{"id":125727,"date":"2026-01-21T01:52:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T01:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/125727\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T01:52:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T01:52:13","slug":"fernando-mendozas-run-joins-list-of-college-footballs-best-national-championship-plays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/125727\/","title":{"rendered":"Fernando Mendoza\u2019s run joins list of college football\u2019s best national championship plays"},"content":{"rendered":"

Indiana came up with a long list of pivotal plays<\/a> to beat Miami and win its first national championship on Monday, none more memorable than Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza\u2019s gritty 12-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-4 to put the Hoosiers up by 10 in the fourth quarter of a game they\u2019d go on to win 27-21<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an instantly iconic play<\/a> destined to go down in college football history as one of the most memorable plays in a national championship game. What else makes that list? We asked some of The Athletic\u2019s staff to recount favorite moments in national championship games during the BCS\/CFP era. Here they are, listed in chronological order. Let us know your favorite in the comments section.<\/p>\n

Florida State\u2019s Peter Warrick vs. Virginia Tech (1999 season)<\/p>\n

Michael Vick took college football by storm with countless highlights in 1999, but Warrick\u2019s dazzling plays shut the door on a Virginia Tech national championship. In the Sugar Bowl, Warrick had a 59-yard punt return touchdown and six catches for 163 yards with touchdowns of 64 yards to open the scoring and, most impressively, 43 yards to finish it.<\/p>\n

The Hokies had led by one entering the fourth quarter, but Warrick capped an FSU scoring surge by coming back to an underthrown pass by Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke and catching a touchdown while being interfered with. \u2014 Matt Brown<\/p>\n

Ohio State\u2019s Maurice Clarett vs. Miami (2002)<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t a game-winning play, but it may have been a game-saving play, and it was certainly a momentum-saving one. Ohio State led Miami 14-7 in the third quarter of the Fiesta Bowl, with a first-and-goal opportunity and a chance to take a commanding lead. Instead, Buckeyes quarterback Craig Krenzel was intercepted in the end zone by Miami safety Sean Taylor, who took off the other direction, the tide seemingly turning with him. Until Clarett chased and dragged Taylor down near the sideline, stripping the ball away in the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cClarett has stolen the ball!\u201d said color commentator Dan Fouts. Clarett, the star freshman running back, took the ball back for the Buckeyes just outside the red zone in a wild back-and-forth swing of emotion. Ohio State ended the ensuing drive with a field goal for a two-score lead, and ultimately won 31-24 in a controversial, double-overtime thriller<\/a>. It\u2019s one of the more memorable national championship games, and there was plenty that took place after that play. But for anyone watching, and definitely for Buckeyes fans, the Clarett strip is an indelible moment that altered the course of the game. \u2014 Justin Williams\u00a0<\/p>\n

#ChampionshipMoments<\/a> (2002) Maurice Clarett strips the ball back from Sean Taylor after the interception pic.twitter.com\/1GaoybxOE9<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Pick Six Previews (@PickSixPreviews) January 10, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n

Texas\u2019 Vince Young vs. USC (2005)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s iconic for a reason. It capped one of the greatest individual performances in college football history.<\/p>\n

Texas trailed a USC team some believed was the best in the sport\u2019s history by 12 with five minutes to play. On fourth-and-5 from USC\u2019s 9-yard line in the closing moments, Young saw his receivers covered and took off, winning a foot race to the pylon to provide the most indelible moment of the BCS era. The 32-point fourth quarter turned the game into an instant classic, and Young\u2019s performance fueled a Texas upset as a touchdown underdog. He finished with 200 rushing yards and three touchdowns and completed 30 of 40 passes for 267 yards.<\/p>\n

Considering the stakes and the moment, plays don\u2019t get more clutch. USC could not tackle him all night, all the way to the end. \u2014 David Ubben\u00a0<\/p>\n

Auburn\u2019s Michael Dyer vs. Oregon (2010)<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael Dyer was down.\u201d One of the college football internet\u2019s oldest and most enduring memes referred to the 37-yard rush that set up Auburn\u2019s walk-off field goal to beat Oregon for 2010\u2019s BCS championship. With two minutes to go, the Tigers\u2019 freshman running back either was or wasn\u2019t tackled, then rolled over the defender, popped up, looked around at the officials and resumed running<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t hear a whistle,\u201d he said afterward.<\/p>\n

