Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke is expected to miss the next game against Washington because of a hand injury suffered in a 56-7 blowout win against Nebraska Saturday, according to multiple reports. The veteran transfer did not play in the second half after hitting his throwing hand on a pass attempt in the second quarter. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports the timetable for Rourke to return to the Hoosiers is unclear. Indiana has upcoming games against Michigan and Ohio State in November.
“I know people are going to ask me about Kurtis Rourke,” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said postgame, via Peegs.com. “Thought he played really well in the first half. He (hit) a thumb on a helmet, nail kind of came off. We’ll know more tomorrow. But optimistic.”
Rourke helped the Hoosiers jump out to a big lead early against Nebraska, marking what was expected to be their toughest test yet in an undefeated start to the season. He completed 17 of 21 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown with one interception on the final play of the first half. Backup quarterback Tayven Jackson took the remainder of the snaps for Indiana, completing 7 of 9 attempts for 91 yards and two touchdowns.
Jackson is a former four-star prospect that started his college career at Tennessee before transferring to Indiana prior to last season. He made five starts for the Hoosiers as a redshirt freshman in 2023.
“I thought he played well his first opportunity at home,” Cignetti said postgame. “Second opportunity at home, okay. Guy still has to practice better. It’s hard to be the second-string quarterback because you don’t get many reps. We put a lot of new stuff in in the pass game week to week. You look at the variables in terms of their coverages and defenses, right? But I thought he went in there and did a good job. I had confidence. Team had confidence. I was proud of him.”
Rourke is a key factor behind the 7-0 start for the Hoosiers, completing 74.6% of his passes for 1,941 yards and 15 touchdowns with only three interceptions this season. He had at least one touchdown pass in every game, including five contests with multiple scores for the potent Indiana offense, which leads the FBS with 48.7 points per game.
Rourke joined the Hoosiers as a graduate transfer prior to the 2024 season after multiple years as the starter at Ohio. Considered to be one of the best quarterbacks in the Group of Five ranks in recent seasons, Rourke won the MAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2022 despite suffering a torn ACL late in the year. He completed 69.1% of his passes for 3,256 yards and 25 touchdowns with only four interceptions, while setting multiple program records.
In 36 career appearances at quarterback for Ohio, Rourke totaled 7,666 yards passing with 50 touchdowns passes while completing 66.3% of his attempts. He also rushed for 832 yards and 11 touchdowns on 232 carries.
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Indiana hosts Washington next Saturday. Kickoff is set for noon ET.
