Kurtis Rourke threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns to help No. 23 Indiana stay unbeaten with a 41-24 win over Northwestern on Saturday.
The Hoosiers (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) also ran for 149 yards, with Justice Ellison gaining 68 yards and Ty Son Lawton adding 52 yards, each scoring a rushing touchdown. Elijah Sarratt caught seven passes for 135 yards. The Hoosiers matched their best start to a season with these six wins, tying the record set by the 1967 team.
“It’s great to be 6-0,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said. “I’m not going to say we needed a game like that, but we were certainly tested back and forth like we had not been tested this season.”
Jack Lausch had a strong performance for Northwestern (2-3, 0-2), throwing for 243 yards and two touchdowns. Bryce Kirtz and A.J. Henning were his main targets, combining for 195 yards on 16 catches.
“Very disappointed in the result,” Northwestern coach David Braun said. “There was some momentum on the offensive side of the ball. We weren’t able to get some critical stops on the defensive side of the ball.”
After a slow start, both teams scored five times in a row to end the first half. Indiana took a 17-10 lead into halftime, thanks to Rourke’s 196 passing yards. Miles Cross made a toe-tapping catch in the back of the end zone to break a 7-7 tie, putting the Hoosiers ahead for good.
Henning caught two touchdowns in the second half, including a two-yard screen pass that cut the score to 27-24. However, Northwestern’s defense couldn’t stop Indiana from scoring on consecutive drives, allowing the Hoosiers to seal the victory.
The Hoosiers have performed well in the first half of the season even though they have a mostly new team, as many players transferred to Indiana this past offseason.
