Canuck U: Rourke stumbles in CFP first round, wins Cornish Trophy; Jones' Montana State in FCS title game

After an unprecedented season for Indiana, the Hoosiers were outplayed at Notre Dame, falling to the Fighting Irish, 27-17, in the first round of the College Football Playoff in Friday night’s kickoff.

Indiana’s quarterback completed just 60.6% of his passes, going 20-for-33 and throwing for 215 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Rourke was pressured eight times — third-most all season — including three sacks.

Indiana had more yards through the air — 215 compared to 201 — but was dominated on the ground, being outrushed by Notre Dame’s 193 yards compared to the Hoosiers’ 63.

Rourke finished his college football career with 10,708 passing yards, 79 TDs, 21 INTs and a 67.1% completion rate after five years at Ohio, and this season with Indiana.

There are still six Canadians remaining in the CFP: three on Notre Dame, two with Ohio State and Boise State safety, and 2024 Cornish Trophy finalist, Ty Benefield.

Some consolation came for Rourke on Monday after the Oakville, Ontario native was named the 2024 Jon Cornish Trophy winner, TSN Gridiron Nation announced. The annual award honors the top Canadian in college football.

His older brother, Nathan, who currently plays for the Canadian Football League’s BC Lions, won the first-ever Cornish Trophy in 2017 and repeated in 2018 when he was with Ohio. Chuba Hubbard, John Metchie III, Chase Brown and, last year, Elic Ayomanor have also won the award.

Rohan Jones, Montana State advance to FCS national championship

Montana State h-back Rohan Jones didn’t record any major statistics in his first game back in the lineup, but the Montreal, Quebec product’s team played well enough to get him to his first FCS title game in Frisco, Texas on Jan. 6, 2025.

Undefeated Montana State defeated South Dakota, 31-17, earning a spot in its first national championship game since January 2022 when the Bobcats lost to North Dakota State. The team hasn’t won a title since 1984.

Montana State struggled through the air, despite scoring the lone passing TD, as QB Tommy Mellott threw for just 134 yards. The Bobcats relied on Mellot’s legs rather than his arm, with the dynamic QB rushing for a team-leading 125 yards and two TDs to take over the game.

Jones kicked out three other Canadians from championship contention: South Dakota defensive linemen Chris Dixon and Carter Hooper, both from Toronto, Ontario, and wide receiver Tristan Michaud, from Quebec City, Quebec. Dixon made a solo tackle in the Coyotes’ semifinal loss.

South Dakota State, 2 Canadians end FCS threepeat hopes in loss to North Dakota State

South Dakota State and its Canadians, offensive lineman Ethan Vibert, and defensive back Noah St-Juste, won’t be defending their back-to-back FCS national championships in January.

The Jackrabbits fell to North Dakota State, 28-21, in the FCS semifinals on Saturday. Both teams were relatively even, with small margins across the box score. What separated the North from the South on Saturday was passing TDs; the Bison had three to the Jackrabbits’ one.

The third and final North Dakota State score through the air came with just over four minutes remaining in the game. South Dakota State couldn’t respond on the ensuing drive, which ended in Vibert’s offensive line giving up their only sack of the day — eighth in 15 games — on fourth down before the Bison kneeled it out.

3 Canadians win, 2 lose non-CFP bowl games

Three Canadians won their bowl games, while two lost from last Wednesday through Monday.

Jett Elad, a safety from Mississauga, Ontario, and UNLV won the Art of Sport LA Bowl last Wednesday. UNLV beat California, 24-13, to capture its first bowl victory since the 2000 Las Vegas Bowl and its first 11-win season in 40 years — UNLV’s 11 wins in 1984 were later forfeited in 1985 due to ineligible players.

Elad was a 2024 Cornish Trophy finalist.

Callum Wither, a QB also from Mississauga, Ontario, won the StaffDNA Cure Bowl in Ohio’s 30-27 victory over Jacksonville State on Friday afternoon, but the Canadian did not play in the game.

Cyrus McGarrell was the latest Canadian to win a bowl game. The safety from Windsor, Ont. won Monday’s Famous Idaho Potato Bowl with Northern Illinois, beating Fresno State, 28-20 in double overtime.

Andrew Goodman and Malick Meiga — both from Montreal, Quebec — were the two Canucks who fell short of bowl game glory in the past week. Goodman, a Tulane longsnapper, and Tulane lost to Florida, 33-8, in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl on Friday. Meiga, a Coastal Carolina wide receiver, fell to UTSA, 44-15, in the Myrtle Beach Bowl on Monday.

Nearly 30 Canadians in bowl games this week

There are 29 Canadians on 16 teams playing in 11 non-CFP bowl games from Thursday through Saturday:

• 68 Ventures Bowl: Arkansas State (1) vs. Bowling Green (1)
• Rate Bowl: Rutgers (7) vs. Kansas State (0)
• DirectTV Holiday Bowl: Syracuse (2) vs. Washington State (2)
• Birmingham Bowl: Georgia Tech (0) vs. Vanderbilt (1)
• AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Texas Tech (1) vs. Arkansas (0)
• Pop-Tarts Bowl: Iowa State (0) vs. Miami (3)
• Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl: Miami OH (2) vs. Colorado State (1)
• Go Bowling Military Bowl: East Carolina (1) vs. NC State (1)
• Valero Alamo Bowl: BYU (1) vs. Colorado (1)
• Wasabi Fenway Bowl: UConn (2) vs. UNC (0)
• Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl: Boston College (2) vs. Nebraska (0)