What Quarterback Kurtis Rourke Said After Indiana's 52-14 Win Over Charlotte

Kurtis Rourke had another big day, improving Indiana's record to 4-0 with a dominant win over Charlotte.

Jack Ankony | Sep 22, 2024

Indiana's Kurtis Rourke (9) passes against Charlotte at Memorial Stadium. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Indiana Hoosiers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – In a 52-14 win over Charlotte, Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke completed 16 of 20 passes for 258 yards, two total touchdowns and no turnovers – without taking a snap in the fourth quarter.

Here's the full transcript and video of Rourke's press conference following the win.

On his running ability...

Rourke: "It's not something I do often, but I felt like I needed to run and escape a couple times. But yeah, just sort of need to work on some of the aspects, but yeah, I'm glad I can do it when I need to."

On if that's useful to put on film for opponents to have to respect...

Rourke: "For sure. Anything helps the run game, if I can at least pull one guy or have him hold for a second, the defensive end or corner or whatever it is, it helps the run game just a little bit more. So yeah, anything helps."

On the key to sustaining offensive efficiency...

Rourke: "Just continue to stick to what we do in our training. We work really hard and every day we come in ready to work. And just reverting back to that when adversity comes, because like you said, it will. We're going to have to be able to stay strong and just continue on."

On the offensive line...

Rourke: "Awesome. They've been super tough. Really giving everybody else a lot of problems, not just in the run game, but pass game as well. Very thankful for them and looking forward to just continuing to lean on them."

On the keys to red zone success...

Rourke: "We have a pretty good idea of what type of looks we're going to get, so it's all about execution. Everything's a little bit tighter in the red zone, and so being able to be on time is especially important. And so putting that emphasis on throughout the week in order to be as fine-tuned as possible for when the time comes, and we want to score touchdowns. So do as much as we can when we get down there."

On where he's improved since games started...

Rourke: "Since week one, I've definitely felt like I've improved my eyes and everything, being able to see everything a little bit more, and kind of not get too antsy or move around when I don't need to. Just feeling more comfortable. It's definitely something new that I've experienced from week one, and just continuing to build on that and rely on my teammates and not try to do too much."

On Indiana's array of weapons at wide receiver and running back...

Rourke: "It's awesome. Being able to have that abundance of talent around me, it helps in every aspect, just being able to know that you can just hand the ball or throw the ball to athletes on the outside and just know that we'll have a good chance of getting yardage and touchdowns and stuff like that. I'm just excited that everyone's able to see kind of the talent that we've brought in, and continue as we move forward."

On the pressure taken off him by a strong run game...

Rourke: “Yeah, it’s awesome. They work hand in hand together. In order to pass the ball well, you have to have a good run game, and in order to run the ball well, you have to pass it well, right. So last week, we relied more on the pass game, and today we got a lot of looks to defend the pass, and we could just run the ball, right. So they work really well together, and that’s why we can’t put too much emphasis on either. So moving forward definitely.”

On the offensive process that allows success...

Rourke: "Yeah I think just preparing the same every week no matter who we’re against. That’s definitely something that a lot of people can overlook. Just being able to lock in and come out every day trying to get better, trying to improve as a person but as a team as well because no matter who we play it’s always tough to win a football game, so just preparation has got to be really fine-tuned every day.”

On the most adversity Indiana has faced this year...

Rourke: “I think it comes in small bits. It may not be very noticeable, but maybe if a play didn’t go the right way or a little mistake here and there you’d like to have back, being able to bounce back from that, forget about the last play and just move on. So I’m sure there’s a bunch of little things that everyone take away and say that was a little adversity for me, but adversity is going to come for sure in probably a bigger scale. Just gotta do the same, just forget about it and move on.”

On not getting complacent...

Rourke: “Again, just really coming out every day to practice and not caring about who we’re going up against and really just work on improving. We have a tougher schedule probably coming up now, but we still gotta come out, prepare the same way we have been, and just prepare for a different defense, different look kind of thing. But complacency is gonna hurt us, so we gotta be able to lock in from when we start practice again on Monday, all the way to game time next week."

On if his wife breaks down his game...

Rourke: “Not really, no. Not at least from a game plan or a technical standpoint, no. Not really, she’s always very positive and just proud of me no matter what and thankful that I don’t get hurt and don’t come away with any injuries."