CFP Championship highlights: Indiana beats Miami to win first national title

Mendoza was named offensive player of the game. Teammate Mikail Kamara was named defensive player of the game.

Mendoza was 16 of 27 for 186 yards and was sacked three times. His performance will be remembered for his diving 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to give the Hoosiers a 10-point lead.

Kamara blocked a punt late in the third quarter that Isaiah Jones recovered in the end zone for a touchdown. Kamara also made four tackles.

Indiana completed its two-year turnaround from worst to first with a 27-21 victory over Miami in the College Football Playoff championship game.

The Hoosiers, who had the most losses of any team in college football until November, became the first major college team to go 16-0 since Yale in 1894.

Jamari Sharpe intercepted Beck’s deep pass with 44 seconds left to secure the victory.

Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza made a spectacular diving 12-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-4 to give the Hoosiers a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. Nico Radicic’s 35-yard field goal with 1:42 left put the Hoosiers ahead by six after Malachi Toney had scored for Miami.

Indiana also scored on a blocked punt.

Indiana completes undefeated season and wins 1st national title, beating Miami 27-21 in College Football Playoff final.

Nico Radicic’s 35-yard field goal with 1:42 left put Indiana ahead 27-21. The Hurricanes started their final drive at their 25-yard line with no timeouts remaining.

Indiana and Miami are both led by quarterbacks who weren’t on the roster the year before.

Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza arrived in Bloomington in December 2024 following three years at California Berkeley.

Carson Beck transferred to Miami in January 2025 with one year of eligibility remaining after five years at Georgia. Both players redshirted their freshman year and brought several years of starting experience.

The same applied to last year’s national championship game. Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard transferred in from Duke, and Ohio State acquired Will Howard after four years at Kansas State.

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Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza warms up before the College Football Playoff national championship game between Miami and Indiana, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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Miami quarterback Carson Beck warms up before the College Football Playoff national championship game between Miami and Indiana, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

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Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard (13) warms up before the Orange Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff semifinal game against Penn State, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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Ohio State quarterback Will Howard (18) warms up for an NCAA college football game against Penn State, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)

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It might seem like ancient history, but Miami almost didn’t make the playoffs.

In its first ranking of the season, back in November, the CFP selection committee ranked the Hurricanes eight spots behind a Notre Dame team they beat to start the season.

The history of Miami’s slow crawl up the standings, then its leapfrogging past the Irish for the last spot, has been well-documented.

If Miami’s trip to the final proved anything, it’s how off base the committee was when it started the ’Canes at 18, even if they were coming off a loss at SMU, its second of the season.

Miami responded to Indiana’s touchdown with one of its own to cut the Hoosiers’ lead to 24-21 with 6:37 left.

The Hurricanes zipped 91 yards on eight plays in 2:34, with Toney catching a pass from Beck and twisting and turning his way to the end zone for a 22-yard score.

Miami’s offense has sprung to life after a slow start, generating five of its six plays of 20-plus yards after halftime.

Indiana took a 24-14 lead midway through the fourth quarter with the help of courageous play-calling and clutch execution by Mendoza.

Instead of kicking a field goal for a six-point lead, Cignetti opted to go for it on fourth-and-4 from the Miami 12-yard line. Mendoza ran up the middle, fought through traffic and dived into the end zone with 9:18 left.

The Hoosiers were on the edge of field goal range four plays earlier when they faced a fourth-and-5 at the Miami 37. They converted when Mendoza hit Charlie Becker, who had to come back for the ball along the sideline to make the 19-yard catch.

Indiana 24, Miami 14

Fletcher’s second touchdown, finishing a 10-play, 81-yard drive early in the fourth quarter, pulled Miami to within three points of Indiana.

The Hurricanes kept the march going when Beck scrambled and connected with CJ Daniels for 24 yards on a third-and-6. Miami had been 0 for 8 on third-down conversions up to that point. The Hurricanes came into the game 18th in the nation with a 47.1% conversion rate.

Fletcher ran in from the 3 on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Indiana 17, Miami 14

After a bleak start to the half offensively, Indiana’s special teams rose to the occasion. Mikail Kamara blocked a punt from Miami’s Dylan Joyce. Isaiah Jones recovered the blocked punt in the end zone for the score, extending Indiana’s lead to 17-7.

