It’s been eight years since we’ve had a National Championship Game come down to the wire — when Tua Tagovailoa hit DeVonta Smith on a 41-yard strike in overtime to lift Alabama past Georgia. Since then, every title game has been decided by double digits, with the favorite winning the last six and covering the spread.
The way Indiana hammered Alabama and Oregon in its first two Playoff games — and crushed most of its opponents during an undefeated season — is enough reason to buy into the Hoosiers doing the same here. When you consider that Miami dominated the line of scrimmage against Ole Miss but still needed to play defense on the final play of the semis to advance … well, it’s hard to believe the Hurricanes would even stand a chance against Cignetti’s finely tuned machine.
Maybe that’s exactly what happens. But I’m choosing to believe Miami’s dominance on the offensive and defensive lines has not been a mirage to this point.
Yes, the Hurricanes are banged up and missing some valuable pieces in the secondary — starting cornerback Xavier Lucas (targeting) will miss the first half. Yes, Mendoza has thrown fewer incompletions (five) than touchdown passes (eight) in the Playoff. But I also saw Miami beat an Ohio State team that gave Indiana all it could handle in the Big Ten Championship Game. And it wasn’t a fluke.
Prediction: Miami rides the same formula it has in the postseason — violent, hard-hitting play at the line of scrimmage — to an early 10-0 lead before Mendoza and the Hoosiers knot the score at the half at 17-17. The Hurricanes then score the final 14 points in an exciting fourth quarter to win their first national championship in 24 years.