Indiana football won 9-0 for the first time in program history. Most notably, Michigan State’s 47-10 win that welcomed back starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke and pushed the Hoosiers closer to a College Football Playoff lock.
Luke missed last week’s win over Washington due to a right (throwing) thumb injury he suffered a week ago on the road at Nebraska. He started slow against the Spartans, but it didn’t take him long to have the balance and precision that should have him in the Heisman Trophy race, and he certainly has first-year coach Curt Cignetti in the National Coach of the Year conversation. Rourke went 19 of 29 for 263 yards and four touchdowns.
The Hoosiers (9-0, 6-0) actually fell behind for the first time all season, allowing Jonathan Smith’s Spartans (4-5, 2-4) to score the first 10 points of the game. It was pure dominance from there, including 2 ½ Indiana’s seven sacks from Mikail Kamara, another award contender. MSU’s total offense was 205 yards, or 3.2 yards per play.
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This season follows the greatest Indiana season on record, penned by coach John Pont’s 1967 team, which won the Big Ten and advanced to the program’s only Rose Bowl, finishing 9-2. The 1945 Hoosiers, coached by Bo McMillin, also won nine games, tied the game in the second, and finished at 9-0-1 and 5-0-1 in the Western Conference (the former name of the Big Ten).
The 2024 Hoosiers are now off to their best start ever. If they can handle downtrodden national champion Michigan at home next week, they will become the first Indiana team to win by double digits.
And if Michigan’s attempt to overthrow Indiana is rejected, all that’s left for Indiana is a trip to Ohio State and a home game against rival Purdue, the Big Ten’s worst team.
The Hoosiers could play the Buckeyes in the Big Ten championship game against first-place Oregon, and a loss in Columbus makes it unlikely they will earn a spot in the first 12-team College Football Playoff. As long as they take care of business, they should take care of it. According to athleticAccording to projections, the Hoosiers now have an 87% chance of taking the field.
Vanderbilt beat Alabama to become bowl eligible in nine games, both Army and Navy are ranked in the top 25, and Pittsburgh is off to a 7-0 start for the first time since 1982. — Anything.
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(Photo: Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
