second half."

Then, Cignetti the fierce competitor kicked in.

"I'm glad we won," he said, "but I don't like the way we played. I'm not happy with the way we played on offense. We'll take a good look and see what happened. Our defense was on the field too long, but we got the win. None of us will give it back."

Michigan used up half the first quarter in its 66-yard opening drive that ended with a 39-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead with five minutes left in the first quarter.

Then the Hoosiers went to work.

Williams made a tough, contested 26-yard catch pass to set up Rourke's 7-yard scoring throw to Omar Cooper Jr. for a 7-3 score. Rourke came back with a 36-yard TD pass to Elijah Sarratt for a 14-3 Indiana lead early in the second quarter.

Defensive back Terry Jones Jr. forced a fumble that defensive lineman Mikail Kamara recovered at midfield. It led to Radicic's 40-yard field goal and a 17-3 halftime score.

Rourke's first pass of the third quarter was intercepted at the IU 7-yard line. The defense limited the damage to a field goal. The Wolverines added a 56-yard field goal for a 17-9 score at the end of the third quarter.

Michigan powered in a touchdown, but missed the two-point conversion, keeping IU ahead 17-15 lead with 9:35 left in regulation. The Hoosiers then got Williams' punt return and Radicic's field goal to hang on.

"We had good resolve," Cignetti said. "We stepped up and found a way to win."

Added Fisher: "At the end of the day, this game is in the past. We're looking forward to Ohio State."

The Hoosiers get their second bye of the season to prepare for Ohio State, a team they haven't beaten since 1988 by a 41-7 score under then head coach Bill Mallory.

"We'll use the bye week to help us recover and get better prepared for Ohio State," West said. "We'll look at their schemes and what we can do to exploit them."