Indiana Writes Final Chapter in Greatest Story, Beats Miami 27-21 For First National Title

“The surest way to make your dreams come true is to live them.”― Roy T. Bennett

MIAMI, Fla. — They say if you believe hard enough, that dreams really can come true. But a school like Indiana dreaming about winning a national championship? That's just too, too far out there.

Before Curt Cignetti arrived two years ago, Indiana had lost more college football games than any school in the sport. And in the ultimate fast-forward in sports history, Cignetti stood on a stage at Hard Rock Stadium on Monday, with confetti raining down on him and tears rolling down the cheeks of players and fans alike.

And then, he lifted a trophy. The trophy.

His Indiana Hoosiers are national champions. 

The did it by beating the Miami Hurricanes on their home field, winning 27-21 in a game that went right down to the final minute. They finished the first 16-0 season in the modern era with a thriller that was won with offense, defense and special teams.

Much like they've done all year, it was a total team effort.

"To see all the hard work pay off and all the sacrifices pay off, it's truly incredible," said Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who was 16-for-27 passing for 186 yards but made the biggest impact with his legs, scoring on a gutsy 12-yard run in the fourth quarter that helped the Hoosiers pull away.

Mendoza, who's a Miami native and rooted for the Hurricanes as a child, took a beating all night, often getting hit late by Miami defenders. He even got his lip bloodied in the second quarter, but kept getting back up off the deck. That was no surprise to any of his teammates.

They've seen that from him all year. 

"Fernando is a warrior, our Heisman winner,'' Indiana running back Kaelon Black said. He did a great job tonight. Warrior."

They needed every ounce of him. Every ounce from everyone, really. It was that type of game, a war to the finish.

The Hoosiers led 10-0 at halftime thanks to an awesome display by the defense, which held the vaunted Miami running game to just 20 yards,  and only 69 yards of total offense.

Indiana ran 35 plays to 16 in the half, and controlled the clock for more than 18 minutes. They scored first on a Nico Radicic field goal from 34 yards out with 2:42 left in the first quarter, capping a 12-play, 55-yard drive.

They made it 10-0 in the middle of the second quarter when tight end Riley Nowakowski lined up at fullback, and scored from one yard out. He had only run the ball one time all year, and that was way back on Sept. 6 in the Hoosiers' second game of the year. 

"Now I'm 2-for-2. Maybe they should have been giving me the ball more,'' Nowakowski said on the field after the game. “It wasn't the same play, just a little different wrinkle. All I wanted to do was get downhill as fast as I could, and the guys up front did a great job of making a little room for me.”

Miami did nothing in the first half. They were 0-for-6 on third down, and couldn't figure out Indiana.

But Miami has played well throughout these playoffs, and you knew they'd answer at some point. They did early in the third when running back Mark Fletcher broke free for a 57-yard run to make it 10-7.

It was the first of five touchdowns in the half. Indiana went ahead 17-7 when Mikael Kamara blocked a punt and Isaiah Jones recovered. It was the eighth time the Hoosiers have blocked a punt in the past two years.

Fletcher scored again for Miami on the first play of the fourth quarter on another long Hurricanes drive. It was 17-14. 

Indiana answered with a 75-yard drive of its own, with Mendoza scoring on a 12-yard scramble on 4th-and-4. It was a gutsy call. 

"A big constant for us all year is that we bet on ourselves. And on that play, we bet on ourselves again,'' Mendoza said. "I had to put my body on the line, but I'm happy to do that for my brothers.''

It was 24-14 with 9:18 to go, but it was nowhere near over. Miami went 91 yards in eight plays, and scored on a 22-yard pass from Carson Beck to Malachi Toney to make it 24-21.

Indiana tried to run out the clock and got three first downs, but they were stopped and had to settle for a field goal, taking a 27-21 advantage.

Miami started moving again, but Jamari Sharpe — who is also a Miami native — intercepted a Beck pass to end the threat. After two kneel-downs by Mendoza, the Hoosiers had themselves a championship.

"We're 16-0 and national champions at Indiana University and I know a lot of people didn't think that was possible,'' Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said. "But we are, and it's a testament to these guys and the work they've put in.

"We have the right people, and we have great senior leadership. We also have a great quarterback who played his best when the chips were down. And with this team, the whole is better than the sum of its parts.''

The Hoosiers are 27-2 now in the past two years, and their only two losses were in 2024 to the two teams that played for the national title, Ohio State and Notre Dame. This year, they didn't lose at all.

"If I was smart, I would probably retire. That would really be a story,'' Cignetti said with a smile. "But we need the money, and I don't know what else I'd do. I'm a football junkie, a film junkie. I'll have a chance to look back it, but we've got another team to put together. This team was so close. Exceptionally close.''

And they're also national champions.

Forever.