Indiana
Kurtis Rourke passes for 4 touchdowns as Indiana spoils UCLA’s Big Ten debut, 42-13
Kurtis Rourke passed for 307 yards and four touchdowns as Indiana spoiled UCLA’s Big Ten debut, 42-13 on Saturday.
Rourke completed 25 of 33 passes for Indiana (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten) as Curt Cignetti became the first Hoosiers coach to begin his tenure with three straight wins since Bill Lynch in 2007.
It is the 10th 300-yard game of Rourke’s career, with the previous nine coming at Ohio University, where he was the Mid-American Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2022. It was also his fourth game with at least four touchdown passes.
The 29-point victory is the Hoosiers’ largest in the Big Ten since they beat Northwestern 34-3 in 2019.
Cignetti showers QB with praise after Hoosiers win
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti talks about what went right for the Hoosiers in their win against UCLA to open Big Ten play and what the team can improve on.
UCLA (1-1, 0-1) struggled for the second straight game under first-year coach DeShaun Foster. After rallying for a 16-13 win at Hawaii on Aug. 31, the Bruins again found themselves in a double-digit hole in the first half, but this time couldn’t recover.
Senior quarterback Ethan Garbers was 14 of 23 for 137 yards and a pair of turnovers (one fumble, one interception).
Two of Rourke’s TD passes went to Ke’Shawn Williams. The senior transfer from Wake Forest, who had three receptions for 31 yards, gave the Hoosiers a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter when he caught a short flare from Rourke on a crossing route and went 14 yards.
Williams then caught a 2-yard pass on third-and-goal with 4:55 remaining in the third quarter to extend Indiana’s lead to 28-10.
Indiana scored on its opening possession for the second straight game when Miles Cross caught a 2-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to complete a 75-yard, 12-play drive.
UCLA quickly turned it over when Ethan Garbers fumbled and Indiana defensive lineman Mikail Kamara recovered at the Bruins 17.
Rourke: Hoosiers brought together by common goal
Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke speaks with Kathryn Tappen after the Hoosiers win against UCLA and talks about how a team with a high number of transfers is bonding.
Cross had six receptions for 90 yards, including a one-handed grab for 33 yards while being covered by UCLA’s Devin Kirkwood during the second quarter. On the next play, Justice Ellison had his third straight game with a touchdown when his 1-yard carry up the middle extended IU’s lead to 21-0.
After UCLA’s Mateen Bhaghani kicked his second field goal early in the fourth quarter, Rourke threw his fourth touchdown on the ensuing possession — a 23-yard strike to Omar Cooper Jr.
Elijah Greene then capped the scoring with a 14-yard run.
The Bruins only touchdown came in the second quarter when T.J. Harden’s 1-yard run with 42 seconds remaining got them within 21-7 at halftime.
The Takeaway
Indiana: The Hoosiers had a better result at the Rose Bowl compared to their first trip here in 1968, when they lost to Southern California 14-3 in the Granddaddy of Them All.
UCLA: Things will not get any easier for the Bruins, with LSU, Oregon and Penn State awaiting the next three weeks.
Up next
Indiana: Host Charlotte next Saturday.
UCLA: At 16th-ranked LSU next Saturday.
Michigan State narrowly escaped with a home win against the now 8–7 Northwestern Wildcats. The Spartans struggled mightily in the first half, entering the break down seven points after scoring just 28 points. Michigan State committed eight turnovers in the opening 20 minutes and went 6-of-11 from the free-throw line.
After a sluggish start, the Spartans regrouped and took control in the second half. Michigan State shot 14-of-27 from the field after halftime, playing with better pace and ball movement.
Jeremy Fears, who picked up two early fouls and began the game 0-of-4 from the field, responded with a strong second half. He finished the game shooting 4-of-7 from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.
Overall, Michigan State was far more composed in the second half against the Wildcats. However, with a matchup against Indiana looming, the Spartans will not be able to afford another slow start like the one they experienced against Northwestern.
Scouting Indiana
Indiana has undergone a similar offseason transformation to another Big Ten opponent Michigan State has already faced: the Iowa Hawkeyes. After parting ways with head coach Mike Woodson, the Hoosiers hired former West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries.
DeVries began his head coaching career at Drake, where he posted an impressive 150–55 record. Over his final four seasons with the Bulldogs, he led the program to 108 wins and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
DeVries also went 79–33 in Missouri Valley Conference play, captured three MVC titles, and guided Drake to six of the program’s 11 20-win seasons before leaving for West Virginia.
In his lone season with the Mountaineers, DeVries engineered a significant turnaround, improving West Virginia from a 10-win team to a 19-win team.
Now at Indiana, DeVries has continued that trend of rapid improvement. In Mike Woodson’s final season, the Hoosiers finished 19–13 and missed the NCAA Tournament. This season, Indiana has already reached 12 wins and appears firmly back in the postseason conversation.
