NO. 1 INDIANA, NO. 10 MIAMI SHOULD BE NEAR FULL STRENGTH FOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
No. 10 Miami needs everything at its disposal to slow down top-seeded Indiana’s high-scoring offense in next week’s College Football Playoff championship.
The good news is that the Hurricanes’ defense should be at, or near, full strength.
Coach Mario Cristobal told reporters Monday he expects defensive linemen Ahkeem Mesidor and Ahmad Moten, as well as cornerback OJ Frederique, to be ready to play in next week’s title game.
Mesidor and Moten were both injured during last week’s dramatic 31-27 victory, but later returned. Frederique was injured during Miami’s surprising 24-14 Cotton Bowl victory over No. 2 Ohio State and did not play in the Fiesta Bowl. Now, it appears all three will be there to try and help derail the Hoosiers attempt to become the first 16-0 college team since the 1890s.
“I believe we’re coming out a lot like we went into the last game,” Christobal said. “I know a couple guys came out of the game. Mesidor is in great condition. He hurt his elbow for a second and he’s already full throttle. Ahmad Moten was full throttle today. I know O.J. came out. (Tight end Elija) Lofton will be the one that’s in question. But aside from that, I feel really good about the rest. I would say OJ is good to go and (cornerback Damari) Brown is probably day by day.”
The Hurricanes (13-2, No. 10 CFP) may need every one of them against an Indiana team that is averaging 47.0 points in two blowout playoff wins.
Defensively, the Hoosiers (15-0, No. 1) have been equally efficient, holding their last three opponents — Ohio State, No. 9 Alabama and No. 5 Oregon — to a combined total of just 35 points.
And coach Curt Cignetti acknowledged that aside from losing key defensive lineman Stephen Daley to a right leg injury suffered in the postgame celebration following Indiana’s Big Ten championship game victory over the Buckeyes, he expects to have all of his key players on the field next week.
“We came out really good, and everybody that played in the last game will play in this game,” Cignetti said.
Similar coaches
Cignetti enters the championship game with a head coaching resume any colleague would want. He’s posted 14 straight winning seasons, never had a losing season, celebrated conference championships and deep playoff runs. But there’s one line still missing — the same line Christobal happens to be missing.
Each is one win away from capturing their first national championship.
Naturally, though, neither wants their players pressing as they take college football’s biggest stage.
“We’ve got to prepare for this game no different than we prepared for Ohio State, Alabama,” Cignetti said as the Hoosiers play for their first national title. “The biggest mistake our guys can make, and I’ll talk to them tonight in the team meeting about this, is making the game bigger than it is. Going down that road would be detrimental to our preparation and performance. This week is no different than any other week, we have to be on point.”
Christobal echoed those sentiments, though the Hurricanes face one additional pressure point — they’ll be the first CFP to play the title game in their home stadium.
“The only thing that changes is that classes have started, and we have 28, 29 of the 30 new members of our team here practicing with us, which is great for us,” he said. “Aside from that, nothing changes.”
Familiar face
With Corey Hetherman’s first season as Miami defensive coordinator nears its end, the Hurricanes seem to be playing some of their best football. They allowed 20 or fewer points in the last seven games prior to the Ole Miss game.
Cignetti isn’t surprised.
Hetherman served as his defensive coordinator from 2019-21 at James Madison. When Hetherman departed, Cignetti promoted Bryant Haines to defensive coordinator, and he has served in that capacity each of the past four seasons for Cignetti.
So Cignetti has some notion of what to expect next Monday.
“We’ve evolved offensively, the terminology has changed. We do things differently, but his scheme has (changed), too,” Cignetti. “Philosophically, in terms, of what we think is important, him and I, that hasn’t changed. He’s going to create havoc up front, stop the run, tackles for losses, sacks. They’ve got 47 sacks on the year, and he’s going to attack.”
Change of plans
Cignetti used the transfer portal to fuel Indiana’s success in 2024 and again in 2025 with the additions of players such as Daley, Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza and starting center Pat Coogan — each of whom has played a key role in this season’s success.
But Cignetti said he wants to become less reliant on the transfer portal in the years ahead. In fact, he insists that transition has already started.
“I knew we had to flip the roster (last year),” Cignetti said. “And every year as your high school recruiting builds up, you kind of start to wean down a little bit from the portal. You’ll never be at a point where you don’t engage with the portal, but this year we’ll take a few less than we took last year and last year we took a few less than we did the year before.”