It’s Indiana’s second blocked punt in the College Football Playoff and fifth of the year.

Miami’s leading rusher, Mark Fletcher Jr., broke loose for a 57-yard rushing touchdown early in the third quarter. It’s the longest rushing touchdown against Indiana’s defense since allowing two 70+ yard touchdowns against Old Dominion in Week 1.

Fletcher’s 57-yard score accounted for more rushing yards than Miami’s first-half total (27).

The Hurricanes now trail by 3.

Indiana 10, Miami 7

Miami cut into its 10-point halftime deficit and can still win this game. Mark Fletcher’s 57-yard touchdown run was a breakthrough for a ground game that had been hogtied.

Fletcher has been playing his best ball of the season in the CFP, so it’s huge for him to get going.

The Hurricanes also need to clean up their play. They are one of the most penalized teams in the nation, and they’ve already had a pass interference and facemask.

Carson Beck also needs to turn it up a notch. He’s thrown for only 54 yards as of the middle of the third quarter.

The defense has played pretty well and needs to keep getting pressure on Fernando Mendoza, who sometimes falls into the habit of holding onto the ball too long.

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Christopher Columbus High School will be busily celebrating the sight of alums hoisting the national championship trophy tonight (so much so that its Tuesday classes have been canceled).

The question is, will it be Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner?

Or will it be Miami coach Mario Cristobal?

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Miami head coach Mario Cristobal watches during the first half of the College Football Playoff national championship game against Indiana, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza passes against Miami during the first half of the College Football Playoff national championship game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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Columbus is a Catholic all-boys school about 5 miles from the University of Miami campus and about 25 miles from Hard Rock Stadium — where the game is being played.

It is a house divided.

There are Miami fans. There are Mendoza fans.

The optimist would say the school can’t lose. The pessimist would say the school can’t win.

Indiana coach Cignetti was not happy officials failed to call what he considered personal fouls in the first half.

“There were three personal fouls not called on one drive,” Cignetti said during his halftime interview with ESPN. “That needs to be called because they’re obvious personal fouls. I’m all for letting them play, but when you cross the line you have to call it. They were black-and-white calls.”

Perhaps the most egregious was in the first quarter when Mendoza handed the ball off and then was hit in the chin by Jakobe Thomas’ helmet, causing Mendoza to get a bloody lip.

Miami kicker Carter Davis missed a 50-yard field-goal attempt with 33 seconds left in the second quarter. Davis was 7 of 12 from distances beyond 40 yards this season.

Mendoza and Co. took the field at Indiana’s 32-yard line, but the clock ran out after a deep shot to Charlie Becker fell incomplete.

Indiana led 10-0 at the half.

It’s likely no surprise that there is a major discrepancy in the history of the two programs, including:

• Miami has been ranked 551 times to Indiana’s 95.
• Miami has been in the top 5 on 213 occasions to Indiana’s 18.
• The Hoosiers’ current run of 28 consecutive poll appearances is, by far, the longest in Indiana history.
• Miami’s current run of 33 consecutive poll appearances is the third-longest stretch for the Hurricanes, behind streaks of 162 polls in a row (1985-1995) and 107 straight (1999-2006).

Indiana takes a 10-0 lead after a 14-play, 85-yard drive. With 6:13 left in the half, Miami’s offense has run just 14 plays total.

Riley Nowakowski was credited with the score, running the ball in from the 1-yard line. It was his first rushing touchdown since the second game of the season, when Indiana beat Kennesaw State 56-9.

The good news for Indiana: It’s a 10-0 lead late in the second quarter.

The good news for Miami: History says that’s not insurmountable, even in a national championship game.

Over the previous 12 seasons, several national champion have rallied from a double-digit deficit. Florida State came from 18 down to beat Auburn in the 2013 season finale, Clemson came from 14 down to beat Alabama for the 2016 title, Alabama erased a 13-point deficit to beat Georgia a year later and LSU was down 10 points before beating Clemson for the 2019 championship.

Three of Miami’s first four drives were three-and-outs. In the nine games before this, they had a total of five three-and-outs.

