FOOTBALL

Indiana football brings an explosive passing attack to South Bend looking to poke holes in dominant Notre Dame defense

Indiana football will be looking to unload their elite passing attack against an elite Notre Dame defense on Friday.

Published

5 hours ago

December 19, 2024

Indiana football will be looking to unload their elite passing attack against an elite Notre Dame defense on Friday. (Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch)

The week is finally upon us. Indiana football travels up north to South Bend to face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the first round of the College Football Playoff this Friday.

This game, for many reasons, has multiple storylines latched to this huge matchup. Looking at what the Hoosiers accomplished this year which has led them to facing an in-state team that they have not faced in years, the overall hype for this game could not be any higher than what it already is.

This arguably is the most anticipated game in the first round of the CFP. When you peel this game back and look deeper into it, a lot of the reasons why this game is so appealing is because of the matchups on the field.

One of the more crucial matchups you will see on Friday is Indiana football’s elite passing attack vs the elite defense of Notre Dame.

“Well, they’re good” said Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti earlier this week. “Their defense is good, and Al Golden does a great job of coordinating their defense. They’re a high pressure, blitz outfit, quite a bit of man coverage. Then they’ve got the zone mixers and fire zones to keep you off ballet little bit.

“They get 11 guys doing their job pretty consistently. They play fast. They’re physical. They’re good tacklers, and they get a lot of hats to the ball. They adjust well during the course of the game. They haven’t given up many points because they’ve got good coaches and they’ve got good players. They do a great job in man coverage. They’re a really good defense, and that’s why they’ve won a lot of games.”

On the season the Fighting Irish have allowed just nine touchdown passes to 17 interceptions while holding quarterbacks to just a 48.7 completion percentage. In their final game of the season, USC became the only team to pass for 300 yards against Notre Dame, but they also threw two interceptions.

For Indiana, it brings in one of the top passers in the country in Kurtis Rourke. Although IU hasn’t seen any defense like Notre Dame’s, Rourke has thrown for 300+ yards in four games this season, as Indiana headlines the country as one of the most explosive passing attacks.

“I think it all starts with protection,” Cignetti said. “We’ve done a pretty good job of protecting him most of the time. We have certainly had our hiccups during a couple games, and we’ve got a group of receivers that have really good ball skills and can make contested catches, and our backs are good out of the backfield as well.”

“I think schematically a lot of our pass plays, they have answers versus man-zone, one high-two high. He’s a quick thinker, and he processes quickly. He’s extremely accurate, and he’s good in the pocket. He doesn’t panic. He’s a really good quarterback. He has certainly taken his game to another level, there’s no doubt about that.”

He’s been a game changer for Indiana football all season, a type of player that the Hoosiers have not had in their program for a long time.

“Every great offense is led by a quarterback, and this is no different, said Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman. “He’s a veteran. He’s been in big games, he’s played a lot of football games and he makes really good decisions. He knows where he’s going with the ball. He knows what he’s looking for, and he is able to execute at a high level.”

Every phase on the offense is explosive, especially that wide receiver group. Being a team with weapons in the passing attack helps when going up a defense with the elite skill level that Notre Dame has. The Hoosiers can throw many guys at them as far as the wide receivers go.

Kurtis Rourke has had, and will have, elite weapons and multiple options to throw the ball to.

Notre Dame echoes that sentiment.

“The ball is out quick, probably as quick as anybody we’ve seen,” said Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden. “The quarterback’s a really good decision-maker. They have a number of receivers — guys that can beat you in the slot. Guys that can beat you on the inside fade. Guys that can beat you on the back-shoulder fade, double moves … They stay ahead of the sticks and they convert. That’s the challenge.”

It starts in many areas on Friday night, but the passing game is crucial for the Hoosiers if they want to come out with a win. If Indiana football can find explosive plays and beat the secondary of Notre Dame, it would be a huge momentum builder throughout.

“They play really fast,” IU offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan said. “They keep you off balance. They don’t make anything easy for you. They challenge you on the perimeter. They’re physical. They’re always running at the football, and they’ve created a ton of turnovers.”

“They challenge you. They make every throw is contested. They make you be accurate with the football. They make you have to be great with releases, top of the routes, things down the field to be able to create separation and get open.”

Be aggressive, be smart, and be willing to trust the perimeter guys to make a play like you have all season and see what happens.

“We’ve got to be on our A game,”said Indiana football quarterback Kurtis Rourke. “We’ve got to take everything we learned through the regular season and apply it to this game because it’s a one-and-done kind of thing.”