Top-seeded Indiana stands one victory away from becoming the biggest rags-to-riches story in college football history.
A program that went 9-27 over a three-year span earlier this decade and had the most losses in FBS history until earlier this season is on the verge of becoming national champions when it faces No. 10 Miami on Monday night in the College Football Playoff title game at Miami Gardens, Fla.
Indiana has never won a national championship, while the Hurricanes have won five, the most recent coming in the 2001 season.
Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza and the Hoosiers (15-0) smashed No. 9 Alabama and No. 5 Oregon by a combined 94-25 in their first two playoff games. They now look to seal the deal behind second-year head coach Curt Cignetti, who is 26-2 since leaving James Madison to become the Indiana coach.
“If you look at the record since Indiana started playing football and relative to the success we’ve had the last two years, we’ve broken a lot of records here in terms of wins, championships, postseason games, top-10 wins on the road, et cetera,” Cignetti said.
“So it’s been kind of surreal, but you get it done with the right people, properly led. You’ve got to have a blueprint, plan and process. You’ve got to have the right people on your staff and the right people in the locker room.”
One of those right people turned out to be Mendoza, who was a competent quarterback with 30 touchdowns against 16 interceptions during two starting seasons at Cal.
But with the Hoosiers, the transformation was stunning. Mendoza leads the nation with 41 touchdowns passes and has completed 73% of his passes for 3,349 yards while being intercepted just six times.
Mendoza became the first Heisman winner in Indiana history and is the overwhelming favorite to become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
But first, Cignetti had to sell Mendoza that Indiana was the right place for him.
“I still remember when I was in the transfer portal, Coach Cignetti said, ‘Hey, if you’re going to come here, you’re going to develop into a hell of a quarterback,'” Mendoza said. “It wasn’t about, at that point, ‘Hey, I’m going to promise you a national championship.’ It was, ‘You’re going to develop and have that belief.'”
The Hoosiers became a powerful force. The semifinal bludgeoning of Oregon marked the seventh time the team scored 50 or more points this season.
That kind of firepower overshadows that the defense has allowed 10 or fewer points nine times. Safety Louis Moore grabbed six interceptions and outside linebacker Rolijah Hardy amassed eight sacks.
Miami (13-2) gets to play in its home venue and has impressively recorded three straight playoff wins despite some observers feeling they shouldn’t have made the CFP field.
That’s no longer a topic after the stellar string of victories over No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 6 Ole Miss. The Hurricanes trailed the Rebels late in the semifinals before Carson Beck guided the decisive 15-play, 75-yard drive and scored on a 3-yard run with 18 seconds left.
Beck is in his sixth college season but first with Miami after spending five years at Georgia. He has thrown for 11,493 yards and 87 touchdowns against 31 interceptions in that time.
And now the possibility looms for a storybook career-ending victory.
“I don’t know if it’s hit me yet, to be honest,” Beck said. “I feel like during the game, or probably when the game starts, it will. It’ll be a thought that crosses my mind.
“Knowing that it is my last college football game ever and it being a national championship, what an opportunity. And regardless of what happens, what a season as well.”
The Hurricanes were 6-2 after losing twice in three weeks before turning it on for the rest of the regular season. But coach Mario Cristobal said no team his club has faced is on par with the Hoosiers.
“They’re the best overall team and best defense we have faced,” Cristobal said. “I know that their rankings and anything statistically important are between 1 and 5. It starts with this. They’re really fast, physical, explosive, talented and smart. They play with a lot of physicality, a lot of violence. They make it very challenging.”
Miami running back Mark Fletcher Jr. has been superb in the postseason with rushing outputs of 172, 90 and 133 yards. The defense is led by stellar defensive ends Akheem Mesidor (team-best 10.5 sacks) and Rueben Bain Jr. (8.5 sacks).