Beck was 2 of 6 for 9 yards in the first quarter. Beck connected with Malachi Toney on both passes. Mark Fletcher Jr. leads the Hurricanes with four carries for 16 yards.

Indiana’s Mendoza was 7 of 10 for 62 yards in the first quarter. The longest catch of the first quarter belonged to Omar Cooper Jr., who connected with Mendoza on a 25-yard reception.

Indiana is the first team to score, kicking a 34-yard field goal to cap off a 12-play, 55-yard drive. Mendoza connected with Omar Cooper Jr., Elijah Sarratt and Riley Nowakowski on the drive. Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black ran the ball four times for a combined 18 yards.

It’s the seventh straight game that Indiana has scored first. The Hoosiers are 21-1 when scoring first in Cignetti’s two seasons. It’s the 13th time the Hoosiers scored first this season.

Indiana 3, Miami 0

It’s not uncommon for Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines and Miami defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman to jump on their phones during game weeks, see how the other is doing and come up with ideas on how to stop their next opponent.

They’re close friends. It’s normal for them.

Such talks didn’t happen this week — for obvious reasons.

Indiana might have Mendoza and Miami might have a high-octane offense fueled by Beck and Toney, but it’s the defenses that have ensured the Hoosiers and Hurricanes made it to the title game at Hard Rock Stadium.

The teams’ coordinators share off-the-field notes, too, on fatherhood: Hetherman said he picks Haines’ brain about things his daughter is going through, knowing that Haines has been through the same things. Haines was in Hetherman’s wedding.

▶ Read more about the friendship between the defensive coordinators now facing off

Raiders owner Mark Davis, minority owner Tom Brady and general manager John Spytek are all in attendance. Las Vegas has the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft and are expected to strongly consider selecting Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

Mendoza was asked about the Raiders during Saturday’s media day, but he declined to comment out of respect to his team and tonight’s game.

Brady wore a Raiders sweatshirt on the sideline, making the purpose of the trip even clearer.

President Donald Trump was shown briefly on the jumbotron at Hard Rock Stadium during the national anthem.

Trump, who smiled and waved when he was shown, was among a large list of notable figures in attendance, including Super Bowl winning quarterback Tom Brady, Miami native DJ Khaled and former Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward.

It is a tradition at Miami home games. When the Hurricanes come out of the tunnel, they come through the smoke.

Except the CFP final against Indiana — even on Miami’s home field — isn’t a Hurricanes’ home game.

No problem. They brought the smoke anyway.

Yes, as always, Miami had the smoke-filled entrance to Hard Rock Stadium shortly before kickoff Monday night, much to the delight of their home crowd. The Hurricanes were in their usual tunnel, just not their usual sideline.

Indiana came out first, and the Hoosiers also got a smoky entrance. But the crowd roared when they saw smoke for Miami.

Miami is the choice of three of the four members of the pregame show panel on ESPN.

Desmond Howard, Nick Saban and Marcus Freeman picked the Hurricanes. Pat McAfee picked the Hoosiers.

Howard said the ‘Canes must feel disrespected being the underdog in their own stadium. “I’m going with The U. They win the natty tonight.”

Saban said Indiana is one of the most balanced teams he’s seen in college football in a long time.

“There’s something about this Miami team,” Saban said. “I don’t know what it is. The competitive character they have, the spirit they play with. They’re hungry.”

Freeman, the Notre Dame coach, said he didn’t want to make a pick because it’s hard to pick against the Hoosiers when he lives in the state of Indiana. Miami beat Freeman’s team 27-24 on Aug. 31, and the team will play a rematch in South Bend during the 2026 season.

“My heart says Indiana, but I’m going to use my head and pick Miami,” he said.

In his over-the-top style, McAfee chanted, “Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoosiers win their first national championship. They’ve got a Heisman and Bloomington is about to have a parade. Congratulations to the Hoosiers.”

Fernando Mendoza has played 15 games at Indiana, and he’s already up to sixth on the Hoosiers’ career passing touchdown list.

He’s thrown for 41 TDs this season, one behind Antwaan Randle El and Peyton Ramsey — tied for fourth with 42 in their years as Hoosiers. Ben Chappell is third with 45, Kellen Lewis second with 48 and Nate Sudfeld the all-time Indiana leader with 61.

