sad news; Kurtis Rourke sacked and yes” l will leave ,he says”on a radio broadcast………
Few were surprised when Kurtis Rourke was announced as the starting quarterback for IU’s home opener last Saturday. The Ohio transfer was a veteran signal caller who had started 33 games for the Bobcats and was coming off a stellar year where he earned the MAC Offensive Player of the Year award. The Canadian nicknamed “The Maple Missile” came to Bloomington with the buzz that he would be a major step up for the Hoosiers at QB. 
On Saturday, Rourke showed why. He led a Hoosiers offensive that outscored the FIU Panthers, 31-7 and averaged 12 yards per completion. Rourke ended the day 15-24 (63%) with 180 yards passing and a touchdown. In addition to his success in the pass game, Rourke showed his capabilities as a rusher. He was able to consistently elude pressure and gain positive yards. This was best shown during a drive early in the first quarter, where Rourke scrambled up the middle for a gain of 9 yards.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Rourke, however, and he will be the first one to tell you this. When asked about how he felt the offense performed in the opener, he said, “I think we had some great stretches of moving the ball really well … and then we kind of had some drives where we would like to have back. Personally, I would like to have a couple throws back here and there.” This echoes the sentiments of Head Coach Curt Cignetti, who said that the offense needs to “learn how to play with the lead and keep the edge,” emphasizing that they had “too many opportunities squandered” on Saturday.
