BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The crowd roared over the Memorial Stadium speakers during Tuesday’s practice.

Coach Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers prepared for one of the biggest games in program history, as No. 5 Indiana travels to No. 2 Ohio State for a noon ET kickoff at Ohio Stadium. ESPN’s College GameDay and FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff pregame will be in Columbus for a matchup that will be pivotal in deciding No. 1 Oregon in the Big Ten title game.

Cignetti acknowledged Ohio State’s tradition and talent, as well as the excitement surrounding his team’s opportunity. But Indiana’s preparation isn’t changing. Cignetti sees it as a big game, because it’s the next game, he says every week.

“We treat them all the same,” Cignetti said Monday. “If there was a better way to prepare for a particular team, we would do it for every team.”

His players have bought into that message. Their never-too-high, never-too-low mentality is part of the reason they’ve won more games than any previous Indiana team and why they’re in contention for the 12-team College Football Playoff.

“I think a lot of us believe in that wholeheartedly, knowing that we can play with anybody and it doesn’t matter who we’re playing against,” Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke said Tuesday. “We’ve just got to execute, and we’ll be fine. That’s kind of our mindset going into this week, like it was every other week.”

Cignetti and Rourke agreed the bye week came at a good time for the Hoosiers. The extra time off gave them a chance to refresh and recharge. Rourke was happy to give his injured thumb a break. He also dove deeper into film review of Indiana’s 20-15 win over Michigan, made corrections last week and began preparing for Ohio State.

Rourke injured his thumb on Oct. 19 against Nebraska and missed the Washington game after undergoing thumb surgery. After leading the Hoosiers to wins over Michigan State and Michigan, he continues to get better as time goes on.

“I’m feeling great. I’m feeling really good,” Rourke said. “That was one of my things I was looking forward to the most for the bye week, was being able to let my thumb heal up and not hit it and not have to throw five, six days in the week. So I’m really excited and happy about the progress made and I feel pretty close to 100%.”

After transferring from Ohio University, Rourke has been one of the nation’s top quarterbacks this season. He ranks second among starters with a 182.7 passer rating, and he’s sixth nationally with a 71.8 completion percentage. Through 10 games, he has thrown for 2,410 yards, 21 touchdowns and four interceptions.

Rourke and the Hoosiers face their biggest challenge of the season Saturday against Ohio State. The Buckeyes are tied for first nationally with Army, allowing just 10.3 points per game, and they allow the second fewest yards per game in the nation at 250.8. Their defense is strong in all areas, ranking fourth with 90.7 rushing yards allowed per game and sixth with 160.1 passing yards allowed per game.

“Yeah, they’ve got some good players. They’ve got a good system. They’re well coached. Have a good amount of talent,” Rourke said. “But exciting to get after them, and it’s going to be a good game.”

With a capacity of 102,780, Ohio Stadium is the third largest in the country, behind Penn State’s Beaver Stadium and Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Rourke played at Penn State in 2022, and he expects Ohio Stadium to be a difficult atmosphere down the road.

But the 10-0 Hoosiers are confident in what got them here, and there’s no reason to change that approach now.

“It’s going to be a loud environment, especially at first,” Rourke said. “And we just have to silence them as we go.”