Curt Cignetti confirmed in person on Monday what you’ve no doubt heard by now: Heisman Trophy contender Kurtis Rourke will not suit up when No. 13 Indiana hosts Washington on Saturday.
And Rourke’s backup Tayven Jackson is stepping into a pressure cooker.
The No. 13 Hoosiers are 7-0 and legitimate contenders for both the Big Ten Championship Game and the College Football Playoff. ESPN’s College Gameday will be on campus, and Memorial Stadium is sold out.
The scenes and stakes in Bloomington will be at or near the top of the all-time scale.
And waiting for Jackson is a Washington defense that is No. 1 in the nation in pass yardage allowed. The Huskies have given up just 123 passing yards per game and a 47.5 completion percentage through seven contests. To be sure, Washington hasn’t exactly faced an elite gauntlet of quarterbacks to this point, but numbers like that are noteworthy regardless of the opponent.
Indiana has the best offense Washington has faced this year by a wide margin, but without Rourke, can the Hoosiers continue their relentless assault on scoreboards? Cignetti hasn’t been wrong about much to this point, and says everyone in the program top-to-bottom believe in Jackson.
“We have 100% confidence, and the team has 100% confidence, I have confidence, the staff has confidence in Tayven Jackson,” Cignetti said Monday. “I thought he played really well in the second half (against Nebraska).”
It’s difficult to compare Jackson year-over-year.
The redshirt sophomore has only attempted 18 passes in 2024 vs. 128 a year ago. He has a different head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and a much more talented group of receivers. Obviously the scheme is different is as well. Most of Jackson’s snaps a year ago came under the direction of offensive coordinator Walt Bell, and it doesn’t seem hyperbolic to say that was a disastrous offensive system.
But there are hopeful signs. Jackson’s completion percentage is up six points this year, and he’s thrown three touchdowns to no interceptions after just two scores and five picks a year ago. While the pressure was largely off because of the score, Jackson led four touchdown drives in the second half vs. Nebraska while completing 7-of-8 passes.
Indiana’s trio of Cignetti, offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri have built a “quarterbacks whisperer” reputation over the last half decade. They coached four straight conference offensive players of the year at James Madison, and have Rourke in the Heisman conversation.
So while Jackson’s sample-size is small this season, it isn’t surprising the former 4-star recruit played well against Nebraska. As BTN’s Jake Butt highlighted this week, the IU staff called plays designed to build Jackson’s confidence.
How will @IndianaFootball look with a full game of Tayven Jackson at QB? ➡️ @Jbooty88 hits the Nebraska tape for a preview of his upcoming start under center. 📽️
📍 Cliffs Film Room pic.twitter.com/hkhSkMgJll
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 23, 2024
Jackson came in completely cold off the bench coming out of halftime. But he quickly earned the trust of his teammates on Saturday.
“He sat out the whole first half and then came out and led us to three or four more scoring drives,” wideout Omar Cooper, Jr. said on Tuesday. “It showed us he has the ability to keep this team rolling and he’s going to do a really good job.”
While he has a ton of pressure this weekend, Jackson will also have the luxury of preparation. He hasn’t had the benefit of first team reps in practice at any point since Cignetti arrived on campus nearly a year ago.
Cignetti believes that will help equip Jackson to be prepared for what Washington throws his way on Saturday.
“I think offensively we do a nice job in terms of our system, giving the quarterback answers,” Cignetti said. “Every play’s got an answer. We build the offense around the quarterback.”
Cignetti believes Jackson will be equipped with answers, but the number one question is whether he can sustain Indiana’s magical 7-0 start as he fills in for Rourke against Washington.
That’s one answer we won’t get definitively until Saturday afternoon.
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