Many college football fans and opinion-makers — too many, that is — continued to doubt this Indiana team until given no alternative during the CFP but to acknowledge the Hoosiers as a truly elite team.
Even more — understandably — wrote off Miami after it lost twice in the span of three games to unranked opponents during the middle of this season and dropped to No. 18 in the rankings.
But everyone can agree whichever team comes out on top next Monday in the national championship game will have earned its place in college football lore.
Either the No. 1-ranked, 15-0 Hoosiers complete the greatest story in college football history with their first national title, or the No. 10 Hurricanes finish putting one of the sport’s storied programs back atop its perch after two frustrating decades of mostly irrelevance.
Before we get to a fuller matchup breakdown and preview later in the week, here are five early thoughts about why Indiana-Miami is such a thoroughly intriguing finale to this college football season.
1. Legacies At Stake In CFP Title Game
We’ve gone deep on why this Indiana team and what coach Curt Cignetti has done in two seasons is the greatest story and achievement in the history of the sport (and maybe sports in general) — taking over a lifeless program with the most losses in college football history and immediately turning it into a dominant force that beats the likes Alabama and Oregon in the CFP by 35 and 34 points, respectively, and is one win away from a national title.
So the stakes for Indiana are clear … finish the job and go down in history as arguably the most memorable national championship team ever.
For Cignetti, win or lose he’s going to be regarded as one of the best coaches in college football who pulled off one of the greatest coaching feats ever (we’re getting redundant now, we know). But it’s an even better story with the right ending, of course.
Also, while it’s totally possible he keeps the Hoosiers in position as a near-perennial contender, there’s just no guarantee how many shots any coach or program gets at a national title. Many a great coach has never won one. So it can’t just be assumed that Cignetti will get more cracks at this — this is his moment to make his legacy as an all-time great undeniable.
As for quarterback Fernando Mendoza … actually, save that for a moment.
For Mario Cristobal on the other side, winning a national title — let alone doing it against this team as a 7.5-point underdog — would put him in a different tier in the sport.
Believe it or not, but there are only three active head coaches in college football with a national championship on their resume — Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and Ohio State’s Ryan Day. (It was as high as five before Nick Saban retired, Mack Brown was fired and Jim Harbaugh moved onto the NFL, prior to Day joining the club).
That list will go to four one way or another next week.
Win or lose, Cignetti is already viewed as one of the best — if not the best — coaches in the sport already. Cristobal may need the national title to put himself on that list, though he’s already shed the stigma that dogged him through his career of coming up short in the biggest games. CFP wins over No. 7-seeded Texas A&M, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 6 Ole Miss made quite a statement, but the natty changes his legacy in a different way.
Cristobal would also be special story in his own right if he leads his alma mater back to the pinnacle of the sport after winning two national titles as a player for the Hurricanes in 1989 and 1991.
With regard to Miami’s program in general, it’s hard to say the Hurricanes aren’t back at the top of the sport regardless of outcome Monday.
They’ve won 23 games the last two seasons, have a true identity again with their elite defense, have the No. 8-ranked recruiting class (per On3) incoming and have proven they’ll spend big in the transfer portal. It may have taken two decades, but “The U” is back.
A national championship, though, would give the program six titles overall in four different decades, giving it a fresh boost in the conversation of best college football programs in modern history.
2. You Can’t Make This Up
We’re not breaking any new ground here. The Fernando Mendoza story has been well-covered, so we’ll just recap the notable points on this incredible full-circle finish to his remarkable college career.
Mendoza was an overlooked 2-star prospect from Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, ranked the No. 2,149 overall recruit in the 2022 class by the 247Sports Composite. He was not offered by the hometown Hurricanes — or any other power conference program other than Cal, where he spent his first three college seasons.
Cristobal was hired at the very end of that recruiting cycle in early December soon before the early signing period, so it’s not his fault Mendoza got away, but it is interesting to note that Cristobal too is a Columbus HS alum and was teammates there with Mendoza’s father.
“It’s a very full-circle moment for myself. If you open Google Maps and put my address, the University of Miami campus, it’s under a mile away. And I walked there, biked there, played basketball rec games in the offseason there. It means a lot to me,” Mendoza said. “However, I think the national championship means a lot to everybody. So I wouldn’t want it any other way, on a great stage, that the Indiana Hoosiers are going to have to compete their butt off. They’re (Miami) a great team, and really looking forward to the opportunity.”
Again, we’re far from the first to make this point, but a Hollywood script writer couldn’t come up with something more befitting of an uplifting Disney sports movie — under-recruited QB in big school’s backyard returns four years later as the newly minted Heisman Trophy winner to play that school in his hometown for the national championship.
It would almost read too far-fetched if it was fiction.
3. Home Game Or Hoosiers Takeover Part 2?
Miami gets the rare opportunity to play for a national championship on its home field, as the game takes place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
But it will be interesting to see if the Hurricanes’ fans can make it feel like a true home game.
