BLOOMINGTON, Ind.  — It's been quite a month for Indiana football. Since Dec. 6, they've played the three most important games in the 138-year history of the sport. And it's not even close.

They beat No. 1 Ohio State to win their first-ever Big Ten Championship Game, earning the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. Then they beat No. 9 Alabama by 35 points and Oregon by 34, a wild beatdown of bluebloods that led them to Monday night, where they will play the Miami Hurricanes for the national championship.

Miami used to be in that blueblood territory. They have five national titles, but none since 2002. Much like Indiana basketball, there is a great past, but not much of a present. They joined the ACC in 2004 — and have never once won a conference title. They only played in the ACC Championship Game once, losing 38-3 to Clemson in 2017.

But now the Hurricanes are back. Despite two losses in the regular season to SMU and Louisville, they were the last at-large team to make the field. Then they won at No. 7 Texas A&M, upset No. 2 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, and then beat No. 6 Ole Miss to earn their ticket to the finals.

Indiana fans don't know a lot about the Canes, so I brought my Roundtable Sports colleague Anthony Aguirre in to take about Miami with our ''3 Burning Qestions'' podcast. We talked about Miami quarterback Carson Beck, the Hurricanes' spectacular running game and the path of UM coach Mario Cristobal.

Here are the highlights of our chat:

Carson Beck transferred from Georgia to Miami this year. He was coming off an injury, but has played very well during their seven-game winning streak at the end of the year. 

"When he came to Miami, he still wasn't 100 percent, but he produced.  He did decent enough in the first five gamesYou look at SMU and Louisville, and the conversations were valid at the time, here's the old Carson Beck, the guy who's a little shaky,.

"But when you look at the last four games, he completed 89 of 112 passes and only had one interception. To see him be healthy and the team peaking at the right time, he's helped them win. The Hurricanes have leaned on his experience, and he's been great in the playoffs. His best game was against Ole Miss, so I applaud his leadership.''

Miami is counting on having success in the running game to beat Indiana, even though the Hoosiers are No. 2 in the country in rush defense. Miami ranks No. 72 in rush offense at 154.6 yards per game. (Indiana is No. 12 in rushing offense at 218.3.) Indiana has played five teams this season who averaged more on the ground than Miami — Old Dominion, Kennesaw State, Oregon (twice), Penn State and Iowa, 

"Respect to Indiana, but they haven't faced a team just yet that can execute the run game as good as the Hurricanes. Alabama was not a good run team; that was no secret. And Oregon did not have any running depth at all, so they didn't have to personnel to do anything.

"Mark Fletcher, the way he reads the gaps and penetrates from there. It was the same narrative against Ohio State, because they were great against the run too, but they stepped up.''

Mario Cristobal is 35-18 during his four years at Miami. He went 5-7 his first year, and 7-6 his second. Fans were fearful that the Hurricanes had made another bad hire.

He went 10-3 in 2024, but an ugly late loss to Syracuse ruined their playoff chances. His 13-2 this year, and now everyone loves him.

"The questions were many about his execution, and his decisions. Losing those kind of games (like Syracuse) late in the year had people worried about finishing on top this season. 

"And now, leading a team to the national championship for the first time in 2002, the fan base believes in his more. They believe in him going 1-0 every week.''

Aguirre also made his game prediction at the end of the show. "I think the Canes come out on top in this one.''

You can watch the full "3 Burning Questions'' podcast right here.