Road To 10-0: Indiana Gets Punched, But Punches Back Harder At Michigan State

Hoosiers On SI looks back game-by-game at the path Indiana football took to create a dream season. How did this game inform what we know now that we didn't know then?

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

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana’s football team just finished its second bye week of the season. It wasn’t long ago that bye weeks were looked at as respites from gridiron misery for the Hoosiers, but Curt Cignetti’s 2024 team has flipped the script.

Indiana has had an unprecedented season. The 10-0 record amassed by the Hoosiers has never been achieved in program history. With the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff in place in just the nick of time to give a historic season its possible proper reward, a world of possibilities is in front of Indiana in a way no one would have dreamed of in August.

The bye week provides an opportunity to reflect on what has been with just two regular season games left, at No. 2 Ohio State Saturday and at home against Purdue Nov. 30. Hoosiers On SI will take a look at each game and put into context how each fits into the puzzle of what has been a perfect season.

We’ll continue with Indiana’s trip to Michigan State on Nov. 2.

Narrative Entering The Game – It was known early in the week that quarterback Kurtis Rourke was likely to return to action. During his Thursday radio show, Curt Cignetti confirmed the news that Indiana fans wanted to hear – Rourke would be back.

But how healthy would he be? A fingernail and thumb injury on the throwing hand was nothing to slough off.

In addition, Michigan State was considered to be Indiana’s toughest road test. The Hoosiers had only played two road games.

The first was a trip to UCLA, when the Hoosiers caught the Bruins in an embryonic stage of development under new coach DeShaun Foster. The second trip was to Northwestern, where the Wildcats put up a solid fight but were out-gunned. With the exception of a loss to Ohio State, Michigan State had been strong at home. Could the Hoosiers cope?

The Result – For the first time in the 2024 season, Indiana trailed. The Spartans jumped to a 10-0 lead, but the Hoosiers punched back with a knockout blow. Indiana responded with the next 47 points in a dominant 47-10 victory at Spartan Stadium as Rourke threw four touchdown passes.

Player Fans Learned To Love – DE Mikail Kamara: Truth be told? Indiana fans loved Kamara long before this game, but Kamara’s performance at Michigan State might represent his zenith.

Kamara sacked Michigan State quarterbacks 2.5 times and had 4.5 tackles for loss overall in a dominant performance. Once Michigan State lost starting quarterback Aidan Chiles to injury, Kamara and company overwhelmed backup Tommy Schuster as he could only manage 36 passing yards while under constant pressure.

A great case could be made that Kamara has been the most influential player on either side of the ball for the Hoosiers. He has 9.5 sacks, and his varied stunts and blitzes have kept opposing offenses off-balance all season, but never more so than they did at Michigan State.

Trend That Would Stick – The Hoosiers Could Respond When Down: Indiana hadn’t been down until this game, but they didn’t panic when the Spartans took a 10-0 lead. Chasing the game for the first time in 2024, Indiana calmly executed a 7-play, 75-yard drive to get on the board.

Then the Hoosiers kept scoring. Of Indiana’s nine remaining drives, six of them resulted in scores, five of those being touchdowns.

Indiana’s defense didn’t flinch either. The pressure on Michigan State quarterbacks was withering with seven sacks, but the attack against a solid Michigan State running game was even more impressive.

The Spartans would finish with minus-36 rushing yards. Part of it was due to the sacks, but leading rushers Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams and Nate Carter combined for 16 rushing yards. The defense helped Indiana gain an average field position to start drives at the Michigan State 39-yard line.

Indiana would trail against Michigan a week later and similarly respond. The attitude while facing adversity was the one thing no one knew the Hoosiers could handle until this game. As with everything else in the 2024 season, Indiana was unfazed and went about its business.

Any Postgame Worries? – A critic would have to try hard to find much fault with Indiana’s 47-10 victory. One area was Indiana’s running game, as none of Indiana’s running backs managed more than 32 rushing yards. That was more than mitigated, however, by Rourke’s 263 passing yards and four touchdown passes.

Apart from that? There wasn’t much to worry about – other than how high Indiana could set the bar for itself.

Narrative Exiting The Game – The comparisons to 1967 could come to an end, at least as the overall record is concerned. The win made Indiana 9-0 and vaulted today’s Hoosiers past their 1967 counterparts into unchartered waters as the first team in school history to win nine games in a row.

Moreover, the first College Football Playoff rankings would come out the Tuesday after Indiana’s win at Michigan State. What would the national analysts think of Indiana’s season? The Hoosiers were unbeaten and dominant in the majority of their victories, but Indiana didn’t have that marquee win to boost strength of schedule. How Indiana would be perceived was a question that would soon be answered.

Pro Football Focus stars (top 5 scoring players in each unit, 10 plays or more)  – Offense: QB Kurtis Rourke (88.3), WR Myles Price (83.7), WR Ke’Shawn Williams (83.5), WR Elijah Sarratt (74.3), LT Carter Smith (72.9); Defense: S Amare Ferrell (85), LB Isaiah Jones (78.3), LB Rolijah Hardy (77.7), DE Mikail Kamara (77.3), S Shawn Asbury II (74.5).

Next game – Indiana comes back home to play Michigan on Nov. 9.

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• ROAD TO 10-0 - WASHINGTON: Indiana deals with a bit of adversity, but defense makes plays to top the Huskies. CLICK HERE.

• ROAD TO 10-0 - NEBRASKA: The Hoosiers wipe out Nebraska and make the nation take notice. CLICK HERE.

• ROAD TO 10-0 - NORTHWESTERN: Indiana gets pushed by the Wildcats, but a late rally carries the day for the Hoosiers. CLICK HERE.

• ROAD TO 10-0 - MARYLAND: Indiana defense steps up when it needs to and offense provides a late surge in victory. CLICK HERE.

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• ROAD TO 10-0 - UCLA: Indiana earns an eye-opening victory at the Rose Bowl as more fans and national observers began to take notice. CLICK HERE.

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• ROAD TO 10-0 - FIU: Indiana's road to 10-0 began with the season opener against Florida International. If we knew then what we know now ... CLICK HERE.