The Hoosiers are led by senior guard Lamar Wilkerson, a transfer from Sam Houston. Wilkerson is averaging 19.5 points per game while shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 41.8 percent from three-point range.
Indiana has been strong on both ends of the floor. According to KenPom, the Hoosiers rank 30th nationally in offensive efficiency and 28th in defensive efficiency.
As Michigan State prepares to face Indiana, the Spartans will need to clean up their first-half execution to keep pace with one of the Big Ten’s more balanced teams. Indiana’s efficiency on both ends of the court, combined with DeVries’ proven ability to elevate programs quickly, makes this a difficult matchup. For Michigan State, a complete 40-minute performance will be essential if it hopes to build momentum in conference play.
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The Oregon Ducks’ season has ended in heartbreak for the second-straight season. They advanced farther than they did last year, reaching the College Football Playoff semifinals before they succumbed to the red-hot Indiana Hoosiers.
In the days leading up to the rematch, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning spoke about what needed to change from the last matchup, and the turnover battle was one of the things he spoke most passionately about. There is no way he can be happy after the Ducks lost the turnover battle 3-0, with each one leading to easy points for the Hoosiers.
Offensive coordinator Will Stein was asked to reflect on this aspect after the game, and he had this to say, “We just spotted these guys 21 points. You know, it’s hard to win when you turn the ball over three times in your own territory, plus a pick six.”
Oregon’s defense wasn’t great in this game either, but a lot of their struggles were the result of being asked to shut down an Indiana offense that was often set up in or near the red zone. Stein acknowledged this in his answer, telling reporters, “You don’t do anything good for your defense in that aspect. So obviously, poor job by us taking care of the ball, and it was obviously the big difference in the game.
The Hoosiers scored 28 points off Ducks turnovers, which ended up being the key difference in the 34-point loss. It also doesn’t feel farfetched to believe that Oregon would have played with much more fire if the turnovers didn’t put the game out of reach.
This game will leave a sour taste in this group’s mouth because they know things will never be the same. Stein and Tosh Lupoi are going off to lead their own teams now, along with a ton of uncertainty about which players will remain in Eugene after this loss.
The Ducks had a prime opportunity to achieve glory, but they came up just short yet again thanks to a slew of giveaways.
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ATLANTA — Indiana football quarterback Fernando Mendoza has burned teams throughout the College Football Playoff with his scrambling ability.
Mendoza was lights out through the air in a 56-22 win over Oregon in the Peach Bowl on Friday night, but he made a handful of plays with his legs again starting with a 21-yard gain early in the second quarter that helped the No. 1 Hoosiers (15-0) flip the field.
Mendoza’s sneaky athleticism has put pressure on defenses already struggling to contain IU’s impressive arsenal of skill players, but there came a time in the CFP semifinals where the coaching staff asked him to put that scrambling ability in his back pocket and keep it there.
“Coach (Chandler) Whitmer was in his ear about getting down as quickly as possible,” Indiana offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan told The Herald-Times.
Re-live IU’s 2025 season
The Heisman winner had the large contingent of IU fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium holding their breath while he was weaving through defenders and taking hits with his team up by four possessions coming out of halftime.
Mendoza lost the ball in the third quarter while getting tripped up from behind on a run up the middle after busting out a spin move on the play to gain extra yards.
While the coaching staff appreciates Mendoza’s competitiveness, they didn’t want him putting himself at risk with the team less than two quarters away from playing in the national title game.
“We were very conscious (of the situation),” Shanahan said after the game.
Mendoza had one more carry after that off an RPO near the goal line right after IU blocked a punt. It was a play call that Shanahan immediately regretted with Oregon loading up the box.
“That wasn’t the best position to put him in,” he said.
Mendoza closed out the game for the Hoosiers under center by simply handing the ball off while the Hoosiers put the finishing touches on another lopsided win. He threw for 177 yards (17 of 20) and finished the game with more passing touchdowns (five) than incompletions (three) for the sixth time this season.
Oregon’s Dan Lanning had high praise for Mendoza’s overall performance after the game, but he became the latest in a long line of opposing coaches to mention his scrambling ability in the same breath as his arm talent.
“The guy makes the right decisions,” Lanning said. “You consistently see if he sees the right coverage, you know, he takes the ball where it’s supposed to go, dictated by coverage. I think he did a great job again on the scrambles early. I thought we had him boxed up in the third down early in the game, which was critical and was able to scramble for a first down.”
Shanahan underlined Mendoza’s decision-making as well in talking about the growth he’s seen from the quarterback this season and his improvisational skills (and when to use them) are a big part of that.
“He makes my life and my job so much easier,” Shanahan said. “I think he’s playing his best ball right now. I don’t know if that was the confidence he got from winning Heisman or beating Ohio State, I feel like we are on the right path. We got one more to go.”
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
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