IU’s Offense Steps Up in Gutty 31-17 Win Over Washington

Written By: Ben Gillard

All season long, we have been wondering when this Indiana team would face adversity. Well, they faced adversity today. Without Heisman Hopeful QB Kurtis Rourke due to a thumb injury, sophomore Tayven Jackson got the start under center. The lights could not have been more bright for the Greenwood, Indiana native; all eyes were on the Hoosiers as ESPN’s College GameDay returned to Bloomington for just the second time ever.

Jackson and the offense got off to a slow start Saturday, going three and out on their opening drive and turning it over on downs on the next drive. In Jackson’s own words, “I feel like it could have been a lot better throwing the ball; reads could be a lot faster.” He expanded upon this slow start, saying, “It’s been a while since I started a game; I think my last start was against Michigan [last year], so I just wanted to get out there and feel comfortable, feel loose, and my teammates did an unbelievable job of giving me confidence.”

It’s a credit to the IU coaching staff that they were able to make adjustments to help Jackson feel more comfortable in the offense. Specifically, Jackson and the offense leaned on the experience of their veterans, especially RB Justice Ellison and Center Mike Katic in the run game, to help get in a rhythm offensively. Ellison finished the game with 123 yards and 1 TD on a career-high 29 carries. “Justice, he was one of my MVPs; he got things going when we needed him; he runs super hard; he practices super hard; I’m so proud of him, and I feel so confident when he’s back there.” Jackson said.

When asked about the offensive struggles after the game, Ellison said, “A lot of times there’s obstacles in games; it’s like life, but you can’t put your head down and go in the corner and pout. You’ve got to be a man and say, ‘we’ve got to strap it on up and go out and keep fighting.”

One group that definitely kept fighting was the offensive line. When asked about their performance, Ellison said, “Hats off to the O-Line; they kept battling. It wasn’t a lot of big runs, explosive runs, but it really showed the resilience of this football team, and I’m so proud of the guys.” Veteran Center Mike Katic echoed this saying, “I think we started off on a slow start offensive line wise; we couldn’t really finish drives; our run game wasn’t the best. I think we came out in the second half ready to go, and we knew what we had to do, and I think we executed pretty well.”

Offensive struggles or not, the Hoosiers were able to keep fighting and win the game. In his postgame press conference, Head Coach Curt Cignetti said that “it was a really gutty win” and that “really good teams, championship teams, find a way to win.” The Hoosiers certainly found a way to win today, and only time will tell just how far this team will go.