Indiana Quarterback Kurtis Rourke Joins Heisman Trophy Conversation

Leading Indiana to a 6-0 start, quarterback Kurtis Rourke ranks second in the nation in quarterback rating, and he is beginning to garner Heisman Trophy consideration.

Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke (9) leaves the Rose Bowl after defeating UCLA / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana wide receiver Ke’Shawn Williams isn’t surprised by the season quarterback Kurtis Rourke is putting together. But one throw on Saturday against Northwestern left him in awe. 

The Hoosiers were in the midst of what coach Curt Cignetti considered a back-and-forth test they had not yet faced. Indiana hasn’t trailed at any point this year, so leading Northwestern by seven points with 6:44 left in the third quarter constituted adversity.

On Northwestern’s 13-yard line, Rourke faked a handoff and dropped back to pass. The play didn’t appear promising at first, as Rourke’s initial reads weren’t open and Northwestern pressured him from both sides. Without much room to step into his throw, a flat-footed Rourke lofted the ball to the end zone and gave Williams just enough room to get his feet down before reaching the sideline.

The touchdown gave Indiana a 24-10 lead and amazed Williams.

“That might have been the best ball I’ve ever seen,” Williams said postgame. “Coming in the route, I didn’t even expect the ball to come out to me, personally. But I looked up and the ball was just here. So he just gave me a layup for real, I don’t know. Having a quarterback like that is a receiver’s dream. Just knowing that even when you don’t think he will, he’ll put the ball right where it needs to be and all you need to do is just lay two hands on it and catch it.”

“I’m not even completely confident Kurtis Rourke could see the intended target out there,” Big Ten Network analyst Anthony Herron said on the broadcast.

That was just one moment in another outstanding performance from Rourke. He finished the game completing 25 of 33 passes for 380 yards, three touchdowns and zero turnovers, good for a 96.0 quarterback rating on a scale of 100. 

“A good statistics game and everything, and always grateful for the positives and everything like that,” Rourke said postgame. “There’s always, for me, stuff that I can continue to work on. And so, great statistics game, and it’s a lot of confidence building to be able to know that there’s so much out there as well. But happy with the win and that the team is able to go home 6-0.”

⚪ 25/33 CMP
🔴 380 YDS
⚪ 3 TD
🔴 0 INT

Kurtis Rourke put up some huge numbers to help No. 23 @IndianaFootball stay perfect.#B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/d1ZfNbVPcK

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 6, 2024

Rourke earned his second Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week award on Monday, along with his performance at UCLA. He’s also beginning to attract Heisman Trophy consideration. 

Rourke was listed No. 5 on the On3 Heisman Trophy poll following Week 6, and NCAA.com included him among the top-12 Heisman contenders going into the Northwestern game. Rourke has the 14th best odds to win the Heisman Trophy at plus-4500 on the FanDuel Sportsbook. CBS Sports tabbed Rourke No. 2 in its quarterback rankings following Week 6.

The current Heisman favorite is Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, who leads the nation with 1,031 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns on 10.9 yards per carry. Next is Colorado’s Travis Hunter, who has 561 receiving yards and six touchdowns as a wide receiver and two interceptions at cornerback.

They’re followed by a slew of quarterbacks, including Miami’s Cam Ward, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, and Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel. Rourke trails Ward in passing yards and touchdowns, but he is near the top of every quarterback statistic.

Across his first six games as a Hoosier, the Ohio University transfer has completed 118 of 160 pass attempts (73.8%) for 1,752 yards, 14 touchdowns and two interceptions and zero fumbles. He also has 44 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. 

That puts him fourth in the nation in completion percentage, fifth in passing yards and tied for ninth in touchdowns despite ranking 45th in pass attempts. Rourke also ranks second in ESPN’s adjusted total quarterback rating (91.9) and fourth in passer rating (192.1).

Among qualified quarterbacks, Rourke has the fourth-highest passing grade (91.2) and the sixth-highest offense grade (90.0) in the nation by Pro Football Focus (PFF). That’s led to an Indiana offense that is third in scoring and sixth in yards per game. 

“The quarterback has been outstanding,” Cignetti said. “And the offense, there’s so many playmakers and it all starts up front with the line. And Zach [Horton] does a great job. So it seems like every time when the offense has needed to respond with a touchdown, we have.”

Wanna feel even better about Kurtis Rourke & No. 18 @IndianaFootball?

Jake Butt delivers it on #B1GToday 👇#B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/nWSAseYhhu

— Indiana On BTN (@IndianaOnBTN) October 8, 2024

Rourke has a reasonable chance to set the Indiana single-season passing record this season. In 2015, Nate Sudfeld set the record with 3,573 passing yards in 12 games. Rourke has already thrown for 1,752 yards in six games, putting him on pace for 3,504 yards in 12 games. 

Add Rourke’s 44 rushing yards, and he is on pace for 3,592 total yards in 12 games. The program record for total offense in a season is 3,779, set by Kellen Lewis in 2007. He could pass Sudfeld for passing yards and Lewis for total yards during Indiana’s bowl game or the College Football Playoffs.

If Rourke maintains his 73.8% completion percentage, he would set Indiana’s single-season record. Michael Penix Jr. holds the record with a 68.8% completion percentage across 160 attempts in 2019, followed by Peyton Ramsey’s 68.0% completion percentage in 300 attempts during the same season.

Rourke is on pace for 320 passing attempts, which would not crack the top 10 in program history. But his 118 completions across six games puts him on pace for 236, which would rank eighth and pass Connor Bazelak’s mark of 235 in 2022. If Rourke replicates his 14 passing touchdowns from the first six games during the final six, he would tie Kellen Lewis’ single-season passing touchdowns record of 28, set in 2007.

When Indiana landed Rourke in December, he was ranked as the No. 35 quarterback and No. 439 among all transfers by On3. But midway through the season, he has proven to be one of the most impactful transfers in the country.

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