MIAMI BEACH — Miami Hurricanes junior Mark Fletcher Jr. does not know how many calls and text messages he has gotten, asking for title-game tickets, over the past week.

“I can’t even name them,” said Fletcher, who played at Plantation’s American Heritage. “Like hundreds. Hundreds.”

He is far from alone. Other local Miami players have been swamped with ticket requests as prices skyrocket for Monday’s national title game between the hometown Hurricanes and the visiting Hoosiers at Miami Gardens’ Hard Rock Stadium, which doubles as Miami’s home stadium. The players have given out their allocated family tickets. Now they are locked in on the game.

“The people who (are) supposed to be there,” Fletcher said, “they’re going to be there.”

The game serves as a homecoming for the 28 UM players and four Indiana players who are South Florida natives. Many grew up just minutes away from Hard Rock Stadium.

“It’s going to feel really good,” cornerback and St. Thomas Aquinas alum OJ Frederique Jr. said. “I mean, we’ve got a chance to play at home (with) fans, family, so it’s going to be a real, real blessing.”

Much of the focus has been on one South Florida high school in particular: Miami’s Christopher Columbus High. Miami head coach Mario Cristobal and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal both attended the school. So did Indiana’s Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, Fernando Mendoza.

Miami has two players on the team from Columbus: veteran offensive lineman Ryan Rodriguez and freshman safety Bryce Fitzgerald.

Although the focus has been on Mendoza, Rodriguez said he does not feel left out or jilted.

“I don’t have (any) hard feelings,” Rodriguez said. “Props to him. He’s having a great year. He’s had a great season. They have a great record. He’s won the Heisman. Great season. I’m not rooting against him, but this week I’m rooting for us.”

As the lower seed, Miami is technically the road team for Monday’s game. The Hurricanes will wear their white road uniforms, which they have worn throughout the playoffs. The stadium will not be full of Miami fans, as it normally is for a UM home game. Both teams received the same number of tickets, and Indiana fans have notably traveled well to earlier rounds of the postseason.

But the Hurricanes still think Hard Rock Stadium will offer friendly confines.

“It’s going to feel like home,” said wide receiver Jojo Trader, who played at Hollywood’s Chaminade-Madonna. “It’s going to be amazing. I feel like it’s going to be a great atmosphere.”

Cristobal has emphasized that the team is approaching the home title game like just another game. He said they are preparing the same way and trying to block out any distractions.

“You either create (distractions) or you don’t. It’s on people,” Cristobal said. “So we get out ahead of that. That’s one of the stronger … points of emphasis as you begin the week. Distractions and things and people have never been a part of the journey; you can’t let them become a part of it now. From the simplicity of getting an email to parents: take care of tickets by tomorrow because we don’t want your sons running around and trying to figure other things out. They already have school.

“We have to prepare for an awesome opportunity. We preach it. We teach it, and then we go and we get away from everybody, just like we did a couple weeks ago, the last couple of weeks when we went on the road. That’s where I know the process was asked about earlier, it’s no different. You’ve just got to shut out the outside world and go to work.”

But the game-week preparation cannot fully block out the excitement of competing for a national title on home turf.

“It’s a dream come true,” Rodriguez said.