I still think he probably wasn\u2019t down. And I think the outcry over the Dyer call was more about the public\u2019s resentment of Auburn, that season\u2019s bad guy<\/a> due to Cam Newton\u2019s services allegedly having been shopped around for \u2026 gasp \u2026 six figures. How quaint! \u2014 Jason Kirk<\/p>\n

Florida State\u2019s Kelvin Benjamin vs. Auburn (2013)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to forget now, but the final game of the BCS era was nearly one of the bigger surprises in a national championship game. Auburn, an 8.5-point underdog, leapt to a 21-3 lead over a Florida State team that had blown out the previous 13 teams on its schedule by an average margin of 42 points. And even after the Seminoles came back and took a fourth-quarter lead, Auburn responded, with Tre Mason\u2019s 37-yard touchdown run putting the Tigers ahead 31-27 with 1:19 left.<\/p>\n

But Jameis Winston and a Florida State offense full of future NFL Draft picks mustered a classic, go-ahead drive in the Rose Bowl to win 34-31. With 13 seconds left, from the Auburn 2, Winston took a snap under center and quickly heaved a pass into the center of the end zone, where the 6-foot-5 Benjamin leapt to grab it with Chris Davis \u2014 whose \u201cKick Six\u201d against Alabama made Auburn\u2019s appearance here possible \u2014 draped over him.<\/p>\n

The winning touchdown was scored right in front of the end zone full of Auburn fans, whose mood, naturally, flipped from jubilation to despair in an instant. \u2014 Mark Cooper<\/p>\n

Alabama\u2019s onside kick vs. Clemson (2015)<\/p>\n

In 2013, Alabama kicker Adam Griffith found himself etched in Iron Bowl lore in a way he\u2019d rather forget, as the one who booted the ball that Auburn\u2019s Chris Davis returned to beat the Crimson Tide in the \u201cKick Six\u201d game. But more than two years later, Griffith redeemed himself and it helped lead Alabama to a national title.<\/p>\n

After Alabama scored to tie Clemson at 24 with 10:34 left in the fourth quarter, Nick Saban called for a surprise onside kick. Griffith did his usual run-up, then slowed before the tee and gently pooched it toward the right sideline, where defensive back Marlon Humphrey hauled it in at the 50, scooted out of bounds and stole a possession for the Crimson Tide.<\/p>\n

Special teams coach Bobby Williams called it a \u201c50\/50 proposition\u201d because Humphrey estimated he dropped the ball about half the time when they practiced it that season. But with Deshaun Watson and the Clemson offense giving Alabama everything it could handle, Saban felt the need for something drastic to slow the Tigers\u2019 momentum, and the onside kick was exactly what the doctor ordered. After Humphrey recovered the kick, Saban \u2014 not necessarily known for calling trick plays \u2014 could be seen on the sideline grinning like a Cheshire cat.<\/p>\n

Two plays later, Jake Coker found O.J. Howard for a 51-yard touchdown pass and Alabama never trailed again, going on to win 45-40. \u2014 Sam Khan Jr.<\/p>\n

Clemson\u2019s Hunter Renfrow vs. Alabama (2016)<\/p>\n

Renfrow would have fit in perfectly on this Indiana team because it was the former zero-star recruit who delivered Clemson its most exciting moment in program history this time nine years ago.<\/p>\n

After falling to Alabama in the 2015 national championship game, the Tigers met the Crimson Tide again a year later in Tampa, and again found themselves headed down the wire as the two teams traded scores back and forth. With one (!) second left on the clock and the Tigers down 31-28, Renfrow and Deshaun Watson perfectly executed what Clemson called its \u201cOrange Crush\u201d play for a 2-yard touchdown to deliver the Tigers their first national championship since 1981 and their first under coach Dabo Swinney.<\/p>\n

Renfrow originally joined the Clemson team as a walk-on from Myrtle Beach but worked his way into a starting role over the years after he continued to torch DBs both in practice and on game day. He\u2019ll forever be etched in Clemson lore. \u2014 Grace Raynor\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alabama\u2019s Tua Tagovailoa vs. Georgia (2017)<\/p>\n

This play \u2014 and the high-risk decision that led to it \u2014 is so famous that Nick Saban is using it as a pop culture reference on his broadcasts. In calling for Miami coach Mario Cristobal to get more aggressive at halftime of Monday\u2019s game, Saban said: \u201cPut Tua in the game and let\u2019s go.\u201d That\u2019s Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was a true freshman backup to sophomore Jalen Hurts on the 2017 Alabama team that advanced to the national championship game on Jan. 8, 2018, against Georgia.<\/p>\n

