Indiana is a college football national champion for the first time.
Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza’s incredible touchdown run in the fourth quarter provided the game-winning points for the No. 1 Hoosiers in their 27-21 win over No. 10 Miami in Monday night’s College Football Playoff national championship game.
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Indiana is the first team to go 16-0 at the top level of college football in over 125 years. The sport barely existed when Yale went 16-0 in 1894.
Mendoza’s daring run came on a fourth-down quarterback draw after Indiana coach Curt Cignetti used the team’s second timeout to eschew a field goal that would’ve put the Hoosiers up six with less than 10 minutes to go.
“The coverage before — they were in the coverage where that play would work,” Cignetti told ESPN after the game. “We put it in for this game. It’s quarterback draw but it was blocked differently. And we rolled the dice and said they’re going to be in it again and they were and we blocked it well and he broke a tackle or two and got in the end zone.”
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It turned out to be the right decision. Miami responded with an eight-play, 91-yard drive capped off by a 22-yard catch-and-run by star freshman receiver Malachi Toney to cut Indiana’s lead back to three.
Toney scored with 6:37 to go. And Indiana came oh-so-close to preventing Miami from not getting the ball back. A false start on second-and-1 with less than two minutes to go gave Miami the opportunity to get the ball back with 1:42 remaining and no timeouts while trailing by six.
But the Hurricanes’ chances of a miracle win were short-lived. Just after Miami got to midfield, Jamari Sharpe intercepted Carson Beck on a deep throw to seal the win and a third straight national championship for the Big Ten after Michigan’s win in January of 2024 and Ohio State’s a season ago.
Beck’s interception was the first turnover of the game for either team.
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Indiana’s blocked punt was massive
The Hoosiers blocked a punt for the second straight playoff game on Monday night. And it put them up 10 in the third quarter.
Edge rusher Mikail Kamara got his arm out to block Dylan Jones’ kick and Isaiah Jones recovered the ball in the end zone. The TD gave Indiana a 17-7 lead after Miami running back Mark Fletcher Jr. had broken a 57-yard TD run earlier in the third quarter to get the Hurricanes on the board.
However, Miami didn’t disappear. A punt on the next possession could have been devastating for the Hurricanes. Instead, Miami marched 81 yards in 10 plays as Fletcher scored his second TD of the game to cut the lead back to three points.
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But that was the theme of the game for Miami. The Hurricanes were always chasing. Despite averaging over two yards a play more than Indiana did, Miami had more penalties and was worse on third down (3-of-11 compared to Indiana’s 6-of-15) along with the special teams blunder.
Mendoza’s relatively pedestrian stat line
Mendoza finished the game 16-of-27 passing for 186 yards and failed to throw a touchdown pass. It was just the second time all season he didn’t throw a TD pass. The first came in his first game at Indiana, when he was 18-of-31 passing for 193 yards in a Week 1 win over Old Dominion.
He had a rushing TD in that game, though. And his run for the touchdown on Monday night is immediately the biggest play in Indiana football history.
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The likely No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft had an incredible season in Bloomington. He finishes with 41 TD passes, 48 total touchdowns and just six interceptions while completing over 70% of his throws.
In Indiana’s first two playoff games, Mendoza had thrown eight touchdowns with just five incompletions.
Mendoza hasn’t officially declared for the draft, but that’s likely a formality as Indiana has already signed former TCU QB Josh Hoover in the the transfer portal. With Oregon’s Dante Moore coming back to school in 2026, the odds are overwhelming that Mendoza will be the Las Vegas Raiders’ choice to begin the draft in April.
Carson Beck gets Miami so close to a national championship
Beck’s move from Georgia to Miami was the highest-profile transfer of the 2025 offseason even as the QB recovered from the elbow injury he sustained at the end of the first half of the SEC title game.
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Despite being unable to throw in Miami’s spring practices, Beck hit the ground running with the Hurricanes as Miami knocked off Notre Dame in Week 1 — a win that ultimately snuck the Hurricanes into the CFP field.