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INSIDE THE NUMBERS: HOW INDIANA AND MIAMI STACK UP GOING INTO CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza originally planned on going to Yale, which pulled out all the stops during his recruiting visit five years ago.
Among the ploys the Bulldogs used that day: a nod to their history, including how Larry Kelly and Clint Frank won the Heisman Trophy for Yale in 1936 and 1937, respectively. Mendoza won the Heisman this season.
Mendoza and Yale’s history are now colliding again.
Yale is the only major college football team to finish a season 16-0, pulling that off in 1894. Indiana can do the same if it wins the College Football Playoff national championship on Jan. 19 against Miami — Mendoza’s hometown team.
Other teams have gone 16-0, albeit not at the highest level of college football.
North Dakota State did it on the way to the FCS national championship in 2019, and Ferris State did it this season to win the Division II national title. Montana State had a shot at 16-0 last season at the FCS level — but lost the national championship game to North Dakota State.
Inside the numbers
A look at some key stats surrounding Indiana and Miami:
1 and 3 — The number of fumbles lost by these teams; one for Indiana, three for Miami. Indiana is one of only two teams with one lost fumble this season (UConn is the other) and the Hurricanes are tied for seventh best nationally.
237 and 236 — An odd coincidence. Indiana has outscored teams by 237 points in the first half of games this season (second best nationally behind Texas Tech’s 256). The Hoosiers have outscored teams by 236 points in the second half; that’s No. 1 nationally.
47 and 45 — Miami leads the nation with 47 quarterback sacks this season. Indiana is tied with Oklahoma for second with 45.
25 — Miami has averaged 33:42 of time of possession this season. Indiana is a mere 25 seconds less, 33:17. Both teams rank in the top six nationally.
8 would be enough
No team has ever finished a season 8-0 against AP-ranked opponents. Miami has a chance to change that.
The Hurricanes have beaten seven ranked teams this season (rankings at time of game): No. 6 Notre Dame 27-24, No. 18 South Florida 49-12, No. 18 Florida State 28-22, No. 24 Pitt 38-7, No. 7 Texas A&M 10-3, No. 3 Ohio State 24-14 and No. 6 Mississippi 31-27.
Indiana enters the title game ranked No. 1.
Thanks to the advent of a playoff, the season is longer now than what the norm was in college football for decades, so there are more opportunities to play games — and at this time of year, games against ranked teams.
But only three teams have finished with at least eight wins in a season over AP-ranked teams: Alabama went 9-1 in 2016, Alabama went 8-1 in 2015 and LSU went 8-1 in 2011.
Miami could be the third team to beat six top-10 teams in a season: LSU went 7-0 against teams ranked 10th or higher in 2019 and Ohio State went 6-1 in such games last season.
And Miami also has a chance for a 10th win all-time over a No. 1 team. The Hurricanes are 9-10 in such games; only Alabama (12-7) has more wins all-time over an AP No. 1.
More on Mendoza
Fernando Mendoza has played 15 games at Indiana. He already is up to sixth on the Hoosiers’ career passing touchdown list.
Mendoza has thrown for 41 TDs this season, one behind Antwaan Randle El and Peyton Ramsey — tied for fourth with 42 in their years as Hoosiers. Ben Chappell is third with 45, Kellen Lewis second with 48 and Nate Sudfeld the all-time Indiana leader with 61.
The most by any Indiana quarterback in a single season, before now, was 29 by Kurtis Rourke last year.
Among the Indiana quarterbacks with more than 300 passing attempts, Mendoza is the all-time leader in completion percentage at 73.0%. He’d have to misfire on his first 19 passes against Miami to see that percentage fall below Rourke’s 69.4% clip.
Toney is 1 away
Miami’s Malachi Toney is one catch away from being the first Hurricanes receiver to reach 100 grabs in a season. The previous school single-season mark was 85 by Xavier Restrepo in 2023.
A reminder: Toney was 17 when this season started and should be in his senior year of high school.
Toney is fourth nationally in catches this season, behind California’s Jacob De Jesus (108), Florida Atlantic’s Easton Messer (104) and UConn’s Skyler Bell (101).
Reaching the top
The winner of the Indiana-Miami game likely will finish the season No. 1 in the final AP Top 25.
