University of Miami Hurricanes – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by RyanTaylor
The single distinction Indiana had in college football at the start of the season last summer was its most questionable. The Hoosiers had lost more games than any other team in the history of the NCAA’s biggest division.
After Indiana defeated Miami 27–21 to win the College Football Playoff national championship in Miami Gardens, Florida, the Hoosiers completed what may have been the most unlikely worst-to-first turnaround in the history of the sport on Monday night.
The Hoosiers finished a perfect season that would have been considered nearly impossible even two years ago when Curt Cignetti was hired in Bloomington, thanks to Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza, whose diving run on fourth down propelled Indiana to a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and who helped keep Miami at bay later when the Hurricanes had trimmed that lead to just three.
In the last minute of the game, Indiana’s Jamari Sharpe stopped Carson Beck as Miami was attempting a game-winning touchdown, securing the victory.
“We are the national champions, 16-0. “One of the best sports tales ever,” Cignetti remarked.
Indiana’s playoff run this winter began with a 38-3 victory over Alabama in the Rose Bowl, followed by a 56-22 victory over Oregon in the semifinal to secure a matchup with Miami at the Hurricanes’ home stadium.
Mario Cristobal attempted to become the fifth coach to lead the Hurricanes to a national championship, but Indiana’s victory deprived Miami their long-sought sixth in school history.
The Hoosiers are the only teams in the history of the NCAA’s largest division to go 16-0, along with Yale in 1894.
Since Yale’s tenure, college football has undergone significant development. The sport is highly stratified, with established powerhouses with substantial financial resources and a long history holding the top spot for many years. Eight teams, including Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, and Michigan, have won national titles since 2009.
Indiana continued to be a speed bump that was routinely crushed by such established powers, even though it had only won three bowl games in 126 seasons.
However, parity joined the sport in 2021 when laws let players to get payment for their names, likenesses, and photographs. On a more level playing field, teams with empty trophy cases but full wallets of boosters can draw gifted players. De facto free agency was expanded by loosening regulations that permitted players to move and start playing right away. There was another advantage for Indiana as well. Even a long-standing also-ran team was able to compete financially because it received yearly rewards from the Big Ten Conference’s media rights agreement that were far more than those of any other conference.
Until he scowled and told supporters who didn’t know him that “I win,” Indiana’s hiring of Cignetti, a former Nick Saban assistant who won national titles at Alabama before becoming a successful small-school head coach, went mostly undetected two years ago. Look me up on Google.
At first glance, the seemingly bold statement turned out to be prophetic.
In an attempt to prolong Indiana’s moment in the spotlight, Cignetti acquired former Cal quarterback Mendoza after leading the team to the 12-team playoffs the previous season with a lineup primarily composed of transfers from his former school, James Madison. After his death, Mendoza won the school’s first Heisman Trophy and helped Indiana win a Big Ten title.
Cignetti stated that Indiana’s NIL was “nowhere near where people think it is.” He went on to ask if the team had eight (NFL) draft picks. Most likely not. However, the sum of its components was not as good as the whole.
As it had done with Alabama and Oregon in its other College Football Playoff victory, Indiana was unable to run roughshod Miami early tonight because to a relentless defense that struck Mendoza three times and bled his lip. With a 3-0 lead, the Hoosiers punted twice in their first three drives.
Then, in the second quarter, Miami scored a short touchdown to take a 10-0 lead after a devastating possession that lasted 85 yards and 14 plays, more than they had all game. Two expensive penalties against Miami contributed to the drive.
The advantage felt wider than 10 points would indicate because Miami was in the midst of an offensive drought. The Hurricanes only managed 69 yards in the first half, 100 fewer than Indiana, and failed to convert any of their six third-down attempts before their 50-yard field goal attempt missed in the closing seconds of the half.
If that lead seemed strong, it soon felt shaky after Miami responded with a score of its own to fall down 10–7 after Indiana punted on its opening three drives of the second half. However, Indiana’s special teams unit added points when the team’s offense was unable to. When Mikail Kamara of Indiana ran off the left side to stop a Miami punt late in the third quarter, the ball fell backward into the end zone, where the Hoosiers recovered it for a touchdown and a 17–7 lead.
With 9:27 remaining in the fourth quarter, Mendoza made a bold decision to score on fourth down and five, 13 yards from the end zone. Just a second before, he was smacked twice and managed to stay upright before diving across the goal line.
“A bit concept that we’ve really had this year is bet on ourselves, whether it’s preseason, no one thinks we could make it, whether it’s figuring it out in situations like Oregon, Penn State or Iowa, we’ve always figured it out,” Mendoza stated. “They called that play, we knew hey, we’re going to bet on ourselves one more time in the biggest stage of the game.”
In order to have a chance at a game-winning drive, Miami scored touchdowns on three straight possessions between the third and fourth quarters, refusing to go away quietly. However, Beck’s costly underthrown ball in the final minute prevented the team from winning a national championship in its home stadium. This play made what had long seemed unattainable—an Indiana national title—a reality.
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Chris began his writing as a hobby while attending Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. Today he and his wife live in the Orlando area with their three children and dog.
