Kurtis Rourke is officially in uncharted territory for a Canadian quarterback, leading an undefeated Indiana Hoosiers football team into November with a berth in the College Football Playoff in his sights.

No Canadian has ever led a team this good, this far in a season.

It’s been a remarkable run for a player who played his high school football in Oakville, Ont., and then followed big brother, Nathan, to Ohio University in the Mid-American Conference.

Most of his five seasons there took place outside of the national spotlight. But all of that began to change when Rourke entered the transfer portal last December to take advantage of an extra season of eligibility granted to him by the 2020 COVID-shortened season.

The results have been nothing short of stunning – an undefeated 9-0 season thus far with Indiana ranked eighth nationally at the start of this week and Roarke being vaulted into the Heisman Trophy conversation, ranked fifth by ESPN this week, ahead of notable names such as Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Penn State’s Drew Allar.

Not bad for a player who was ranked the 97th-best quarterback prospect of his recruiting class in 2019 and the 17th-best available quarterback in the portal last winter.

Rourke played last season believing it........

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