The Hoosiers were No. 1 in the most recent poll, taken at the start of the postseason. That is their only appearance at No. 1 in the AP rankings.
Miami has been No. 1 in 68 different AP polls but hasn’t been there since the final poll of the 2002 regular season.
It’s likely no surprise that there is a major discrepancy in the history of the two programs, including:
— Miami has been ranked 551 times to Indiana’s 95.
— Miami has been in the top 5 on 213 occasions to Indiana’s 18.
— The Hoosiers’ current run of 28 consecutive poll appearances is, by far, the longest in Indiana history; there was an 11-poll run overlapping the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Miami’s current run of 33 consecutive poll appearances is the third-longest stretch for the Hurricanes, behind streaks of 162 polls in a row (1985 through 1995) and 107 straight (1999 through 2006).
More on the poll
Miami was 10th in the AP preseason poll, while Indiana was ranked No. 20 to start the season.
It’s been more than a decade since a team started 10th or lower and won the national title. Florida State was 11th to open the 2013 season and Auburn was 22nd to open the 2010 season.
For the 20th time in the last 21 seasons, the preseason No. 1 won’t win the national title. Alabama did it in 2017, the only exception in that span.
Miami has come from relatively far back in the pack to win national championships before. The Hurricanes weren’t ranked until the fifth poll of the 1983 season (it was a top 20 then) and were 10th to start the 1987 season.
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THE HOOSIERS’ DOMINANT CFP RUN COULD PUT THEM IN THE MIX FOR BEST OF ALL TIME… PENDING A TITLE
ATLANTA (AP) — Undefeated Indiana did more than just justify its place as the top seed in the College Football Playoff with its lopsided 56-22 rout of Oregon in the Peach Bowl semifinal.
The Hoosiers also made a statement about their bid to be considered as one of the top teams in college football history if they can complete their perfect season in the national championship game against No. 10 Miami.
Indiana (15-0, No. 1 CFP) was led by Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza’s five touchdown passes in Friday night’s overwhelming win. The balance shown by the Hoosiers, with championship-level play on offense, defense and special teams, was just as impressive.
Clearly, Indiana boasts more than just a star quarterback. The defense ranked second in the nation in points, yards and rushing yards allowed. The Hoosiers ranked 10th in rushing before Kaelon Black ran for 63 yards and two touchdowns against the Ducks. The defense forced three turnovers, each setting up a touchdown.
“I think when you have good people and they buy in and they prepare the right way, we have a lot of those kind of guys,” said Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, who credited defensive coordinator Bryant Haines.
“They’re high-character, smart guys that can play and coach Haines puts them in position to make plays and put the offense in conflict and attacks. And on the other side of the ball, too, in special teams as well, we’ve been very consistent in all three phases.”
Mendoza will return to his hometown of Miami for the national championship game against Miami on Jan. 19. It will be the first national title game in Indiana history. It also will be an opportunity to complete one of the most impressive seasons for any team in history.
The runaway win over Oregon followed a similarly crushing 38-3 win over Alabama in the Rose Bowl CFP quarterfinal. Indiana outgained Alabama 407-193, a stunning margin against the proud Crimson Tide.
Based on the demonstration of balance, power, defense and big plays in the CFP, it is not too soon to compare Indiana with the 2019 LSU and 2020 Alabama teams when considering the greatest teams in recent history.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning sounded convinced after his Ducks were overwhelmed in the Peach Bowl. The semifinal ranked as one of the biggest blowouts in CFP history, behind only Georgia’s 65-7 demolition of TCU in the national championship game following the 2022 season.
“You see a really complete team,” Lanning said. “And I think they obviously have a great chance to keep it going and have unbelievable success.”
The Hoosiers are favored by 7 1/2 points against Miami, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
Indiana will bring momentum and confidence to the national championship game. Mendoza, who was almost perfect against Oregon while completing 17 of 20 passes for 177 yards, says the Hoosiers just need to remain on track.
“I think it’s really just playing our brand of football, playing the Indiana Hoosiers football, that even though it is the national championship, we don’t have to do anything that is out of character,” Mendoza said. “We just gotta play our brand of football, and that’s what has led us to this point in 15 wins this season.”
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IT’S INDIANA AND MIAMI IN A COLLEGE-FOOTBALL TITLE MATCHUP THAT ONCE SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE
It looked improbable two months ago.