The most by any Indiana quarterback in a single season, before now, was 29 by Kurtis Rourke last year.

Among the Indiana quarterbacks with more than 300 passing attempts, Mendoza is the all-time leader in completion percentage at 73.0%.

He’d have to misfire on his first 19 passes against Miami to see that percentage fall below Rourke’s 69.4% clip.

Don Fischer, voice of Indiana basketball and football, was behind the microphone a half-century ago when the Hoosiers, coached by Bob Knight, won the 1976 national title in basketball with a perfect 32-0 record.

On Monday, he was set to describe for listeners how the Hoosiers’ football team was trying to match that feat of becoming an undefeated national champion. Indiana was bidding to become the first 16-0 team in major college football since Yale in 1894.

“From my perspective as a broadcaster, that’s the ultimate — to be a part of something, a national champion,” Fischer said in the Hoosiers’ radio booth a couple of hours before kickoff Monday. “And now I’ve got a chance to do the same thing in football. I mean, it’s a special night for me.”

Mark Cuban has seen his share of rags to riches story and bankrolled a lot of them, too.

One of Indiana’s best-known (and wealthiest) fans was beaming as he stood on the field, taking pictures and doing interviews in the lead-up to the national title game against Miami.

Where does this rank among all the success stories he’s overseen during his 14-year run on “Shark Tank”?

“It’s way up there, that’s for damn sure,” he said.

Cuban, a graduate of the Indiana business school, has spent millions backing different parts of the Hoosiers sports machine over the years. He said it’s been rewarding to see the football team “achieve success beyond what anybody dreamed of.”

“It’s great just to be a little part of it, and watch all these IU fans all around the world be able to enjoy it,” Cuban said.

Miami’s Malachi Toney is one catch away from being the first Hurricanes receiver to reach 100 grabs in a season. The previous school single-season mark was 85 by Xavier Restrepo in 2023.

A reminder: Toney was 17 when this season started and should be in his senior year of high school.

Toney is fourth nationally in catches this season, behind California’s Jacob De Jesus (108), Florida Atlantic’s Easton Messer (104) and UConn’s Skyler Bell (101).

▶ Read more about Toney’s record-setting freshman season

Miami and Indiana both went 5-0 to start the season, but while the Hoosiers kept on winning, the Hurricanes hit a mid-season slump.

Miami lost two games in three weeks, dropping 24-21 to Louisville in mid-October and 26-20 in overtime at SMU. The Hurricanes dropped to a season-low No. 18 in the AP Top 25 and hope for a playoff berth seemed lost.

But then, Miami went on a run, beating Syracuse, NC State, Virginia Tech and Pitt. With a 6-2 ACC record, the Hurricanes fell short of the conference championship, which meant the only way into the playoff was through the committee.

The Hurricanes turned enough heads to earn the final at-large bid in the playoff and No. 10 seed. Miami delivered two key upsets against Texas A&M and Ohio State en route to the Sugar Bowl, where the Hurricanes beat Mississippi 31-27 in a last-minute thriller.

It’s been more than a decade since a team started 10th or lower on the AP preseason rankings and won the national title.

Miami ranked No. 10 in the AP preseason poll and fluctuated in the rankings throughout the season. After a Week 10 loss to SMU, Miami dropped to No. 18, its lowest ranking of the season. Miami’s highest ranking of the season was No. 2 on three separate occasions.

Indiana entered the season at No. 20 and gradually climbed the ranks. The Hoosiers didn’t reach No. 1 until the final poll, after knocking off front-runner Ohio State in the Big Ten title game.

Miami has come from relatively far back in the pack to win national championships before. The Hurricanes weren’t ranked until the fifth poll of the 1983 season (it was a top 20 then) and were 10th to start the 1987 season.

Luis Cristobal Sr. was always juggling at least two jobs. Clara Cristobal worked at an auto dealership well into her 70s.

They were Cuban-Americans, didn’t know English when they came to the U.S, were extremely proud of their heritage, the sort of people who embraced hard work, saved their highest respect for others cut from the same cloth and tried to set the right example as parents.

It wasn’t easy for their kids. Mario Cristobal makes no secret about that. He’s the coach at the University of Miami and he runs his team the way his parents ran their family.

