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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.<\/p>\n
Mendoza\u2019s daring run came on a fourth-down quarterback draw after Indiana coach Curt Cignetti used the team\u2019s second timeout to eschew a field goal that would\u2019ve put the Hoosiers up six with less than 10 minutes to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe coverage before \u2014 they were in the coverage where that play would work,\u201d Cignetti told ESPN after the game. \u201cWe put it in for this game. It\u2019s quarterback draw but it was blocked differently. And we rolled the dice and said they\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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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\u2019s lead back to three.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
But the Hurricanes\u2019 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\u2019s win in January of 2024 and Ohio State\u2019s a season ago.<\/p>\n
Beck\u2019s interception was the first turnover of the game for either team.<\/p>\n
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Indiana\u2019s blocked punt was massive<\/p>\n
The Hoosiers blocked a punt for the second straight playoff game on Monday night. And it put them up 10 in the third quarter.<\/p>\n
Edge rusher Mikail Kamara got his arm out to block Dylan Jones\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
However, Miami didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
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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\u2019s 6-of-15) along with the special teams blunder.<\/p>\n
Mendoza\u2019s relatively pedestrian stat line<\/p>\n
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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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The likely No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n In Indiana\u2019s first two playoff games, Mendoza had thrown eight touchdowns with just five incompletions.<\/p>\n Mendoza hasn\u2019t officially declared for the draft, but that\u2019s likely a formality as Indiana has already signed former TCU QB Josh Hoover in the the transfer portal. With Oregon\u2019s Dante Moore coming back to school in 2026, the odds are overwhelming that Mendoza will be the Las Vegas Raiders\u2019 choice to begin the draft in April.<\/p>\n Carson Beck gets Miami so close to a national championship<\/p>\n Beck\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Despite being unable to throw in Miami\u2019s spring practices, Beck hit the ground running with the Hurricanes as Miami knocked off Notre Dame in Week 1 \u2014 a win that ultimately snuck the Hurricanes into the CFP field.<\/p>\n On Monday night, Beck\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n See how it all played out below:<\/p>\n Live coverage is over73 updatesMon, January 19, 2026 at 4:30 PM PST<\/p>\n Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n Mon, January 19, 2026 at 10:03 PM PST<\/p>\n Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n We end the night with a quick look at our first shot at the 2026 college football Top 25 because it\u2019s NEVER TOO EARLY!<\/p>\n Here\u2019s who Yahoo\u2019s Nick Bromberg has as No. 1: Way too early Top 25<\/a><\/p>\n
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