Indiana University topped Miami University in the College Football Playoff National Championship 27-21 Jan. 19 to cap off their undefeated season.
This was Indiana football’s first College Football Playoff National Championship.
“Took some chances, found a way,” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said in a postgame interview with ESPN. “Let me tell you: We won the national championship at Indiana University. It can be done.”
Led by quarterback Fernando Mendoza, this year’s Heisman Trophy winner, Indiana cruised to the national championship game. The Hoosiers steamrolled the University of Alabama 38-3 and the University of Oregon 56-22 in the opening rounds.
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes got into the playoffs as the 10th seed before beating Texas A&M University, The Ohio State University and the University of Mississippi to meet the Hoosiers in the national championship.
The game got off to a slow start as Indiana held a 3-0 lead after the first quarter. A one-yard rushing touchdown from tight end Riley Nowakowski extended the lead to 10 at the half.
Miami was held scoreless through the first half but got on the board early into the third quarter thanks to a 57-yard rushing touchdown from running back Mark Fletcher Jr. Fletcher Jr. finished the game with 127 yards on 17 carries with two scores.
Later in the third, the Hurricanes were forced to punt deep in their own territory before the Hoosiers’ special teams blocked and returned the punt for a touchdown.
Going into the fourth quarter and trailing 17-7, the Hurricanes’ offense rebounded from the miscue on special teams with a 10-play, 81-yard drive that ended with a Fletcher score.
Looking to put the game away, Indiana faced a fourth-and-five on Miami’s 10-yard line. Instead of kicking a field goal, the Hoosiers went for it. The game paid off as Mendoza broke multiple tackles en route to the end zone.
“I had to go airborne,” Mendoza said in an interview with ESPN. “I would die for my team.”
Refusing to go away, Miami quarterback Carson Beck found receiver Malachi Toney for a 22-yard touchdown pass. The Hurricane defense then held Indiana to a field goal as they trailed 27-21 with just under two minutes remaining.
Miami moved the ball past midfield with just under a minute remaining, but Beck threw an interception, sealing the Hoosiers’ win.
“It’s not the result we wanted; credit to Indiana, they’re a great football team,” Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said postgame. “But to these guys right here, I couldn’t be more proud to be associated with them. I love them.”
