College football has been around for over 156 years. Never in the game’s illustrious history has anyone said, “The Indiana University Hoosiers are National Champions.” Well, that was until tonight. The Indiana University Hoosiers are national champions. Heading into the national championship game, Indiana held a 0.430 winning percentage in 1,292 games. The program was the doormat of the Big Ten for well over 100 years. All of that changed when Curt Cignetti was hired. While his guarantee to win a title came a year late, he delivered.
The Indiana Hoosiers are kings of college football.
This is real life. This isn’t a college football video game where you rebuild the worst team to start a dynasty.
The Indiana Hoosiers are national champions.
For the first time since the 1996 Florida Gators, a program has won its first national championship.
The 16-0 Indiana Hoosiers join the 1894 Yale Bulldogs as the only 16-0 teams at this level.
And, after it all, Cignetti cracked a smile.
HISTORY! The Indiana Hoosiers Win First National Championship
Heismandoza
If Indiana was going to win, Fernando Mendoza was going to have to have a game worthy of the first-overall pick. While he did what he had to do for the majority of the game, Mendoza took over in the fourth quarter.
For the majority of the game, the Heisman Trophy winner was making correct reads off his RPOs and was taking what the Miami defense was giving him. There was a throw that could have been catastrophic in the form of a pick-six, but it fell harmlessly to the turf. Even then, Mendoza took over on the touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. On fourth down on the Miami 37, fresh off a timeout, Mendoza hit Charlie Becker with a perfect back-shoulder ball to move the chains. He was backed up again on fourth down, resulting in another burned timeout. On that one, however, he took off on a scramble, tore through the Miami defense in what could only be described as a Herculean individual effort, and dove into the endzone for what became the game-winning touchdown.
Mendoza was the top quarterback all year, so it’s only fitting he went out on top. Cignetti will be credited with Indiana’s turnaround, but Mendoza will be remembered for getting the Hoosiers to the top.
Momentum Swings
For the first 38 minutes of action, it was a physical, low-scoring affair. There were rumblings of whether or not this matchup would be the lowest scoring national championship since the 13-2 Oklahoma win in 2001. Then, Mark Fletcher got the Hurricanes back in it. After a 57-yard touchdown run, the Hurricanes trailed 10-7, ready to take over the game. After a four-play drive and a punt, Miami got the ball deep in its own territory. Indiana forced another three-and-out, resulting in a risky punt. However, that punt never got off as Mikail Kamara broke through, blocked it, and the Hoosiers recovered it in the endzone.
The Hurricanes’ defense stifled the Hoosiers for the entire third quarter. Then, after another Fletcher touchdown, Indiana’s offense figured it out. Mendoza led the Hoosiers on a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, capped off by the aforementioned Herculean individual effort on a fourth-down scramble.
Miami did not go away after that score. The Hurricanes mounted their own eight-play, 91-yard drive thanks to chunk play after chunk play. Malachi Toney finally found the endzone thanks to a 22-yard scamper, narrowing the deficit to 24-21 with 6:37 to go in the game.
Defense Wins Championships
Miami’s offense struggled for the majority of this game, thanks to another incredible game plan from Bryant Haines. He knew the Hoosiers did not match up well in the trenches and made it work with stunts, confusing looks, and tight coverage on the back end. Despite that, Indiana only managed one tackle for loss, which was an Aidan Fisher sack. D’Angelo Ponds was sticky in coverage, and the safeties were as disruptive as any.
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect is the fact that neither team forced a turnover until Carson Beck‘s game-ending interception in the end zone.
Miami was only in the game thanks to its ridiculous defensive line. Rueben Bain Jr. was the best defender regardless of jersey in this one. He was easily the most disruptive player and walked away with two-and-a-half tackles for loss and a sack. Again, he made more of an impact off the statsheet. His running mate, Akheem Mesidor, added two tackles for loss, which were both sacks.
The score may not show it, but this was an impressive effort from both defenses.
Onto 2026
Indiana’s quest to go back-to-back may be a bit easier than past champions, thanks to a weaker schedule. Buckle up for more nitpicking of the Hoosiers’ non-conference schedule as they play North Texas, Howard, and Western Kentucky. Indiana will get Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, and USC at home. The four away games for the Hoosiers are trips to Michigan, Nebraska, Rutgers, and Washington.
Miami’s schedule for next year will kick off with Florida A&M, Central Michigan, and Notre Dame. This time, the game against the Fighting Irish is in South Bend. As for the ACC slate, the Hurricanes have home games against Boston College, Duke, Florida State, Pitt, and Virginia Tech. The away slate features Clemson, North Carolina, Stanford, and Wake Forest.
Main Image: Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images