No. 13 Indiana Roars Back To Make History, Defeats Michigan State 47-10

Indiana scored 47 unanswered points to achieve the first nine-game win streak in school history.

Indiana Hoosiers offensive lineman Bray Lynch (74) holds up The Old Brass Spittoon after beating Michigan State at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images / Dale Young-Imagn Images

EAST LANSING, Mich. – With history on the line for the Indiana football team as it took on Michigan State on Saturday at Spartan Stadium, it seemed that the Hoosiers were on-track to set the wrong kind of milestones early in the game.

Indiana can no longer say it hasn’t trailed in a game. It also can no longer claim a season-long shutout in the first quarter. Michigan State led by 10 after the opening period as the Hoosiers were put back on their heels for the first time this season.

However, the milestone that mattered most – the first-ever 9-0 record for an Indiana team – did not slip from the Hoosiers’ grasp. Not even close.

After spotting the Spartans a 10-point lead, Indiana roared back to score 47 unanswered points. Indiana’s 47-10 victory took the Hoosiers to a place no Indiana team has ever been. The 9-0 record is a first and so is the nine-game streak.

“Now we all know how we’ll respond when we’re down,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti deadpanned.

The history of 9-0 isn’t lost on these Hoosiers, but they aren’t wowed by it. They planned for this level of success.

“This is what we set out to do when we came in January. It’s not a surprise to us, and we need to keep it going,” Indiana defensive tackle James Carpenter said.

Indiana also reclaimed the Old Brass Spittoon trophy, but there are bigger fish to fry right now for these red-hot Hoosiers.

Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke (9) looks for a receiver during the fourth quarter against the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium. / Dale Young-Imagn Images

Quarterback Kurtis Rourke barely skipped a beat as he returned from his thumb injury after missing one game. Rourke threw for 263 yards and four touchdowns. He completed 19 of 29 passes as seven different Indiana receivers had a catch, led by Ke’Shawn Williams with 6 receptions for 86 yards.

“I got a feel for what their plan was. They played good defense on our first two drives, but we have a lot of great guys on our offense, settled down and stuck to the game plan,” Rourke said.

As good as the Indiana offense was – the Hoosiers had a 385-205 advantage in total yards – the Hoosiers defense was even more dominant after it conceded the early Michigan State points.

It was a relentless display of stopping power. Michigan State’s total yardage by quarter in order was 128, 50, 27 and zero. The Hoosiers had 15 tackles for loss and seven sacks against Michigan State quarterbacks Aidan Chiles and Tommy Schuster.

“That’s really impressive. I don’t know if I’ve seen those kinds of numbers from a team. That’s a great credit to our defensive players and staff. They got after ‘em up front. You’ve got to win up front to win games. I know we knocked the quarterback out, but … wow. It was pretty dominant. It got pretty dominant,” Cignetti said.

Michigan State's Tommy Schuster, right, is sacked by Indiana's Mikail Kamara during the third quarter on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Mikail Kamara was a standout among the Hoosiers’ defenders. He had 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. The James Madison transfer defensive end has been a mainstay for the Hoosiers all season.

Rourke and the Indiana offense were rusty early in the game. The Hoosiers had a rare back-to-back three-and-out series.

Michigan State (4-5, 1-4) booted a field goal on its first series to put the Hoosiers behind for the first time this season, but it was their second series that was more concerning.

Michigan State took advantage of Indiana’s pressure on the edges and completed screen passes of 13 and 16 yards to move the sticks. Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles, who has speed out of the pocket, scrambled and created problems for the Hoosiers.

He gained one first down while escaping trouble. Later in the series, he scrambled out of trouble and threw on the run to Nick Marsh in the end zone. Marsh tip-toed the sideline for an 18-yard catch to stake Michigan State to a 10-0 lead late in the first quarter.

Indiana had not faced such adversity to this point in the season, but you’d never know it. They shook off the 10-point deficit without any fuss at all.

First, the Hoosiers used their RPO game to march downfield in response. Mixing passes and runs to great effect, Rourke found tight end Zach Horton on a 17-yard touchdown connection to put the Hoosiers on the board.

“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,” Rourke said.

If the Hoosiers (9-0, 6-0) saw the good of Chiles in the first quarter, they saw his bad side in the second quarter. Chiles threw an interception on Michigan State’s next series, and while Indiana didn’t score from the turnover, it slowed the Spartans’ offensive rhythm. Michigan State wasn’t able to use its screen pass game to the same effect it did in the first quarter, either.

“We knew (Chiles) was slippery. We had to keep leverage on him and as the game went along, we did better,” Carpenter said.

Later in the second quarter, Indiana’s big play offense showed itself. Rourke found Ke’Shawn Williams on a slant route over the middle for a 38-yard gain. On the next play, an end around was called for Myles Price, and he ran 25 yards to the Michigan State 1-yard line. Two plays later, Ty Son Lawton powered in from the 1-yard line to put Indiana up 14-10.

Indiana's Ty Son Lawton scores a touchdown as Michigan State's Cal Haladay attempts the tackle during the second quarter on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Chiles wasn’t done being generous. He forced a sideline throw on Michigan State’s next series as Amare Ferrell had his second interception.

This time, Indiana took maximum advantage. A 6-play, 37-yard series was finished off on a 4-yard Rourke-to-Elijah Sarratt touchdown pass. In the span of 12 minutes, Indiana went from a 10-point deficit to a 21-10 lead, an advantage the Hoosiers would maintain until halftime.

The second half brought no relief for the Spartans as Indiana’s special teams got into the act.

After the Spartans went three-and-out on their first series, D’Angelo Ponds was unblocked on the right side of the Michigan State line. The speedy Ponds timed his rush perfectly and swatted Ryan Eckley’s punt. Eckley batted the ball out of the back of the end zone for a safety that put Indiana up 23-10.

Michigan State was on the wrong end of the double jeopardy that can come from a safety. After the free kick, Indiana marched 65 yards in six plays. Rourke finished the drive with a perfectly executed 18-yard play-action pass to Price on the left sideline to put Indiana up 30-10.

Indiana Hoosiers tight end Zach Horton (44) celebrates after the Indiana Hoosiers sealed the win with another touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium. / Dale Young-Imagn Images

The Hoosiers would keep piling it on. A Nicolas Radicic field goal, an Omar Cooper Jr. 16-yard end around touchdown run and an 11-yard Sarratt touchdown catch took the unanswered point tally up to 47 for Indiana. The early deficit was a blip in the memory after the dominant response.

The sky is the limit for the Hoosiers. Kamara set a goal for Indiana to reach that would have been unimaginable when the season began.

“There’s no ceiling for this team. We just have to keep winning and keep doing what we do every single week. And hopefully go out there and win a natty (national championship),” Kamara said.

Indiana will host Michigan Saturday.

Related stories on Indiana football

• 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.