Indiana football is 9-0 for the primary time in program history, emphatically, a 47-10 win at Michigan State welcomes the return of starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke and moves the Hoosiers closer to College Football Playoff lock status.
Rourke missed last week's win against Washington due to an injury to his right (throwing) thumb he suffered in a win over Nebraska per week earlier. He began slowly against the Spartans, but didn't take long to carve them up with the poise and accuracy that ought to have him within the Heisman Trophy race – and positively has first-year coach Curt Cignetti in talks to change into the national team coach 12 months. Rourke finished 19 of 29 for 263 yards and 4 touchdowns.
The Hoosiers (9-0, 6-0) actually trailed for the primary time all season and gave Jonathan Smith's Spartans (4-5, 2-4) the primary 10 points of the sport. From there it was pure dominance, including seven Indiana sacks, 2 ½ from one other award contender, Mikail Kamara. MSU had 205 yards of total offense and three.2 yards per play.
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This season was seeking Indiana's best season ever, created by coach John Pont's 1967 team that won the Big Ten, reached this system's only Rose Bowl and went 9-2 ended. The 1945 Hoosiers, coached by Bo McMillin, also won nine games, tied their second game, and finished 9-0-1, 5-0-1 within the Western Conference (the previous name of the Big Ten).
The 2024 Hoosiers are actually off to their best start ever. If they’ll face struggling defending champion Michigan at home next week, they’ll change into the primary Indiana team with double-digit wins.
And if Michigan's try and upset Indiana is rejected, all Indiana has left is a visit to Ohio State and a house game against the Big Ten's worst team, rival Purdue.
The Hoosiers could play the Buckeyes for a spot within the Big Ten Championship Game against No. 1 Oregon, and a loss in Columbus likely won't keep them from a spot in the highest 12 College Football Playoff. As long as they're doing the business they're purported to be doing. According to 's projections, the Hoosiers now have an 87 percent likelihood of constructing the sphere.
And that's as much as a commentary on the craziness of this season – a season through which Vanderbilt beat Alabama and qualified for the bowl in nine games, Army and Navy each finished in the highest 25, and Pittsburgh went 7 for the primary time since 1982: 0 began – than anything.
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