Hard-nosed. Tough. Demanding.

Mario Cristobal came back to Miami four years ago with a plan and with hope, looking to build a champion.

He could get there tonight.

▶ Watch and read AP’s exclusive interview with Mario Cristobal on his return to Miami

No team has ever finished a season 8-0 against AP-ranked opponents. Miami has a chance to change that.

The Hurricanes have beaten seven ranked teams this season (rankings at time of game):

• No. 6 Notre Dame 27-24
• No. 18 South Florida 49-12
• No. 18 Florida State 28-22
• No. 24 Pitt 38-7
• No. 7 Texas A&M 10-3
• No. 3 Ohio State 24-14
• No. 6 Mississippi 31-27

Indiana enters the title game ranked No. 1.

It’s been a winding road for the 64-year-old Indiana coach. But he had a pretty clear vision from the jump of what he wanted his future to look like, thanks to early exposure to the game from a coach’s point of view.

Long before leading Indiana to its first undefeated regular season and national championship game appearance, Cignetti watched every home West Virginia football game from the field at 7 years old.

It was where his father, Frank Cignetti Sr., served as an assistant before succeeding Bobby Bowden as the head coach in 1976.

Flash forward, and Curt Cignetti quickly built a winner at Indiana with a recruiting strategy made for a new era of college football.

He was one of the few to see potential in Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Mendoza, who transferred from Cal.

▶ Read more about how Indiana’s winning coach came to be

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman has a simple mantra for his team going into 2026: Leave no doubt.

Freeman’s season started with a loss to Miami at Hard Rock Stadium. And Freeman was back in that stadium Monday. He was brought in to appear on ESPN programming.

He said in a pregame appearance that, after a day or so, Notre Dame’s disappointment about missing the CFP field had to subside and the team had to move on.

“My message was, ‘It’s up to us to leave no doubt.’ We left doubt,” Freeman said. “We lost by four, five points the first two games. We left doubt.”

Notre Dame started 0-2, with losses to Miami and Texas A&M. They didn’t lose again, going 10-0 but ended up as the first team out of the playoff.

A victory over Miami would make Indiana the first school in any NCAA division to win national championships with unbeaten football and men’s basketball teams.

Bob Knight’s 1975-76 basketball team was 32-0 and the most recent of the seven undefeated men’s teams to win the national championship.

Lots of people could see that one coming. Hard to say the same about this.

The Hoosiers would be the 65th undefeated football team to win or share a national championship in football since the poll era began in 1936 and the first major program to go 16-0 since Yale in 1894.

Even with Miami on its home turf, oddsmakers like Indiana to win it all. The Hoosiers are 7.5-point favorites, per BetMGM Sportsbook.

Indiana had an unbeaten season, and the Hoosiers turned it up another notch in the postseason, outscoring opponents by a combined 94-25. Mendoza has thrown for 369 yards, eight touchdowns and zero interceptions, averaging an 86.25 completion percentage in two games.

BetMGM listed Indiana as 7-point favorites against Alabama in the Rose Bowl and 3.5-point favorites over Oregon in the Peach Bowl.

1 and 3 — The number of fumbles lost by these teams; one for Indiana, three for Miami. Indiana is one of only two teams with one lost fumble this season (UConn is the other), and the Hurricanes are tied for seventh-best nationally.

237 and 236 — An odd coincidence. Indiana has outscored teams by 237 points in the first half of games this season (second best nationally behind Texas Tech’s 256). The Hoosiers have outscored teams by 236 points in the second half; that’s No. 1 nationally.

47 and 45 — Miami leads the nation with 47 quarterback sacks this season. Indiana is tied with Oklahoma for second with 45.

25 — Miami has averaged 33:42 of time of possession this season. Indiana is a mere 25 seconds less, 33:17. Both teams rank in the top six nationally.

The College Football Playoff will distribute $20 million to the Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conference for placing their teams in the finals — that’s $4 million for making it, $4 million for getting to the quarters, then $6 million each for the semis and finals.

While the Big Ten divvies up that money evenly between its 18 members, Miami keeps it all for itself — part of a “success initiatives program” the ACC started last season that allows schools to keep all the postseason money they make in football and basketball.