The Indiana Hoosiers clinched the national title with a thrilling 27-21 victory over Miami, capping off a remarkable undefeated season that could only be described as a rags-to-riches story.
In a dramatic showdown in Miami, Fernando Mendoza powered his way into the end zone, leading Indiana to secure a place in history on Monday night. This victory not only marked the Hoosiers’ triumph over Miami but also cemented their perfect season and championship glory.
Mendoza, this year’s Heisman Trophy recipient, threw for 186 yards, but it was his decisive 12-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-4 play with just over nine minutes remaining that captured the essence of both the game and the Hoosiers’ incredible season.
Indiana’s determination was unwavering.
“I had to go airborne,” Mendoza remarked. “I would do anything for my team.”
With Mendoza’s touchdown, coach Curt Cignetti’s squad secured a 10-point lead. This margin proved just enough to withstand a spirited comeback attempt by the Hurricanes. Miami’s aggressive defense left Mendoza with a bloodied lip early in the game, and though running back Mark Fletcher rallied with 112 yards and two touchdowns, the Hurricanes never managed to overtake Indiana.
The College Football Playoff trophy now heads to the most unlikely of places: Bloomington, Indiana — a campus that endured a nation-leading 713 losses over 130-plus years of football before Cignetti arrived two years ago to embark on a revival for the ages.
“Took some chances, found a way. Let me tell you: We won the national championship at Indiana University. It can be done,” Cignetti said.
Indiana finished 16-0 — using the extra games afforded by the expanded 12-team playoff to match a perfect-season win total last compiled by Yale in 1894.
In a fitting bit of symmetry, this undefeated title comes 50 years after Bob Knight’s basketball team went 32-0 to win it all in that state’s favorite sport.
That hasn’t happened since, and there’s already some thought that college football — in its evolving, money-soaked era — might not see a team like this again, either.
Players like Mendoza — a transfer from Cal who grew up just a few miles away from Miami’s campus, “The U” — certainly don’t come around often.
Two fourth-down gambles by Cignetti in the fourth quarter, after Fletcher’s second touchdown carved the Hurricanes’ deficit to three, put Mendoza in position to shine.
The first was a 19-yard-completion to Charlie Becker on a back-shoulder fade those guys have been perfecting all season. Four plays later came a decision and play that wins championships.
Cignetti sent his kicker out on fourth-and-4 from the 12, but quickly called his second timeout. The team huddled on the field and the coach drew up a quarterback draw, hoping the Hurricanes would be in a defense they had shown before.
“We rolled the dice and said, ‘They’re going to be in it again and they were,’” Cignetti said. “We blocked it well, he broke a tackle or two and got in the end zone.”
Not known as a run-first guy, Mendoza slipped one tackle, then took a hit and spun around. He kept his feet, then left them, going horizontal and stretching the ball out — a ready-made poster pic for a title run straight from the movies.
Maybe they’ll call it “Hoosiers.”
