The Indiana Hoosiers and first-year head coach Curt Cignetti have been one of college football’s biggest surprises.
Indiana moved to 8-0 over the weekend after cruising to a 31-17 win over the Washington Huskies following College GameDay’s first stop in Bloomington since 2017.
More impressively, the Hoosiers won against Washington without starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who continues to recover from a thumb injury suffered in Indiana’s 56-7 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers on October 19.
Rourke underwent surgery on the injury early last week, and according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the quarterback could make his return against the Michigan State Spartans this week.
Sources: Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke has continued to throw the past few days, and there’s continued optimism he can play on Saturday against Michigan State. He’s been dealing with a thumb injury and had surgery last week. IU’s first full practice is Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/mflK8xx3Bn
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 28, 2024
“Sources: Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke has continued to throw the past few days, and there’s continued optimism he can play on Saturday against Michigan State. He’s been dealing with a thumb injury and had surgery last week. IU’s first full practice is Tuesday,” Thamel said Monday on his X account.
Rourke has been a huge part of Indiana’s success. He’s 135-for-181 for 1,941 passing yards. His 15 touchdown passes are fourth-most in the conference, and Rourke’s three interceptions puts him in a tie with Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer for fewest in the conference among players with 150 pass attempts or more.
