What Happened To Indiana’s Offense At Notre Dame?

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.”

Kurtis Rourke Indiana Football — Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke passes to Justice Ellison at Notre Dame Stadium. | Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After Indiana threatened to take an early lead, one play later Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love burst past the Hoosiers for a 98-yard touchdown, giving the Irish a 7-0 advantage.

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.”

Drayk Bowen Notre Dame Football — Notre Dame linebacker Drayk Bowen (34) celebrates after tackling Indiana running back Justice Ellison (6) at Notre Dame Stadium. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Notre Dame sacked Rourke twice on Indiana’s first possession of the second half, resulting in a pair of eight-yard losses. With momentum on their side, the Irish steadily chewed away at the clock in the third quarter with a drive that went nearly seven minutes and ended in a field goal, extending their lead to 20-3.

Cignetti said Notre Dame’s defense won the line of scrimmage, won the one-on-one matchups on the perimeter, affected Rourke and swarmed to the ball. Indiana center Mike Katic said Notre Dame’s defense was constantly moving and bringing different pressures at the line of scrimmage. That proved difficult to handle.

“I think up front, they're not the biggest group, but they're super twitchy and fast,” Katic said. “And they were bringing a lot of different packages and movements and bring the linebackers cross dogs, arrows, all that, different things.”

Early in the fourth quarter, a pair of incompletions by Rourke brought up 4th and 11 at the Notre Dame 48-yard line with 10:45 to play. Indiana trailed by 17 points at the time, its season on the verge of ending. Cignetti had become known for an aggressive style most of the season, but in this situation he opted to punt.

Notre Dame scored on the following possession, taking a 27-3 lead. Cignetti explained his decision to punt was rooted in the offensive failures throughout the game.

“I didn't want to punt, but I didn't want to go 4th and 10. It's like you're wishing and hoping. You have nothing to base it on that you can convert 4th and 10 at that point,” Cignetti said. “And there's still time to punt if you win the game. So that was the reason why. I didn't want to do it. But I felt like it was the best move.”

Curt Cignetti Indiana Football — Indiana coach Curt Cignetti at Notre Dame Stadium. | Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Indiana’s offense finally began to move the ball late in the fourth quarter with a pair of touchdown passes from Rourke to Myles Price and Omar Cooper Jr. But it had already been buried in too deep of a hole to come back and win the game.

In addition to a lackluster run game, Rourke completed 20-of-33 passes for two touchdowns and an interception, a performance below the standard he set as the ninth-place Heisman Trophy finisher.

Rourke and the Hoosiers will be remembered as the best offense in program history, but they fell short against a Notre Dame defense that brought no surprises – it was simply the better unit.

"There wasn't really anything new that we expected them to do,” Rourke said. “They came out and did what we expected, and just a lack of execution on my part and just didn't help finishing some drives. We just got to be better at finishing those drives, and we were able to do it in the fourth quarter, but I need to be better."

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