SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Indiana entered the College Football Playoff with the nation’s second-ranked scoring offense at 43.3 points per game, most in program history. But after months of carving opposing defenses with a balanced run and passing game, even these record-setting Hoosiers had flaws.
The offensive issues began in a narrow 20-15 home win over Michigan. They were further exposed in a 38-15 loss at Ohio State, when Indiana mustered a season-low 151 total yards. And they led to a historic season ending Friday night in a 27-17 loss at Notre Dame. Those three performances in the last four games – against the best defenses they faced – represent the Hoosiers’ lowest-scoring outputs of the season.
Against Notre Dame, Indiana’s offense struggled early and clicked far too late.
“Defensively, they pretty much suffocated our offense until the last minute and a half of the game,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said.
For a fleeting moment, there was promise. An interception by Indiana cornerback D’Angelo Ponds on Notre Dame’s first drive set up the Hoosiers with good field position at the Irish 41-yard line. Like so many times throughout the season, Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke connected with wide receiver Elijah Sarratt in one-on-one coverage as Sarratt hauled in a tipped pass at the Notre Dame 17-yard line. That’s the Indiana offense everyone had come to know.
Indiana offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan planned to change the tempo in an effort to keep Notre Dame on its heels, something he does every game. Indiana went fast after the long completion to Sarratt, thinking it could catch Notre Dame with the wrong personnel on the field.
Rourke excelled throughout the season on passes over the middle, and he looked for wide receiver Ke’Shawn Williams there on the next play. But his pass into double coverage sailed past Williams and into the arms of Notre Dame’s All-American safety Xavier Watts for an interception.
“They were in their third down defense, and we were trying to catch them in a substitution after a big play,” Shanahan said. “Kurtis, I think the first read was there. He worked through the progression, and he has made that throw a thousand times, [but it was] a little bit off the target. And No. 0 [Watts], he’s been making great plays all year long for those guys. And he made another great catch.”
Indiana made it to the Notre Dame 37-yard line on the following possession, with hopes of getting on the board. The run game worked early as Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton rushed for gains of 10 and 22 yards, respectively. But a Rourke incompletion on 3rd and 8 led to Cignetti playing it safe and punting on 4th and 8.
That pass marked a 1-for-5 start for Rourke, who acknowledged he never got in a rhythm Friday night.
“My eyes weren’t in the best spot sometimes, and it’s easy to play when you’re in rhythm. I didn’t help myself in that way,” Rourke said. “Notre Dame definitely got some great players and schemed well, but I felt like I hurt the offense more than they stopped us.”
The Hoosiers reached midfield on the following possession after a 15-yard pickup by Ellison, but their next two run plays were immediately shut down. Indiana finished with 27 rushes for 63 yards, just 2.3 yards per carry. And aside from a few chunk plays early, Notre Dame stifled what had been a reliable aspect of Indiana’s offense for most of the season. Indiana had five games with over 200 rushing yards and 10 games with 3.6 yards per carry.
But its inability to consistently run the ball against Notre Dame put Indiana in precarious down and distances throughout the night.
“We were trying to establish the run, which we were doing a good job of. We had some runs come out early in the first half,” Shanahan said. “And whenever we went back to it, maybe it was a one-yard gain or they were in the backfield for a TFL. Kind of got off schedule there, and weren’t able to overcome whenever we got behind the chains.”
