‘Fueling the Fire’ – Rourke, IU Motivated for Playoff Run
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - For Kurtis Rourke, here comes the bullseye.
Indiana’s ruthlessly efficient veteran quarterback will have lots of Irish eyes, and more, on him when the Hoosiers (11-1) face Notre Dame (11-1) in the Dec. 20 College Football Playoff opener at Notre Dame Stadium.
Marked-man attention happens when you lead the nation in passing efficiency, as Rourke does with a 181.38 rating while completing 70 percent of his passes for 2,877 yards, 27 touchdowns, and just four interceptions.
It’s also what happens when you face the nation’s No. 1 defensive pass efficiency team, which Notre Dame is by holding opposing quarterbacks to 48.7 percent accuracy and limiting them to just nine touchdown passes while intercepting 17.
The Irish also lead the country in turnovers forced (28) and defensive touchdowns (six). Seven teams passed for 125 or fewer yards against them, which is also the best in the nation. They have 30.0 sacks and 42 quarterback hits.
They will try to do to Rourke what Ohio State did for much of its win over the Hoosiers, what Michigan did in the second half of an IU victory.
Hit and pressure Rourke into inefficiency.
The Hoosiers counter strategy is simple – protect Rourke so he can do what he does best, which is direct one of the nation’s most potent balanced attacks.
Consider Notre Dame’s regular season finale, when it was tested by USC quarterback Jayden Maiava, who threw for 360 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-35 Irish victory. The Irish returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns in that game and have returned five picks for TDs on the season.
Rourke is as good as any quarterback in the country at protecting the ball. Of his four interceptions, one came on a Hail Mary attempt with a banged-up thumb at the end of the first half against Nebraska.
“The stats show that (Indiana) has done a really good job in the passing game and with their passing attack,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman says. “It will be a great opportunity to come up with a good plan and compete.”
Indiana’s challenge goes well beyond passing-attack matchups. It hasn’t beaten Notre Dame since 1950. It hasn’t won at Notre Dame since 1906. It has defeated the Irish only five times in 29 previous meetings. It is, in every sense, an underdog.
And yet, in this historic Hoosier season under head coach Curt Cignetti …
“It’s extra motivation,” Rourke says. “That’s what so great about our team. It starts with Coach Cignetti. A lot of us have had to prove we belong in wherever we are. It fuels us in knowing that we’re counted out, that we’re the underdog and we always will be, at least for this year.”
IU, Rourke adds, uses that to its advantage.
“We can play freely knowing that we’re capable of competing with anybody. It just fuels the fire.”
Academic classes are over this week, which gives the Hoosiers more preparation time. Rourke is taking full advantage.
“We’ll watch more film, see what Notre Dame does and some points where we can attack them.”
Rourke hopes to watch film on every Irish game this season. He’ll watch for defensive tendencies and personnel.
“For personnel, you usually watch the last couple of games to see who’s playing.”
Rourke says he used the week after the Purdue victory to “decompress” and evaluate the season to see where he and the offense could improve.
Even with IU’s eye-popping offensive numbers that include 10 games scoring at least 31 points, eight scoring at least 41, four scoring at least 52 and two scoring at least 66, plus averaging a Big Ten-best 43.3 points a game, second nationally to Miami’s 44.1-point average, as well as averaging 438.8 total yards per game, improvement is needed.
The 20-15 win over Michigan, and the 38-15 loss at Ohio State confirm that.
Rourke says he wants all the practice work he can get to stay in rhythm. That’s why he wants to take every practice rep.
The Ohio State loss remains an educational inspiration. It is, in so many ways, perfect preparation for what the Hoosiers will face at Notre Dame -- a traditional powerhouse program in a loud, hostile environment.
“We didn’t play to our standards,” Rourke says. “It’s a learning opportunity on how to deal and win those big games, knowing how well we have to play to win, that we have to minimize our mistakes and handle the environment.
“That’s what it takes to win these big games. Even though it was a tough loss, it was important to have a game like that, to be tested like that.”
Crowd noise was a factor at Ohio State. The Hoosiers have worked non-stop since then to ensure it won’t be again. Cignetti is relentless in his preparation to turn weakness into strength.
“We’re going to be more prepared than we were,” Rourke says. “We’ve been repping it ever since even though we didn’t know if we’d have to use it or not.
“If we have to use it, it’s going to be an afterthought because we’ve repped it so many times. I don’t see it being an issue.”
Despite not winning a national title since 1987, Notre Dame remains a traditional college superpower with 11 national championships and 22 undefeated seasons. It has played football since 1887 and at Notre Dame Stadium since 1930.
“Notre Dame is a historic place and a historic team,” Rourke says. “They’ve had great teams in the past and they’re a good team this year, but we’re also a pretty good team, as well.”
As far as this season’s record-breaking run, Rourke says, “That’s something we’re very prideful of in knowing we were able to achieve pretty much every goal we set. Now it’s resetting and knowing the new season starts.”