Indiana coach Curt Cignetti made a strategic move last December by delving into the transfer portal to find a seasoned quarterback to lead the team's rebuilding efforts. His search led him to 23-year-old Kurtis Rourke, the 2022 Mid-American Conference MVP. On the other hand, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman had a simpler pitch for former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard - win a national championship and etch your name in Fighting Irish history.
Both coaches took calculated risks on these one-year hired guns, and now they are set to see the fruits of their labor as Rourke leads the 10th-seeded Hoosiers against the seventh-seeded Fighting Irish in an unexpected first-round College Football Playoff matchup.