Down 13-0 at half, Saban switched to Tagovailoa, and on second-and-26 in overtime after taking a big sack, the frosh unleashed a perfect shot to DeVonta Smith for a 41-yard touchdown to win it all. The play was called \u201cSeattle,\u201d four vertical routes. Georgia was in Cover 2. But Tagovailoa manipulated a safety with his eyes and had enough space to rip a perfect, legendary pass. \u2014 Joe Rexrode<\/p>\n

LSU\u2019s Joe Burrow and Ja\u2019Marr Chase vs. Clemson (2019)<\/p>\n

I know, I know \u2014 not another LSU fan bringing up the 2019 championship team. But, like, WHICH Burrow play to pick from in that national championship game!? It\u2019s an embarrassment of riches from a matchup led by two of the NFL\u2019s current star quarterbacks and powered by several of the NFL\u2019s best current players. But I\u2019ll go with the game-tying 52-yard touchdown pass<\/a> from Burrow to Chase that put LSU on the board. Watching that ball take flight, I can feel myself lift off the ground. Honestly, I think I\u2019m still riding that high. \u2014 Hannah Vanbiber<\/p>\n

Georgia\u2019s Kelee Ringo vs. Alabama (2021)<\/p>\n

There are definitely more memorable plays in national title game lore, but this one sticks out because it felt less like a game-sealing interception and more like a corporate exorcism. Consider what Alabama had done to Georgia since Kirby Smart brought his alma mater back to national title contention. The Dawgs were denied a championship in heartbreaking fashion by Alabama in 2018 when Tua Tagovailoa took over for Jalen Hurts to lead a second-half comeback \u2014 culminating with another play on this list. Then Alabama beat Georgia in the SEC Championship Game 11 months later when Hurts came on for an injured Tagovailoa to lead another dramatic comeback.<\/p>\n

A month before this national title game, Bryce Young had continued the tradition by leading the Crimson Tide to another upset of Georgia in the SEC championship. Now, the Heisman Trophy winner had the ball on Georgia\u2019s side of the field down by eight with a minute remaining. Surely Alabama was about to rip Georgia\u2019s hearts out again, right? Then Young underthrew his man on a go route on third-and-10. Kelee Ringo was in perfect position, high-pointed the ball, ran 79 yards to the other end zone and provided everyone associated with Georgia football \u2014 including Smart, quarterback Stetson Bennett and the many hopeful but wounded Dawg fans in the stands in Indianapolis \u2014 a moment of pure catharsis. \u2014 Austin Green<\/p>\n

Ohio State\u2019s Jeremiah Smith vs Notre Dame (2024)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the most jaw-dropping play on this list, or even Smith\u2019s best catch of his breakout freshman season, but it is the play that sealed Ohio State\u2019s 2024 national championship. On paper, it\u2019s simple: Ohio State gets man coverage with the best receiver in college football and trusts him to win his matchup. But it\u2019s more than just the play to me.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the game, receiver Emeka Egbuka saw a tell in Notre Dame\u2019s man coverage that if Ohio State got that look it had to let Smith go deep and trust him. It got the exact look that Egbuka called earlier, and instead of running the ball on third-and-11 to run more clock, Ohio State went for the win. It worked to perfection. An offensive line that had been hit with injuries all season picked up the Notre Dame blitz, while Smith won on his route and solidified himself into Ohio State history with the game-sealing catch. \u2014 Cameron Teague Robinson<\/p>\n

Indiana\u2019s Fernando Mendoza vs. Miami (2025)<\/p>\n

Fourth-and-4, and Indiana chose nerve over safety. If the Hoosiers were going to live, they would do so through their Heisman winner. The run was a dare straight into Miami\u2019s teeth, one that didn\u2019t meet resistance until white jerseys trimmed in green and orange emerged. Then Mendoza contorted the math, slipping a shoulder free as momentum betrayed the bodies around him.<\/p>\n

The likely No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft spun sideways, disappearing into the collision before resurfacing beyond it. As the field collapsed, Mendoza preternaturally caught balance mid-fall, rewound his footing and dove headfirst into the end zone. SuperMendoza \u2014 a quarterback who turned inevitably into theater \u2014 carried Indiana somewhere it had never been and closed college football\u2019s most unlikely chapter<\/a>. \u2014\u00a0Ira Gorawara<\/p>\n

FERNANDO. MENDOZA.<\/p>\n

THE PLAY OF A LIFETIME \u203c\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/g3o5nNNslr<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 ESPN (@espn) January 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n