Hoosiers Offense Can’t Find Rhythm in Loss to Notre Dame

Written By: Ben Gillard (@benjgillard)

Coming into the first round of the College Football Playoff, the Indiana offense was averaging 426.4 yards per game and a whopping 41.3 points per game. On a cold night in South Bend, the Hoosiers looked to keep this success going. Unfortunately for IU, the offense was uncharacteristically out of rhythm. In the first half, the Hoosiers had four drives reach Notre Dame territory, only to come away with three points, as three punts and an interception stalled many of their promising drives.

From the very beginning of the game, starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke looked to be out of rhythm. The Notre Dame pass rush hurried him several times and batted down a couple of his passes at the line. Whether it was the threat of the pass rush or just the gigantic stage the veteran was playing on, he appeared off his game and uncharacteristically completed just one of his first six passes.

When asked if there was anything in particular that Notre Dame did that threw him off his rhythm, Rourke said, “There wasn’t really anything new that we [didn’t] expect them to do. They came out and did what we expected. Just a lack of execution on my part…and [I] just gotta be better in finishing those drives.”

The blame for the poor offensive performance on Friday is not solely on Rourke, however. Several times throughout the game, the offensive line looked outmatched by the Irish front seven, causing Rourke to get sacked or hit. When asked about this after the game. Starting center Mike Katic said, “I think up front, they’re not the biggest group, but they’re super twitchy and fast, and they were bringing a lot of different packages and movements…up front they didn’t play us straight all game. They were always moving, doing different things.”

Offensive Coordinator Mike Shanahan echoed this, saying, “[Notre Dame’s] just a really good defense, and they did some movement stuff up front. They were blitzing one or two backers a lot throughout the game as well…[Notre Dame] just made it hard when we got behind the schedule…but I know our guys up front battled, and they made it hard on us.”

Head Coach Curt Cignetti summed the game up, saying, “Defensively they pretty much suffocated our offense until the last minute and a half of the game…I am happy that our guys didn’t give up and pounded those two scores in on two-minute drives at the end.” 

Ultimately, when asked how this team should be remembered, Cignetti said, “You are what your record says you are. So 11-2, tied for second in the Big Ten. Made the College Football Playoff and packed the stadium. Made a lot of people proud and had a historic season. So [we’ve] set the foundation for hopefully what’s to come.” 

While the result on Friday stings, if year one under Cignetti includes a CFP berth, I for one can’t wait to see what next season has in store.