Indiana football quarterback Kurtis Rourke and linebacker Jailin Walker have each earned Big Ten Player of the Week awards.
Rourke has been named the Big Ten's Co-Offensive Player of the Week following a near record-breaking performance against Purdue, while Walker has been named the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Week following impressive performances in a 66-0 win over Purdue on Saturday.
This is Rourke's third Big Ten Player of the Week award of the season. It's Walker's first.
Rourke impressed once again on Saturday against Purdue. The sixth-year senior signal caller went 23-for-31 for 349 yards and six passing touchdowns. The six passing scores tied a single-game record for Indiana.
Rourke completed passes to seven different pass catchers throughout the game, throwing for over 300 yards for the fourth time this season.
On the season, Rourke finished the season completing 70.4% of his passes for 2,827 yards, 27 touchdowns and just four interceptions.
Rourke ended the season with the No. 1 passer rating (181.4) in the entire country, the eighth-best completion percentage, the 27th-most yards--even after missing a game--the ninth-most touchdowns and the 348th-most interceptions.
The Ohio transfer's touchdown-to-interception ratio was 6.75-to-1, trailing only Boise State's Maddux Madson for the top mark in the country, amongst signal callers with 20-plus touchdown passes.
Rourke joins Anthony Thompson as the only Hoosiers to win three-or-more Big Ten weekly awards in a single season. He's one of just four Hoosiers to win three-or-more weekly offensive awards throughout their career.
Walker had one of the best games of the season on Saturday against the Boilermakers.
The James Madison transfer registered five tackles, 1.5 sacks, 4.0 tackles for loss, two pass breakups, an interception and a forced fumble, doing it all over the weekend for the Hoosiers.
Walker's 4.0 tackles for loss are tied for sixth on Indiana's single-game charts at Indiana, and the third-most in a game by a Big Ten defender.
The Richmond, Virginia native became the fourth Hoosier with multiple turnovers forced in a game this season, joining Rolijah Hardy, D'Angelo Ponds, Amare Ferrell.
Walker’s effort on defense helped IU hold Purdue to a program-record for fewest yards of total offense in a single game at 67 yards. It also marked the first Indiana shutout of Purdue since 1945 and Indiana's largest margin of victory over an FBS opponent in program history.
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