Two years ago — impossible.
But against the odds, Miami and Indiana have a date in the College Football Playoff final — a first-of-its-kind matchup on Jan. 19 in the second national title game of the expanded-playoff era.
The Hoosiers (15-0), the top-seeded favorite in the 12-team tournament, stomped Oregon 56-22 on Friday night to reach the final. The Hurricanes (13-2), seeded 10th and the last at-large team to make the field, beat Mississippi 31-27 the night before.
Indiana opened as a 7 1/2-point favorite, according to the BetMGM Sportsbook.
The game is set for Hard Rock Stadium in South Florida — the long-ago-chosen venue for a game that happens to be the home of the Hurricanes. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is a Miami native who grew up less than a mile from the campus in Coral Gables.
“It means a little bit more to me,” Mendoza said of the title game doubling as a homecoming.
He’ll be going against the program known as “The U.” Miami won five titles between 1983 and 2001 and earned the reputation as college football’s brashest renegade.
A quarter century later, they are one side in a tale of two resurgences.
Miami’s was sparked by coach Mario Cristobal, a local boy and former ‘Cane himself who came back home four years ago to lead his alma mater to a place it hasn’t been in decades.
Among his biggest wins was luring quarterback Carson Beck to spend his final year of eligibility with the ‘Canes.
Beck, steadily rounding back to form after an elbow injury that ended his season at Georgia last year, is getting better every week. He has thrown for 15 TDs and two interceptions over a seven-game winning streak dating to Nov. 8.
“He’s hungry, he’s driven, he’s a great human being, and all he wants to do is to see his teammates have success,” Cristobal said after Beck threw for 268 yards and ran for the winning touchdown against Ole Miss.
It was the latest step in a long climb from No. 18 in the season’s first CFP rankings on Nov. 4 — barely within shouting distance of the bubble — after their second loss of the season.
The Hurricanes haven’t lost since.
Hoosiers rise from nowhere to the edge of a title
Indiana’s climb to the top is an even longer haul. This is the program that had a nation-leading 713 losses over 130-plus years heading into the 2024 season. Since then, only two.
The turnaround is thanks to coach Curt Cignetti, who arrived from James Madison and declared: “It’s pretty simple. I win. Google me,” while explaining his confident tone at a signing day news conference in December 2023 when he landed the core of the class that has taken Indiana from obscurity to the edge of a title.
But Indiana’s biggest catch came about a year ago from the transfer portal — the oxygen that drives the current game.
Mendoza, who went to the same high school as Cristobal in Miami, chose Indiana as the place to finish his career. So far, he has won the Heisman Trophy and is all but assured to be a top-five pick in the NFL draft.
“Can’t say enough about him,” Cignetti said.
One more win and he’ll bring a national title and an undefeated season to Indiana, an even 50 years after the Hoosiers’ 1975-76 basketball team, led by coach Bob Knight, did the same.
Lots of people could see that one coming. Hard to say the same about this.
CFP selection committee almost kept this game from happening
It might seem like ancient history, but Miami almost didn’t make the playoffs.
In its first ranking of the season, back in November, the CFP selection committee ranked the Hurricanes eight spots behind a Notre Dame team they beat to start the season.
The history of Miami’s slow crawl up the standings, then its leapfrogging past the Irish for the last spot, has been well-documented. If Miami’s trip to the final proved anything, it’s how off-base the committee was when it started the ’Canes at 18, even if they were coming off a loss at SMU, its second of the season.
Though these programs haven’t met since the 1960s, there is familiarity.
One of the best games of 2024 was Miami’s comeback from 25 points down to beat Cal. The quarterback for the Bears: Mendoza, who threw for 285 yards but got edged out by Cam Ward in a 39-38 loss.
With Ward headed for the NFL, the Hurricanes were a consideration for Mendoza as he sought a new spot to finish out his college career. But he picked Indiana, Beck moved to Miami, and now, they meet.
Miami cashes in big
The College Football Playoff will distribute $20 million to the Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conferences for placing their teams in the finals — that’s $4 million for making it, $4 million for getting to the quarters, then $6 million each for the semis and finals.
While the Big Ten divvies up that money evenly between its 18 members, Miami keeps it all for itself — part of a “success initiatives program” the ACC started last season that allows schools to keep all the postseason money they make in football and basketball.
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