MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — At 11:37 p.m., crimson and cream confetti swirled from the sky and fell in clumps along the grass surface as “We Are The Champions” blared over the loudspeaker at Hard Rock Stadium. Indiana, the first program to lose 700 games and the state that worships college basketball at its sports cathedral, Assembly Hall, won its first College Football Playoff national championship.
Yes, you read that right.
The unthinkable to most has become reality to all.
“Look at where we are,” All-American left tackle Carter Smith said. “We’re in Miami, Florida, celebrating the national championship as the Indiana Hoosiers. Nobody would even imagine this two years ago, but when I sat down in that office with (Coach Curt) Cignetti, I had every belief in this team.”
In two seasons, the Hoosiers went from 3-9 and a coaching change to the first major college football program to go 16-0 since 1894.
The 27-21 victory against the host — but visiting team on the scoreboard — Miami Hurricanes capped the type of year that belongs on the big screen. Reminiscent of when the 1954 small-school Milan athletes upset big-school South Bend Central at the Indiana state boys basketball tournament, the Indiana Hoosiers became “Hoosiers” on Monday night. Only Indiana’s losing past suggests this accomplishment was even more fantastical.
No college football program had more losses historically than Indiana before Cignetti took over following the 2023 season. It needed a jolt, and Cignetti provided it. After he was hired, Cignetti stepped to the microphone during a men’s basketball game and shouted, “Purdue sucks … but so does Michigan and Ohio State.” During a frustrating moment in an early news conference, Cignetti blurted out, “It’s pretty simple. I win. Google me.”
The crowd that night cheered and perhaps chuckled while everyone else scoffed. Indiana hadn’t beaten the Buckeyes since 1988 in the most lopsided series in Big Ten history. Two years later, with his team filled with James Madison transfers and overlooked football refugees, the No. 2 Hoosiers beat then-No. 1 Ohio State for their first outright Big Ten title since 1945. Then Indiana crushed Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl and flattened Big Ten foe Oregon 56-22 in the Peach Bowl to set up a championship showdown with The U.
And in the end, it was IU left standing.
The conclusion ties in the miraculous, loaves-and-fishes type of Biblical turnaround with the machine-like efficiency and execution that has defined Indiana football under Cignetti. It’s no longer Cinderella; it’s a football monarchy.
“We’re 16-0, national champions at Indiana University, which I know a lot of people thought was never possible,” Cignetti said. “It probably is one of the greatest sports stories of all time.”
The final chapter mirrored some of Indiana’s most grueling regular-season victories at Iowa, Oregon and Penn State, plus the Big Ten title win against Ohio State. The Hoosiers weathered some game-changing plays, like a 57-yard touchdown run from Miami’s Mark Fletcher and a quick-strike drive that trimmed their lead to three points midway through the fourth quarter. But as they have all season, the Hoosiers eschewed risk-averse philosophy for aggression in critical moments. And none were as big as what they confronted early in the fourth quarter.
With a 17-14 lead and facing fourth-and-5 at the Miami 37, Indiana opted to go for a first down rather than attempt a long field goal. Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw down the right sideline toward receiver Charlie Becker, who reached behind on his back hip for a 20-yard competition. Four plays later, Indiana faced fourth-and-5 at the 12-yard line. Once again, the Hoosiers opted for the first down and Mendoza ran a draw up the middle. Instead of going down on contact at the 5-yard line, Mendoza broke a pair of tackles and took a major hit at the goal line as he lunged into the end zone for a touchdown.
“Coach Cig, I feel like that’s what he’s always been all year long: attack, be aggressive, play to win,” Indiana offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan said. “I felt like he made some of those decisions today that reflected that.”
Miami repeatedly battled back from three different 10-point deficits and after an Indiana 35-yard field goal, the Hurricanes had one last shot down six points with 1:42 left. In five plays, Miami drove to Indiana’s 41-yard line. Then quarterback Carson Beck underthrew a pass toward receiver Keelan Marion, and Hoosiers cornerback Jamari Sharpe picked it off to seal the victory. Indiana fans’ collective roar reached 112 decibels.
“First thing that went through my mind is, ‘I got to catch this pass, I got to catch this pass,’” Sharpe said, “and when I catch it, ‘I got to get down.’ And that’s what happened. I caught the pass and I went down immediately.”
Two kneel-downs later, history became history. Cignetti grinned and pointed with both index fingers toward the sky in a gesture toward his late father, Hall-of-Fame coach Frank Cignetti Sr. The Indiana coach’s smile never broke, even as his players doused him with a sports drink. Players immediately donned black T-shirts that read “National Champions” atop the IU forks and “Hoosiers” at the bottom.
The in-stadium videoboard verified the moment with Indiana’s logo next to the College Football Playoff trophy.
Amid the confetti, offensive line coach Bob Bostad grabbed guard Drew Evans, who fell into his mentor’s arms and burst into tears.
Fans stayed in their seats and sang with gusto from native son John Mellencamp’s “Hurts So Good” to AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck.” In a smoke-filled locker room, center Pat Coogan held a Hoosier Gameday Lager in his right hand and a lit cigar in his left as he anxiously finished interviews. The polished Mendoza even swore, to which he said, “it was only fitting to open the floodgates, per se, break my stereotype.”
Indiana, the Big Ten’s century-old football runt, has become the baddest football conference’s biggest dog. And the celebration is just getting started.
“I imagined myself getting a little active on the dance floor, but now I don’t think I want to leave a chair,” Smith said. “But I’ll be there.”
“There ain’t no words you can put this into, man. It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life,” wide receiver Omar Cooper said. “It doesn’t feel real right now. We’ll figure it out later.”