Everything Indiana Quarterback Kurtis Rourke Said After A 47-10 Victory at Michigan State

Kurtis Rourke faced the media after he led the Hoosiers to a school-first 9-0 record. He started the game after missing one game with a thumb injury.

Indiana's Kurtis Rourke throws a pass during the third quarter in the game against Michigan State on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke spoke to the media at Spartan Stadium in the wake of No. 13 Indiana’s 47-10 victory over Michigan State.

Here’s everything Rourke had to say after he helped Indiana achieve its first 9-0 record in school history:

On what Rourke had on his hand …

Rourke: I had a couple of things. I had a splint to cover my nail for prevention of anything bending back. Then I cut off a glove to cover my thumb for extra grip.

On when Rourke felt comfortable with his hand …

Rourke: When I knew that Michigan State might have been a possibility, I tried to think of ways to properly throw and everything. My thumb is pretty swollen and still is so I needed a last little bit of grip. I needed something that was sticky enough that I could play with, but not inhibit throwing the ball as well.

On what he tried throughout the week to get comfortable …

Rourke: I tried a couple of things. Ultimately, it came down to the glove in practice Wednesday through today with it on.

On when he knew he could play …

Rourke: It wasn’t until about Tuesday, Wednesday, I felt good enough to play and had a good plan. Training staff has been awesome in helping me get back. A lot of treatment sessions and everything like that. Being able to progress every day. A bunch of things coming together helped me.

On how much pain Rourke had …

Rourke: I had some things that minimized the pain to start the game. It was definitely sore with every throw, but I knew it was going to come and it was something to play through. You don’t get a chance to play football a lot.

On how honest he had to be with himself about his return …

Rourke: It was every day and multiple times a day being honest with the coaching staff, the trainers, but more important, myself. The biggest thing I wanted to do was not put the team in jeopardy. Obviously, Tayven’s done a great job, he did a great job last week, I knew the team would be in great hands. I wanted to make sure I was at my best to be able to go and help the team before anything else. And then slowly progress and see how I was feeling each day.

How Rourke found his groove …

Rourke: I kind of got a feel for what their plan was for the game. They played good defense on those first two drives. We have some great guys on our offense, we had to settle down and stick to the gameplan.

On when Rourke got hurt …

Rourke: It was a deep-out to E.J. Williams. When I threw it, I hit my hand and my thumb and I hit it on another guy’s hand. It broke on impact. I thought it was a nail because it was bleeding so much. It ended up just being the bone and when it broke it messed (the nail) up. It was a lot of pain, but I’ve played through fingernail issues before. I don’t want to come out kind of thing.

On when Rourke found out he would miss time …

Rourke: It wasn’t until halftime. They took an X-ray. Again, I still thought it was the fingernail because I had never broken anything in my hand before. It wasn’t until that point, though. I thought (the time missed) was going to be longer, but I was really lucky on how it turned out.  

On the energy on the team …

Rourke: No. I love the guys. I think this team is really special and we have a lot of fun opportunities ahead of us. I’m proud of the guys. They’re excited and will be excited for the rest of the night and this weekend and I couldn’t be more happy to be a part of the team.

On Indiana’s RPO prowess …

Rourke: It wasn’t something I did a lot of in my career, so reps helped me feel confident about it. Our scheme, as well as how we run our RPOs is really important. Shout out to our coaches for being able to develop and come up with those RPOs to teach it and run it right. I takes a lot of practice to master and get good at. Ever since the spring, I’ve worked on it knowing it can help our team.

On falling behind and facing adversity …

Rourke: It’s great. All sorts of adversity has come up this season. We hadn’t trailed before so it was a good opportunity to show that we don’t have to get down on ourselves. Nothing has to spiral. We just have to be able to get to the gameplan. Trust that we’ll be able to get back in the game and handle our business from there.

On the Amare Ferrell interception in the first half …

Rourke: It’s awesome. Our defense has played really well all season. The last few games they’ve turned the ball over a ton. Having a defense that gives you good field position to start drives is very helpful. I love the way our defense plays.

On being 9-0 …

Rourke: It’s awesome. It’s a great feeling. We’ve prepared for this moment since January, getting to know all the new guys and feeling everything out. We knew we had a special team. It’s just great to see it play out the way it is. Hopefully, we’ll keep rolling.

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• INDIANA ROARS BACK TO BEAT MICHIGAN STATE: The 13th-ranked Hoosiers trailed for the first time this season, but scored 47 unanswered points to move to a school-record 9-0 mark. CLICK HERE.

• WHAT CIGNETTI SAID: What Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said after Indiana defeated Michigan State 47-10. CLICK HERE.

• LIVE BLOG: Read about how the game played out in real time with the Hoosiers On SI live blog. CLICK HERE.

• CIGNETTI'S SUCCESS AT INDIANA WAS MIRRORED AT ELON: The head coaching job Curt Cignetti has previously had the most closely approximates what he's done at Indiana was his stint at Elon. Hoosiers On SI talked to some of Cignetti's Elon colleagues to find out how he makes it all work. CLICK HERE.