On Monday night, Beck’s arm helped keep Miami in the game in the second half until the interception. He was 19-of-32 passing for 232 yards and a TD as the Hurricanes averaged over 12 yards a completion.
See how it all played out below:
Live coverage is over73 updatesMon, January 19, 2026 at 4:30 PM PST
Yahoo Sports Staff
Mon, January 19, 2026 at 10:03 PM PST
Yahoo Sports Staff
We end the night with a quick look at our first shot at the 2026 college football Top 25 because it’s NEVER TOO EARLY!
Here’s who Yahoo’s Nick Bromberg has as No. 1: Way too early Top 25
Now that the 2025 champions have been crowned, let’s look ahead to 2026. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Mon, January 19, 2026 at 9:43 PM PST
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Fans gathered at Assembly Hall in Bloomington to watch the national title game. Here’s what it looked like when they secured the win:
Mon, January 19, 2026 at 9:33 PM PST
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Fernando Mendoza said the team liked running a QB draw against Miami’s coverage, though it wasn’t a perfect look.
Mon, January 19, 2026 at 9:25 PM PST
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Mark Fletcher was see throwing a punch at an Indiana player after the game. He also seen embracing Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza postgame, so it’s not clear when or what set him off.
Mon, January 19, 2026 at 9:18 PM PST
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Mon, January 19, 2026 at 9:10 PM PST
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Mon, January 19, 2026 at 8:44 PM PST
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https://twitter.com/YahooSports/status/2013467766427128214
Mon, January 19, 2026 at 8:40 PM PST
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Ed Reed, one of many famous Miami alums in attendance, was seen comforting Miami players after a painful loss.
Mon, January 19, 2026 at 8:38 PM PST
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The Indiana QB took a subtle shot at Miami for once declining his walk-on tryout.
Mon, January 19, 2026 at 8:30 PM PST
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Mon, January 19, 2026 at 8:26 PM PST
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Mon, January 19, 2026 at 8:25 PM PST
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Mon, January 19, 2026 at 8:15 PM PST
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THIS GAME IS OVER!!!
Indiana’s Jamari Sharpe took advantage of an underthrown ball by Carson Beck and sealed the national championship for the Hoosiers!
Mon, January 19, 2026 at 8:12 PM PST
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The Canes got a roughing-the-passer penalty on one of the first plays of the ensuing drive and they’re now out past midfield after another first down with less than a minute left.
Mon, January 19, 2026 at 8:08 PM PST
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Hoosiers got inside the red zone and were facing a second-and-1 before suffering a devastating false-start penalty and they ultimately had to settle for a field goal to keep the door open for the Hurricanes.
Indiana 27, Miami 21
Mon, January 19, 2026 at 7:59 PM PST
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Hoosiers were facing a third-and-7 and Fernando Mendoza went to Charlie Becker on yet another back-shoulder throw and the receiver makes yet another clutch catch.
Indiana is now in scoring range as the national championship game hits the two-minute warning.
Mon, January 19, 2026 at 7:50 PM PST
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Hurricanes get that TD right back on a quick-hitting drive capped off by a 22-yard backfield pitch-and-run from Carson Beck to Malachi Toney.
We have a good one down the stretch!
Indiana 24, Miami 21 | 6:37 left
Mon, January 19, 2026 at 7:49 PM PST
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Hurricanes aren’t going away just yet.
They just had a couple long catch and runs by Alex Bauman (22 yards) and Malachi Toney (41) and Miami is back in scoring range just like that.
Mon, January 19, 2026 at 7:39 PM PST
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Hoosiers were facing another fourth-and-5 and Fernando Mendoza scrambled for a 13-yard TD!
What a call by Curt Cignetti and what a run by Mendoza!
Indiana 24, Miami 14
Mon, January 19, 2026 at 7:35 PM PST
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Hoosiers are over midfield and in the red zone after Fernando Mendoza found Charlie Becker for a 19-yard gain on fourth-and-5.
What a call and conversion by Indiana.