Hoosiers Now

Indiana Quarterback Kurtis Rourke Not Expected To Play Against Washington

After suffering a thumb injury in the first half of Saturday's 56-7 win over Nebraska, Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke is not expected to play next week against Washington.

Jack Ankony

Indiana's Kurtis Rourke (9) passes against Nebraska at Memorial Stadium.
Indiana's Kurtis Rourke (9) passes against Nebraska at Memorial Stadium. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke is not expected to play on Saturday against Washington due to a right thumb injury, as first reported by ESPN's Pete Thamel on Sunday morning. Rourke will return this season, according to Thamel's report, though the timetable is unclear.

On Sunday afternoon, the Indiana football program announced that Rourke, "will be out an indefinite period of time with a thumb injury but is expected to return in 2024."

Rourke suffered a thumb injury in the first half of Indiana's 56-7 win over Nebraska on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The injury appeared to occur on a 12-yard completion to E.J. Williams Jr. with 6:13 in the second quarter. Rourke’s right hand collided with Nebraska defensive lineman James Williams when following through on the pass.

“He hit this thumb on, I believe, a helmet and a nail kind of came off. So we’ll know more tomorrow, but optimistic,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said postgame.

Rourke remained in the game for the final three drives of the half, but he did not play in the second half. Following running back Ty Son Lawton's touchdown run with 3:48 left in the second quarter, an Indiana staff member was seen wrapping a towel around Rourke's right hand.

Following the thumb injury, Rourke finished the half completing 5 of 7 pass attempts for 37 yards and an interception, which occurred on a Hail Mary pass at the end of the half. On the day, he completed 17 of 21 passes for 189 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

"I thought he played really well," Cignetti said. "Made plays. Ran a little bit, too. The wideouts made some catches. He threw some nice balls on those back shoulders, and those wideouts made some real nice catches."

Rourke ranks among the nation's top quarterbacks this season and had joined the Heisman Trophy conversation. The Ohio University transfer has completed 74.6% of his passes for 1,941 yards, 15 touchdowns and three interceptions.

At 6-foot-5, Rourke's total quarterback rating of 91.8 ranks second in the nation behind Miami quarterback Cam Ward, per ESPN. Oregon's Dillon Gabriel is the only starting quarterback with a higher completion percentage than Rourke.

Rourke led an Indiana offense that ranks first nationally scoring at 48.7 points per game and fifth in yards per game at 512.7.

With Rourke not expected to play against Washington, Indiana will likely turn to redshirt sophomore quarterback Tayven Jackson, who has been Rourke's backup all season.

Jackson replaced Rourke for the entire second half on Saturday against Nebraska, and completed 7 of 8 passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns. He also picked up 21 yards on two rushes.

Indiana had a 28-7 lead going into halftime, and the Hoosiers doubled their point total on offense while shutting out the Cornhusker on defense. With Jackson at quarterback, Indiana scored four touchdowns in five drives before kneeling out the clock.

Jackson has appeared in three games for Indiana this season, replacing Rourke in blowout wins over Charlotte and Western Illinois. Against Charlotte, he completed 2 of 7 passes for 30 yards. He completed 3 of 3 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown, against Western Illinois, along with two carries for 19 yards and a rushing touchdown.

"I thought he played well his first opportunity at home [against Western Illinois]. Second opportunity at home [against Charlotte] okay. Guy still has to practice better," Cignetti said of Jackson following Saturday's win over Nebraska. "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."

Jackson, the younger brother of Indiana basketball All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis, originally committed to Tennessee as a four-star recruit and the No. 12 quarterback in the class of 2022, per 247Sports. He played sparingly in one season at Tennessee before transferring to Indiana for the 2023 season under former head coach Tom Allen.

Jackson appeared in six games with five starts at Indiana in 2023. He completed 78 of 128 passes (60.9%) for 914 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions. Indiana rotated between Jackson and Brendan Sorsby at quarterback early in the season, before sticking with Sorsby to end the year.

While Jackson is less experienced than Rourke, he offers an increased level of mobility. During fall camp, Cignetti was looking for more consistency from Jackson.

“Tayven is capable of making the wow play, but there has to be more play-in, play-out consistency, eye discipline, focus, eyes down field, making the right reads, securing the football, not turning the ball over, proper footwork in the run game so we don’t have fumbles, things of that nature," Cignetti said in August.

Related stories on Indiana football

  • INDIANA MANHANDLES NEBRASKA: Nebraska entered Saturday’s game at Indiana with one of the nation’s top defenses, but the Hoosiers – in both the run and pass game – exploited every aspect of the Cornhuskers’ defense in a 56-7 win. CLICK HERE
  • TODD'S TAKE: This pregame focus was on the hype off the field. That was fun, but Indiana’s football team showed everyone who the big stars really are. CLICK HERE
  • WATCH ELLISON'S TOUCHDOWN: Indiana's offense was rolling in the first half. Running back Justice Ellison put the Hoosiers ahead 28-7 just before halftime with this 31-yard touchdown. CLICK HERE
  • WHAT CIGNETTI SAID: Everything Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said after Indiana's 56-7 win over Nebraska on Saturday. CLICK HERE.
  • LIVE BLOG: Read about Indiana's 56-7 victory over Nebraska as it happened. CLICK HERE.
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Jack Ankony
JACK ANKONY

Jack Ankony is a Sports Illustrated/FanNation writer for HoosiersNow.com. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism. Follow on Twitter @ankony_jack.

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