Hoosiers’ Offense Shines on Third Down in Dominating Win Over UCLA

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Written by Ben Gillard

They say that third down is where you make your money. If that’s true, then the Indiana offense cashed in on Saturday night. The Hoosiers went 9-12 on third down, converting 75% of the time, with an average distance of 3 and 7. This was largely thanks to the arm of QB Kurtis Rourke. As announcer Noah Eagle said on the broadcast following a huge conversion on 3rd and 10 midway through the 4th quarter, “It is Kurtis Rourke’s world, and we are just living in it in Pasadena.”

Rourke was laser sharp, going 25-33 (76%) for 307 yards and 4 touchdowns. After the game, Rourke said, “It’s every kid’s dream to play in the Rose Bowl, especially against a great team like this. Just happy that we were able to come out and handle business.” When asked what is making all of the new faces on this IU team click so fast, Rourke said, “I think we all just want to win. We all came here with the same goal in mind, and that is to win, and that starts with Coach Cignetti all the way down to us. So we’ve all bought into that culture, and we all just want to go out and win every game.” When asked about what makes Rourke so cool under pressure, WR Miles Cross said, “He’s just a good quarterback man; he’s been doing this a while now, and that’s just what he does.” 

Another major contributor on third down was Wake Forest transfer Ke’Shawn Williams. After having a quiet first two games, the wide receiver had a breakout performance in Pasadena. Williams caught 3 passes for 2 touchdowns, both on third and goal, establishing himself as a true red zone threat for the Hoosiers.

The Hoosiers would not have been able to have the game they had with solid pass protection and time in the pocket. With the exception of a few holding calls, the offensive line played great, giving Rourke plenty of time to find receivers like Miles Price and Miles Cross for crucial third-down conversions. After the game, Miles Cross said, “We’re very confident in third down situations. We practice a lot of that in practice; we drill that a lot, and we take that very serious in practice, so it translates to the game.”

In addition to the line, Wake Forest transfer RB Justice Ellison had phenomenal game in pass protection. Several times throughout the game, Ellison was able to pick up a blitz and buy Rourke enough time to find an open receiver.

Great teams beat their opponents in the time of possession battle, and the way to do that is to keep drives alive on third down. If the Hoosiers can continue to convert on third down like they did on Saturday, there’s no telling how far they could go.