Curt Cignetti stepped in to take the head coach job at Indiana with high expectations, and he brought in transfer quarterback Kurtis Rourke to help him do it. Together, they have helped produce history for the Hoosiers, and they’re looking to keep things rolling.

In Week 11, things were tougher than they had been so far this season for IU. Michigan fell behind early but woke up in the second half with a strong defense to make life tough for the Hoosiers.

Fortunately, Rourke and the offense delivered enough crucial plays while the Hoosier defense got the stops in crunch time. After the game, Cignetti was asked about the packed house environment that was celebrating the close win, and admitted it’s a great moment as IU can relish in the win slightly longer with a bye week ahead.

“Oh yeah, I knew that winning could (build excitement)– but this is over the top,” said Cignetti about the crowd. “No doubt about it. And you know, what’s great about it, we have an off day tomorrow because we’re open this week.”

As for the actual performance, Cignetti knows it was not his team’s best. But they are 10-0, and no one is going to feel bad about that fact.

“Not pretty at all. Gutty. Defense (did an) awesome job, bending not breaking. The special teams play again, huge in that game. And found a way,” Cignettie described. “Not much style points, we had some guys knocked out. Give Michigan credit, they played physical, they played the whole game.

“What are we, 10-0? Not bad.”

As for Rourke, he said he knew the collection of coaches and players had a chance to do something special when he transferred in, but he’s still just taking things on day at a time:

“It’s definitely a great feat to have and once I got to know the guys and the staff, thought we had a chance to do something special,” said Rourke. “Just taking it one day at a time and just really happy with a win right now.”

Rourke did not want to spend much time talking about Indiana’s future ceiling might be. Instead, he simply said the Hoosiers play for one another, something that’s special in Bloomington:

“Just that we have each other’s backs. Our defense played a hell of a game today,” said Rourke. “They played their hearts out. We struggled to score points in the second half, but they were there to make stops of their own. If we need help, both sides of the ball got to help out.”

Now, Indiana hits a bye week with a chance to regroup, and it will all lead up to a major showdown against Ohio State.