Indiana Hoosiers beat Miami in CFP National Championship
Indiana football wins the national championship, becoming the first 16-0 team since 1894 and solidifying its place in history with a dominant season.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Fernando Mendoza showed off some late-game magic and No. 1 seed Indiana held on to beat No. 10 Miami 27-21 in the College Football Playoff Championship Game for the first title in program history.
The victory completed a remarkable turnaround orchestrated by second-year coach Curt Cignetti. He inherited one of the weakest programs in the Football Bowl Division historically, but quickly turned the Hoosiers into the best team the sport has to offer.
After a surprisingly low-scoring game throughout the first half, things started to pick up in the third quarter and regained a frenetic pace in the final quarter as Mendoza made clutch plays with two scoring drives for Indiana, putting the finishing touches on one of the most memorable individual seasons in program history.
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Mendoza completed 16 of 27 for 186 yards and a touchdown. Kaylon Black had 79 yards on 17 carries and Roman Hemby had 60 yards on 19 carries. Omar Cooper led IU with five receptions for 71 yards, and Charlie Becker added 65 yards in the fourth quarter, including multiple drive-extending catches.
Miami quarterback Carson Beck threw for 232 yards on 19-of-32 passes with one touchdown and one interception. Mark Fletcher Jr. gained 112 yards on 17 carries, and freshman receiver Malachi Toney had a game-high 10 catches for 122 yards and a score.
The teams traded punts on the first three possessions of the game. Indiana took the lead with Nikolas Radic’s 34-yard field goal with 2:42 left in the first quarter. IU completed an 11-play, nearly six-minute drive with a crucial 25-yard completion by Cooper after a holding penalty forced him to go 1-and-20 in the red zone.
After both teams linked up on three consecutive three-and-out drives, the Hoosiers came alive and took a 10-0 lead on tight end Riley Nowakowski’s 1-yard dive with 6:13 left in the first half. After an 85-yard march, Becker’s 15-yard completion, which was initially called a touchdown but was returned to the 5-yard line by official review, decided the score.
At this point, Miami’s offense had gained just 26 yards, nine of which came on Fletcher’s carry on the first play from scrimmage, and only one first down.
This rough start, combined with the Hoosiers’ lead expanding, forced Miami to attempt and convert a fourth-and-one play on a short run by Fletcher at its own 34-yard line. But after receiver CJ Daniels made a 25-yard grab to push the Hurricanes into IU territory, coach Mario Cristobal elected to attempt a long field goal on fourth-and-2 from the 32nd.
Kicker Carter Davis attempted a 49-yard shot with 33 seconds left in the first half, but it went far but drifted right and hit the goal post, giving the Hoosiers a 10-0 lead going into the break. IU entered the locker room leading by 100 yards in total offense (169-69) and gaining 11 first downs to Miami’s three. The Hurricanes were 0-of-6 on third downs.
But the momentum built during that drive carried over into the third quarter. After sacking Mendoza twice and forcing an IU punt, Miami scored on Fletcher’s 57-yard run on the second play of the first half. Fletcher waited patiently for a seam to open up on the right side and then drove straight into the end zone, making it 10-7 with less than four minutes left in the first half.
This was the sixth time this season the Hoosiers defense allowed at least 50 yards, more than all but five FBS teams.
Two drives later, after another IU punt, Miami was stopped short on Toney’s third-and-8 completion and lined up to punt back to the Hoosiers at their own 16-yard line with 5:04 left in the third quarter.
Miami’s special teams were once again an issue. IU’s Mikail Kamara blocked a Dylan Joyce punt, but the punt bounced into the end zone and was recovered by Isaiah Jones, putting the Hoosiers back up to double digits at 17-7.
This was the first score on a blocked punt in College Football Playoff history.
The Hurricanes remained calm and responded. Miami, which started with 19 points with five minutes left in the third quarter, gained 81 yards in 10 plays and ended with Fletcher’s second touchdown run from three yards left to tie the game at 17-14 within a field goal with 14 minutes, 57 seconds left.
Miami dominated the third quarter and pushed the Hoosiers into a corner. After this score, the Hurricanes led in total offense with 222 yards to IU’s 180 yards. The defense held Mendoza down without completing the quarter.
However, the Hoosiers will be in charge in the fourth quarter.
IU will have a big answer behind a rejuvenated Mendoza. He threw for 37 yards on the next drive, including a key 19-yard completion to Becker on a 4th-and-5 from the Miami 37, and a run in from 12 yards out on a 4th-and-4 with 9:18 left to give Indiana a 24-14 lead.
Still, thanks to Toney’s additional talent in the open field, Miami didn’t disappear. The Hurricanes gained 91 yards in just 2:34, and Beck’s short completion led to Toney’s weaving 22-yard touchdown to make it 24-21. Toney, a former Georgia transfer, gained 41 yards two plays earlier and drove deep into IU territory.
With 6:37 left, the Hoosiers took over at 25 points and had a chance to put Miami in trouble with an extra point. Mendoza once again pulled out all the stops to deliver the final blockbuster sequence.
The Hoosiers broke through the middle with a 14-yard gain to Cooper on a third-and-5 from IU’s 31 and a 19-yard gain on Becker’s 48 on a third-and-7. On the next play, Hemby circled 10 yards to the right side, setting the Hoosiers at the Miami 23 at a two-minute timeout.
Hemby then ran 9 yards and Miami called its first timeout. IU responded with a crucial false start, going from 19 to 2nd-and-6 with 1:56 left. The Hoosiers gained 1 yard on their next run, both of which were followed by Miami timeouts, making it 4th-and-4 from the 18.
Radic made a 35-yard field goal with 1:42 left to extend the lead to 27-21, but it left Miami in position to win by a touchdown.
The Hurricanes got off to a false start on the first play. Beck was hit and pitched incomplete with one out and 15th base. Beck then missed the target again, but the Hoosiers were flagged for a late hit and Miami gained a first down at its own 35-yard line.
A 7-yard gain from Beck to Toney with 51 seconds left put the Hurricanes 47 yards into IU territory. On the next snap, Beck made an arcing throw down the left sideline toward Kieran Marion. But Marion wasn’t looking for the ball. Defensive back Jamari Sharp undercut Marion and intercepted him at the Hoosiers’ 7-yard line to seal the victory.
IU had never won more than nine games in a season before losing 11-2 in the opening round of last year’s playoffs. The 2025 team will be the first national champion since Yale in 1894, which finished 16-0. In the final four games, the Hoosiers defeated teams that were ranked No. 1, No. 5, No. 10, and No. 11 at the time in the U.S. LBM Coaches Poll.
