ESPN's Joey Galloway Doubles Down on Call for Indiana to Sit QB Kurtis Rourke

The college football analyst cited Florida State being snubbed last year after Jordan Travis was injured as a reason for the Hoosiers to sit Rourke.

Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke (9) passes the ball in the second quarter against the Michigan Wolverines at Memorial Stadium. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Quarterback Kurtis Rourke is so important to Indiana's success this season that ESPN's Joey Galloway believes the Hoosiers should hold him out of Saturday's game against Ohio State.

Galloway was serious when he made that bizarre suggestion on Tuesday night, after the release of the latest College Football Playoff rankings, so much so that he doubled down on ESPN's College GameDay Podcast Wednesday. After host Rece Davis openly questioned whether Galloway was looking to stir the pot with his audacious take, the former Buckeyes wide receiver confirmed that he is being completely honest.

“Let me give you a little history because I’ve evolved,” Galloway said. “I was the guy that would argue when guys would sit out for bowl games, not play in their bowl games because they’re trying not to get hurt, I was the guy, ‘Like, man, I can’t believe that guys would do that.’ I would never want to sit out a game that I could play with my buddies in college wearing the Ohio State University jersey and helmet.

"I’ve evolved now. After watching what happened to Florida State last year with Jordan Travis, a team that absolutely was about to be in the Playoff. There was no doubt they were in. Their quarterback gets hurt at the end of the season and now they’re out of the Playoff. … So, when I look at this now with a whole different perspective, I’m being 100 percent serious. If I’m Indiana, I am considering not playing Kurtis Rourke.”

The Florida State scenario is certainly a cautionary tale, though even after the Travis injury, but Seminoles would have made a 12-team Playoff field. The Seminoles finished No. 5 in last year's final rankings, and would have hosted Oklahoma in the first-round in the current system. Furthermore, while Indiana is in very good shape to make the field regardless of the result against Ohio State, there is no way to guarantee how the selection committee will weigh a blowout loss, considering the Hoosiers' relatively weak strength of schedule. Rourke has already missed time due to injury this season, but there is plenty of risk in leaving a team's fate in the hands of voters as well.

Rourke and the No. 5 Hoosiers will face the No. 2 Buckeyes at noon ET at Ohio Stadium on Saturday.

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