Like their team, Indiana fans made a statement in the CFP semifinals, taking over Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta to give the Hoosiers’ a home crowd feel in the Southeast. Even Oregon QB Dante Moore had to acknowledge it.
Can they do it again in Miami to at least offset the Hurricanes’ representation?
One thing is clear at least — it’s going to be an expensive ticket for anyone wanting to be in the stadium for this CFP national championship game.
4. NFL Draft Showcase
There will be a lot of NFL draft picks used in a few months on players from these two teams. Here are the 10 most notable draft prospects getting one more primetime showcase to boost their stock:
– Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza: ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has the Heisman Trophy winner ranked as his top draft prospect. PFF’s mock draft (and many others) also have Mendoza going No. 1 overall to the Raiders. Mendoza’s playoff performance — 31-of-36 passing with 8 TDs and 0 INTs vs. the likes of Alabama and Oregon — has only sent his stock soaring further this month.
– Miami OT Francis Mauigoa: Mauigoa is No. 5 on Kiper’s Big Board and projected as a consensus first-round pick and very possibly the top offensive tackle in the draft.
– Miami EDGE Rueben Bain Jr.: There is some disagreement among draft prognosticators about how high Bain will go — PFF projects him fourth overall, other mock drafts have him further down in the top 10, Kiper ranks him the 14th-best draft prospect overall, etc. But there’s no question his 4 sacks and consistent pressure on opposing QBs during these playoffs has helped him.
– Miami EDGE Akheem Mesidor: The other half of the Hurricanes destructive duo is also a projected first-round pick and No. 17 on Kiper’s Big Board. Ditto, his 3.5 sacks and relentless pressures this postseason have him climbing draft boards.
– Miami QB Carson Beck: There was a time during his first big season at Georgia that Beck might have been a high first-round pick, but that seems unlikely now. He could slip into the back of the first round — Kiper ranks him as the sixth-best QB in the draft — or fall to the subsequent rounds, and his performance vs. Indiana’s vaunted defense may factor greatly into the overall evaluation of the sixth-year senior.
– Indiana LT Carter Smith: Smith, a three-year starter at left tackle for the Hoosiers and the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2025, is ranked the No. 9 OT in the draft by Kiper. He’ll be in the spotlight in the CFP title game going up against Miami’s elite edge rushers.
– Miami DB Keionte Scott: The Hurricanes’ star nickel has two pick-6s this season, including in the playoff win over Ohio State, 5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 61 total tackles. He’s a very intriguing early to mid-round pick.
– Indiana CB D’Angelo Ponds: A second-team AP All-America selection, Ponds still has a draft decision to make. He’s undersized at 5-foot-9, 173-pounds, which will hurt his draft grade, but the tape says it all — he’s an excellent cover corner and made a splash with his pick-6 vs. Oregon.
– Indiana WR Elijah Sarratt: He won’t be a first-round pick, but Sarratt’s draft stock is shooting up after a season in which he’s totaled 62 catches for 802 yards and 15 TDs (including 2 in the CFP semifinals).
– Indiana WR Omar Cooper Jr.: Ditto for Cooper, although he hasn’t formally declared for the draft yet and has remaining eligibility. With 64 catches for 866 yards and 13 TDs (including one in both CFP games), the draft buzz around Cooper is getting louder.
5. No Fluke
This shouldn’t need to be said, but given the hesitancy to take Indiana seriously all season by many in SEC country, we’ll say it anyway.
This isn’t a Cinderella story anymore. This isn’t George Mason basketball making the Final Four. Indiana is going to be a sustained success as long as Cignetti is there — even next season when it loses Mendoza (not official but assumed), wide receivers Elijah Sarratt and possibly Omar Cooper Jr., running backs Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black, linebacker Aiden Fisher, top defensive backs Louis Moore and Devan Boykin, etc.
Indiana is no longer going to be built on overachieving two-stars, three-stars and unrated recruits, although there’s no denying part of the secret to these Hoosiers’ success is having a lot of older, experienced players who grew together.
But Cignetti with even more raw talent to work with is not something to bet against.
Per On3’s ratings, Indiana signed four four-star recruits this cycle (and 18 three-stars) and the fourth-ranked transfer portal class with 14 additions. That haul so far includes one of the most experienced quarterbacks available (TCU’s Josh Hoover), one of the top wideouts on the market (Michigan State’s Nick Marsh), another big-play wideout in Tulane’s Shazz Preston, a high-upside running back in Turbo Richard who averaged 5.2 yards per carry and totaled 962 rushing/receiving yards with 11 TDs for Boston College, an experienced cornerback in Penn State’s A.J. Harris and much more.
The Hoosiers showed they have the money to take some big swings and reload at key spots. Indiana isn’t going away.
It may not be the most dominant team in college football again next year, but it’s not going away.
Ditto for Miami, of course, but that especially doesn’t need to be said. All signs say that “The U” is indeed back with the foundation Cristobal has built, how aggressive the Hurricanes have been in the transfer portal each year and how well Cristobal’s programs have always recruited.
