MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – In a result that has permanently altered the landscape of college athletics, the Indiana Hoosiers are national champions.
On Monday night at Hard Rock Stadium, No. 1 Indiana defeated No. 10 Miami 27-21 to capture the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship. The victory completes a historic 16-0 season, making the Hoosiers the first team in the modern era to reach that win total and the first program since 1894 to finish a season with 16 victories and no losses.
The Defining Moment
With 9:18 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Hoosiers clinging to a three-point lead, head coach Curt Cignetti faced a season-defining decision: a field goal to extend the lead, or a fourth-and-4 from the Miami 12-yard line.
Cignetti chose the latter, and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza delivered. On a designed quarterback draw, Mendoza pinballed through the Miami secondary, lunging across the goal line to push the lead to 24-14.
“I had to go airborne,” a bloodied Mendoza said after the game. “I would die for my team. We knew we weren’t leaving here without that trophy.”
A Rags-to-Riches Revival
Just two years ago, Indiana held the record for the most losses in college football history. Today, they sit at the summit. Under Cignetti’s “Google me” mantra, the program has undergone the most rapid transformation in the history of the sport.
- Final Score: Indiana 27, Miami 21
- Total Season Wins: 16 (NCAA Record)
- Key Stat: Indiana becomes the first school to have undefeated national championship seasons in both football (2025-26) and men’s basketball (1976).
Bloomington Erupts
While the game was won in South Florida, the heart of the celebration stayed in Bloomington. Thousands of students and fans flooded Kirkwood Avenue and gathered at the Sample Gates as the final whistle blew.
For many, the victory felt like a cosmic balancing of the scales. In a state where basketball has long been the primary religion, the football program has finally earned its own shrine. As the confetti fell in Miami, the sounds of ABBA’s “Fernando” blared over the stadium speakers—a tribute to the quarterback who led a “basketball school” to the pinnacle of the gridiron.
