IU Quarterback Kurtis Rourke Reflects on His Week One Performance

Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Written by Ben Gillard

Few were surprised when Kurtis Rourke was announced as the starting quarterback for IU’s home opener last Saturday. The Ohio transfer was a veteran signal caller who had started 33 games for the Bobcats and was coming off a stellar year where he earned the MAC Offensive Player of the Year award. The Canadian nicknamed “The Maple Missile” came to Bloomington with the buzz that he would be a major step up for the Hoosiers at QB.   

On Saturday, Rourke showed why. He led a Hoosiers offensive that outscored the FIU Panthers, 31-7 and averaged 12 yards per completion. Rourke ended the day 15-24 (63%) with 180 yards passing and a touchdown. In addition to his success in the pass game, Rourke showed his capabilities as a rusher. He was able to consistently elude pressure and gain positive yards. This was best shown during a drive early in the first quarter, where Rourke scrambled up the middle for a gain of 9 yards.  

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Rourke, however, and he will be the first one to tell you this. When asked about how he felt the offense performed in the opener, he said, “I think we had some great stretches of moving the ball really well … and then we kind of had some drives where we would like to have back. Personally, I would like to have a couple throws back here and there.” This echoes the sentiments of Head Coach Curt Cignetti, who said that the offense needs to “learn how to play with the lead and keep the edge,” emphasizing that they had “too many opportunities squandered” on Saturday.

Luckily for IU, as a veteran guy, Rourke will continue to get better as he gets more snaps and gets more comfortable with the scheme. Rourke echoed this sentiment, stating, “You can prepare as much as you want in the offseason and do as many live reps as you can, but until you're in the game and you take that first hit, then you know you're going now. Getting that rhythm down and game timing down. It is good to have a couple games before conference play in order to get that out of the way, but the sooner the better, and that's what we are striving for this week.”

Rourke will have another chance to showcase his talents and his week-to-week adjustments this Friday, when the Hoosiers take on the Western Illinois Leathernecks. If last Saturday was any indication, expect another solid performance from “The Maple Missile.”