Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: INDIANA BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM JANUARY 2025 21 C O L L E G E F O O T B A L L P L A Y O F F 1. No Ranked Wins Not over a team that was ranked at time of kickoff or over a team that's currently ranked. The combined record of the 11 teams the Hoosiers have beaten this year is 51-81 (.386). The only team with a winning record that Indiana beat this season is Michigan, and this was a down year for the Wolverines. They went 7-5 fol- lowing last season's national title. Indiana defeated Michigan 20-15 Nov. 9 in Bloomington. 2. QB Is For Real Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who transferred from Ohio, has had a phenomenal season. He's completed a career-high 70.4 percent of his passes for 240.6 yards per game with 27 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He's not much of a runner, though, being credited for 41 carries and a loss of 25 yards because of sack yardage. He's scored twice on the ground. In four years at Ohio, Rourke threw for 7,651 yards with 50 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. With what he's done at Indiana, his career totals are sitting at 10,478 yards with 77 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. 3. Well Coached Curt Cignetti has done a fabulous job in his first year as a head coach at a power conference program. He was at James Madison for two years and compiled a record of 19-4 there. He parlayed that into the Indiana gig, where's continued to make himself a household name in college football. The Hoosiers had never won 10 games in program history. Cignetti's got them at 11 and counting. Cignetti, 63, began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Pittsburgh in 1983. The West Virginia graduate and former Mountaineers quarterback has also had coaching stints at Rice, Temple, North Carolina State, Alabama, IUP and Elon in addition to James Madison and Indiana. 4. Balance The Hoosiers have the No. 2 scoring offense in college football and the No. 6 scoring defense. That is very Notre Dame-like — the Irish are No. 3 in both of those categories. Indiana ranks 12th in the country in yards per play (6.66) and 24th in yards per game (438.8). If one side of the ball is better than the other for Indiana, like Notre Dame, it's the defense. The Hoosiers rank third nationally in yards allowed per play (4.13) and second in yards allowed per game (244.8). 5. Two-headed Running Back Monster If there is a chip in Notre Dame's defensive armor, it's against opponents' running games. The Irish rank 51st in rushing yards allowed per game. Indiana, meanwhile, has a pair of running backs in Wake Forest transfer Justice Ellison and James Madison transfer Ty Son Lawton. The former has gone for 148 carries, 811 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. The latter has carried 131 times for 634 yards and 12 scores. Notre Dame's defensive game plan has to center on stopping those two in addition to limiting Rourke's effectiveness through the air. — Tyler Horka Five Things To Know About Indiana Running back Justice Ellison, a transfer from Wake Forest, has 811 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground for Indiana this season. PHOTO COURTESY INDIANA