Although its season came to an unfortunate end on Friday night in South Bend, Indiana football's remarkable 2024 campaign was one of joy and will be remembered for years to come.
"All good things come to an end," Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti said postgame. "But it doesn't diminish what these guys accomplished, for sure this season which everyone in this room can detail out what this team's accomplished. A lot of firsts."
The season ultimately ended with a frustrating 27-17 loss to in-state foe Notre Dame on a crisp Friday evening in the first round of the College Football Playoff; however, it was a season that laid the groundwork for what promises to be a bright future for Indiana football.
Cignetti and the Hoosiers took the college football landscape by storm, turning a dormant program with the most losses of any college football program into an 11-win team.
"You are what your record says you are," Cignetti said. "11-2. Tied for second in the Big Ten. Made the College Football Playoff. And packed the stadium. Made a lot of people proud. And had a historic season. So set the foundation for hopefully what's to come."
Not only did Indiana set the foundation by breaking copious records on the field, but more than 386,000 fans entered the Memorial Stadium gates throughout the season, selling out its final four home games and shattering the attendance record at the 64-year-old stadium.
Center Mike Katic, who withdrew his name from last year's NFL Draft, had been through peaks and troughs throughout his six-year career in Bloomington and played a significant role in changing the national perception of the program.
"We changed the trajectory of Indiana football," Katic said. "We changed the way people think about Indiana football."
After being a graduate assistant at Indiana in 2012, defensive coordinator Bryant Haines had his fingerprints all over the success of Indiana football a dozen years later.
"I was at Indiana. I know what it meant to be an Indiana football player in 2012," Haines said. "It's a different era now, and these guys changed it forever."
The 39-year-old defensive play caller led three Hoosiers (Aidan Fisher, Mikail Kamara, and D'Angelo Ponds) to all-American honors, the most amount Hoosiers to achieve the honor in a single season since 2020.
Junior linebacker Aidan Fisher, who transferred to Indiana on Christmas Eve last year, played a huge role in changing the narrative surrounding the Indiana football program. The groundwork that was laid this season gives Fisher confidence for what the program can be beyond this season.
"You look at the track that Indiana football is on previously before we got here. Then you look now, it's kind of a full 180," Fisher said. "I think we've laid a foundation of what Indiana football can be and what it is now, and I expect to be right back here next year."
The Indiana offense struggled to sustain a drive for the first 58 minutes. Before its final two drives, Indiana was only mustered up 152 yards of total offense, while quarterback Kurtis Rourke had thrown for 101 yards.
For offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, failing to sustain anything for most of the game was frustrating. However, the fight Rourke and the rest of the offense showed in the final few minutes perfectly encapsulates the group's resilience that was on display all season long.
"I hope they're remembered for the way they played all year long and not just this one game," Shanahan said. "I know that these guys have really battled and I think you saw that there in the fourth quarter. There was no give-up."
When committing to Indiana, running back Justice Ellison set a goal to be part of the program's turnaround, contribute to something bigger than himself, and create an enduring impact on the team.
"I think the foundation is something that I wanted to start," Ellison said. "Leave a legacy with the guys that come in every single day working hard, loving each other, sacrificing -- blood, sweat, tears, every single day. And I plan to come back and see how far the foundation has grown."
While every player contributed to the historic season, Kurtis Rourke cemented himself as one of the most consequential players in the turnaround. The Ohio transfer finished ninth in Heisman voting mostly due to his video game-esque numbers slinging the football in his only season in Bloomington.
Rourke wrapped up his final collegiate game, completing 20-of-33 passes for 215 yards, two touchdown passes, and an interception in Friday night's loss. In all, the Hoosier signal caller finished with the fourth-highest quarterback rating in the country, completing 70.4 percent of his passes for 2,827 yards and 27 touchdowns.
As the dust settles on an unthinkable season, Rourke and the rest of the 2024 squad have laid the groundwork for a brighter tomorrow for Indiana football.
"Although it wasn't the way we wanted to end it, glad we were able to do it together and kind of start the dynasty of Indiana as it moves forward."
–––––
Like this content? Join the conversation on TheHoosier.com's premium message boards and subscribe today!
– Follow TheHoosier on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!
– Subscribe to TheHoosier on YouTube for more content
– Interact with fellow fans on TheHoosier's Premium Football Board and Premium Hoops Board
