Kurtis Rourke went 19-of-29 passing for 263 yards and four touchdowns to lead No. 13 Indiana to a 47-10 win over Michigan State in Big Ten play at East Lansing, Mich., on Saturday.
Rourke returned to action after missing last week’s win over Washington with a thumb injury and helped keep hopes of a Big Ten title and College Football Playoff berth alive for Indiana (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten).
Indiana also reclaimed the Old Brass Spittoon, the trophy the Hoosiers and Spartans play for every year.
Aidan Chiles went 16-of-24 passing for 193 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in defeat for Michigan State (4-5, 2-4).
Michigan State took a 10-0 lead after the first quarter, but Indiana scored 47 unanswered points after that.
The Hoosiers scored 21 points in the second quarter, starting when Rourke hit tight end Zach Horton for a 17-yard touchdown pass with 14:13 left in the first half to finish off a seven-play, 75-yard drive and cut Michigan State’s lead to 10-7.
Indiana took a 14-10 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Ty Son Lawton with 6:22 remaining in the second quarter, and then went up 21-10 on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Rourke to Elijah Sarratt with 2:10 to go until halftime.
Following a safety, Rourke then hit Myles Price for an 18-yard touchdown pass with 11:39 remaining in the third quarter to put Indiana ahead 30-10.
A 16-yard touchdown run by Omar Cooper Jr. with 14:05 remaining in the game and an 11-yard touchdown pass from Rourke to Sarratt with 10:52 left gave Indiana a 47-10 lead.
Michigan State got off to a good start, taking a 10-0 lead in the first quarter on a 47-yard field goal by Jonathan Kim and an 18-yard touchdown pass from Chiles to Nick Marsh.
But it was all Indiana after that in what was the fifth straight win for the road team in the annual rivalry.
–Field Level Media