No. 8 Indiana beats Michigan for first 10-win season
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) — The historic moments keep on coming for the No. 8 Indiana Hoosiers.
IU handled business against unranked Michigan Saturday in Memorial Stadium, beating the Wolverines 20-15. That win marks the first time in the Hoosiers’ 137 year history they’ve won 10 games in a single season.
“Not many style points there, not going to be many people banging the drum saying, ‘Indiana ought to be rated higher in the BCS’ and all that good stuff, but the Indiana Hoosiers are 10-0,” head coach Curt Cignetti said postgame. “Defense would bend and not break, and we found a way to get it done. It tells you a lot about the resiliency of this team, its competitive character. At the end of the day, they all count as one. “
Quarterback Kurtis Rourke helped lead the Hoosiers to history. Rourke completed 17 of 28 passes for 206 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Rourke targeted Ke’Shawn Williams the most. The senior caught six of Rourke’s 17 completions for 70 yards. Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt hauled in IU’s two touchdowns.
“These are games that really test you as a team, and see if you can hang on, you can win those tight games,” Rourke said. “We knew eventually we’d come to a game where it’d be close, where we’d have to see what we’re made of, so I’m really proud of how we handled it.”
Indiana’s defense held the Wolverines led by Donovan Edwards to just 69 yards on the ground. Michigan fell prey to four tackles for loss from the Hoosiers — Terry Jones Jr. snagging two of them.
Indiana’s also fresh off being mentioned in the first set of College Football Playoff rankings — another first for the Hoosiers.
Hoosiers’ first year head coach Curt Cignetti became the first coach in IU history to lead the team to a 10-0 start.
Cignetti’s crew gets a bye week to prepare for No. 3 Ohio State Nov. 23. The Hoosiers travel to Columbus for their toughest test of the season.