Indiana Goes Undefeated, Beats Miami 27-21, Wins 1st CFP National Title/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Indiana completed a perfect 16-0 season by defeating Miami 27-21 in the College Football Playoff national championship game. Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza sealed the win with a fearless fourth-down touchdown run late in the fourth quarter. The victory delivered the first football national title in Indiana program history.

Indiana Wins First CFP Title Quick Looks

• Indiana finishes 16-0 and captures its first national championship


• Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza scores defining late-game rushing TD


• Hoosiers beat Miami 27-21 in Miami Gardens, Florida


• Coach Curt Cignetti completes a historic two-year turnaround


• Miami’s Mark Fletcher sparks comeback with 112 yards, two TDs


• Key swing play: Indiana blocks a puntrecovers for TD


• Late Miami drive ends with interception by Jamari Sharpe


• Title run becomes one of college football’s biggest modern surprises

Deep Look: Indiana’s Perfect Season Ends With a Championship Moment

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The final image of Indiana’s dream season looked like something pulled from a movie script: Fernando Mendoza lowering his shoulder into contact, spinning through a defender, catching himself with one hand, and then launching his body forward to stretch the football across the goal line.

It wasn’t just another touchdown. It was the play that sealed an undefeated season, capped a stunning transformation, and delivered Indiana’s first national title in football history.

The Hoosiers defeated Miami 27-21 Monday night in the College Football Playoff national championship game, completing a flawless 16-0 run that will live in the program’s history forever — and likely in the broader history of college football as one of the sport’s most unlikely championship stories.

Cignetti inherited a program defined by losses and low expectations. Indiana had carried the most defeats of any team in major college football, and the Hoosiers had rarely been considered relevant on the national stage. Two years later, they are champions.

Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner and the face of this title run, wasn’t perfect statistically — but he was perfect when it mattered. He finished with 186 passing yards, absorbed constant pressure, and endured a Miami defense that hit him repeatedly and sacked him three times. Still, when Indiana needed the defining moment, Mendoza produced it.

On fourth-and-4 from the 12-yard line with 9:18 remaining, Mendoza kept the ball on a quarterback draw, broke through contact, and finished with a 12-yard touchdown run that pushed Indiana’s lead to 24-14.

That touchdown became the signature snapshot of Indiana’s championship night — a moment that captured the toughness, risk-taking, and belief that defined the Hoosiers’ season.

Miami didn’t fold, though. The Hurricanes, playing the title game in their own stadium, finally came alive after a sluggish first half. Indiana led 10-0 at halftime, and Miami looked out of sync early. But the second half became a fight.

Running back Mark Fletcher powered the comeback, finishing with 112 rushing yards and two touchdowns. His 57-yard scoring run early in the third quarter injected life into Miami’s sideline and cut the deficit to 10-7, shifting the tone of the game from Indiana’s control to a growing sense of danger.

Miami coach Mario Cristobal praised his team’s surge even in defeat, calling this version of the Hurricanes the most meaningful breakthrough the program has seen in decades.

But every time Miami pushed, Indiana answered — sometimes with skill, sometimes with grit, and sometimes with sheer chaos.

One of the biggest momentum swings came after Miami forced Indiana to punt deep in Hurricanes territory. Indiana lineman Mikail Kamara broke through the protection and blocked the punt, and Isaiah Jones recovered it for a touchdown that restored breathing room at 17-7. From there, Miami played catch-up the rest of the night.

Still, the Hurricanes kept coming.

Fletcher’s second touchdown pulled Miami within three points in the fourth quarter, raising the stakes for every snap. That’s when Cignetti’s confidence — and willingness to gamble — helped define the finish.

With Miami surging, Cignetti made two fourth-down decisions in the final quarter that set the stage for Mendoza’s heroics. The first gamble resulted in a 19-yard completion to Charlie Becker on a back-shoulder fade, a play Indiana had leaned on repeatedly throughout the season.

Then came the moment that will replay in Indiana highlight reels for decades.

Facing fourth-and-4 at the 12, Cignetti initially sent out the kicking unit. But he quickly called his second timeout, brought the offense into a huddle on the field, and dialed up the quarterback draw that became the championship play.

The touchdown didn’t end the drama. Miami still had a chance, and the final minutes tightened into a one-score finish after the Hurricanes made it 27-21. The home team — technically the visitor in the championship setup — moved into Indiana territory with one last push.

But the final attempt ended the same way Indiana’s entire season played out: with the Hoosiers refusing to let go.

Quarterback Carson Beck launched a deep heave in desperation, and it was intercepted by Jamari Sharpe — a Miami native who ensured the night belonged to Indiana, not the hometown team.

The trophy now heads to Bloomington, a destination that would’ve sounded impossible not long ago. Indiana’s rise wasn’t just unexpected — it felt like a total rewrite of what college football usually allows, especially in an era dominated by money, transfer movement, and recruiting powerhouses.

Indiana’s perfect season matched a win total not seen in a century-plus, aided by the expanded 12-team playoff format. President Donald Trump attended the game and called it a “great game” despite a slow first half.

The championship also arrives with symbolic symmetry: 50 years after Bob Knight’s unbeaten Indiana basketball team went 32-0 and won it all, the Hoosiers now have a perfect football champion to match that legendary standard.

And perhaps that’s why this title hits differently. Indiana didn’t just win a championship — it broke the sport’s usual script.

Those memories still exist. But now they have been replaced by something no one can take away.

The Hoosiers are national champions.

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