College Football Playoff Previews 2025: National Championship Recap
- Om Brown
- 18 minutes ago
- 2 min read
What a season! After an absolute whirlwind of a year, Indiana has won the National Championship. They are the third straight Big Ten team to win the title, and finished their perfect 16-0 season in astounding fashion with a 27-21 win over Miami.
Let’s break down the 2026 College Football National Championship!
Semifinals Prediction Record: 1-0 (IND - Correct)
Total Prediction Record: 9-2
The first half was mostly uneventful, with the Indiana defense suffocating the Miami offense. The lone TD was by the Hoosiers, a 1-yard run by TE Riley Nowakowski to make it 10-0 with around 2 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter.
In the 3rd quarter, the Hurricanes finally hit paydirt, as RB Mark Fletcher Jr. broke free for a 57-yard scamper to cut the deficit to 3. However, Indiana’s next score wasn’t offensive. On the Canes’ next possession, the Hoosiers blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the end zone to widen their lead to 17-7. To me, this was the turning point of the game.
Miami kept themselves in the game late, but now had to chase down two scores in the second half. They made it a 17-14 game off of a nice drive that ended in a 3-yard Fletcher Jr. rush, but then Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza scored a bac- breaking 12-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-5 to give Indiana a 24-14 lead with 5:39 to play. The Hurricanes got within a field goal as speedy WR Malachi Toney found the end zone, but the Hoosiers responded with a kick through the uprights to make it 27-21. Miami had a shot, but an underthrown pass from QB Carson Beck resulted in an INT and sealed the deal for coach Curt Cignetti and Indiana.
Play of the Game:
Other Impactful Play:
Mendoza's Impressive Run:
Final Thoughts:
Indiana was able to play their style of football and won the game because of it. They were more physical, and more fundamentally sound, as Miami struggled to wrap up Hoosier ball-carriers. While Miami’s defense was able to pressure Mendoza, he still made plays when he had to.
In my Way-Too-Early Top-25 that was posted on May 18th of 2025, I said this about Indiana:
“The intriguing Cal transfer Mendoza has loads of NFL potential, but hasn’t fully put it all together in a season. If Indiana wants to show the country that 2024 wasn’t a fluke, Mendoza will have to be consistent.”
I think it's pretty safe to say that he was consistent. Congratulations to Mendoza and the Hoosiers!
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