Indiana aims for program's first 9-0 start at Michigan State

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — No. 13 Indiana hopes the milestone moments do not end anytime soon.

The Hoosiers already produced the most lopsided win in school history, 77-3 over Western Illinois, and matched the most lopsided Big Ten win in school history, 56-7 over Nebraska.

Indiana (8-0, 5-0) will be aiming for its next target when it visits Michigan State (4-4, 2-3) as the Hoosiers have never started the season with nine consecutive wins in the program’s 137 years.

“Our goal is to really go 1-0 each week,” said Indiana cornerback D’Angelo Ponds, who was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week following his two interceptions Saturday against Washington. “We’re definitely not satisfied with just 8-0. We didn’t come here to say we wanted to be 8-0. We’re not satisfied at all.”

Indiana has kept its record unblemished because of the way it starts and finishes games. The Hoosiers are the nation’s only team that has held all of its opponents scoreless in the first quarter, piling up an 87-0 advantage. They have also played particularly well in the fourth quarter, outscoring opponents 101-20.

“I think we’re executing well to start the game,” said Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, who is the first FBS coach to post consecutive 8-0 starts at different schools. “In the fourth quarter, we’ve been strong. Probably credit to a lot of things. I think a lot of times we just built that momentum because we’ve been scoring and kind of distancing ourselves from whoever it is we’re playing.”

That momentum has resulted in double-digit margins of victory in all eight games and enabled Indiana to be one of two teams to never trail this season.

Quarterback Kurtis Rourke’s status

Cignetti is hopeful that Rourke will return to the starting lineup Saturday after missing one game due to surgery on his right thumb.

If Rourke doesn’t play, Tayven Jackson will make his second straight start. If Rourke plays, the big question will be how effectively he can grip the ball and throw accurately, something he struggled with before leaving the Nebraska game.

“Optimistic on Kurtis Rourke,” Cignetti said at his weekly news conference Monday. “He’s thrown the last few days, building up. Workload will increase as the week goes on. That’s all I’m going to say about it.”

Rourke, who has the best passing efficiency (188.70) among FBS quarterbacks, has 1,941 passing yards with 15 touchdowns and just three interceptions in seven starts.

Michigan State’s appeal denied

Michigan State will be missing linebacker Jordan Turner for the first half of Saturday’s game as the Big Ten denied his appeal of a targeting ejection during last week’s game against Michigan.

Turner’s targeting came on the final play of the third quarter, when he lowered his helmet and was determined to hit the helmet of Michigan quarterback Alex Orji. The review occurred between the third and fourth quarters.

Turner, a transfer from Wisconsin and a co-captain, leads the Spartans in tackles (48), tackles for a loss (7.5) and is tied for the team high in sacks (three).

Chewing the clock

Michigan State has improved dramatically this season with its time of possession, and that will be important as the Spartans attempt to slow down Indiana’s high-powered offense.

“Keeping other offenses off the field is big for our team in general, just giving us a chance to score. And also, it’s making it harder for them to get on the field and score,” Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles said. “It just takes up more time. It basically just puts us in better positions to win the game.”

Michigan State ranks 21st in the nation in time of possession at 31:48. The Spartans have not for the course of a season held the ball more than their opponent since 2019.