MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Curt Cignetti knew he could lead Indiana football to success from the moment he arrived in Bloomington in December 2023.
He vowed to make the Hoosiers one of college football’s premier teams. And on Monday night inside Hard Rock Stadium, the Cream and Crimson reached immortality with their 27-21 victory over the University of Miami in the College Football Playoff National Championship in Miami Gardens, Florida.
“We won the national championship at Indiana University,” Cignetti said postgame on the television broadcast. “It can be done.”
The Hoosiers are the first team in the modern era to finish 16-0, and the first since Yale University in 1894.
Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza delivered yet another moment that will live in Hoosier fans’ minds forever. He broke a pair of tackles before reaching for the goal line, securing a 12-yard score.
Miami received the opening kickoff and gained a first down before Indiana’s defense forced the Hurricanes’ first punt of the contest. The Cream and Crimson punted on their first drive, too.
The Hurricanes went three-and-out just five times over their previous nine games. However, Indiana’s defense forced Miami into three consecutive three-and-outs while the Hoosiers took a 3-0 lead with redshirt sophomore kicker Nico Radicic’s 34-yard field goal with 2:42 left in the first quarter.
The Hoosiers embarked on a 14-play, 85-yard drive in the second quarter that they capped with the first touchdown of the game. Sixth-year senior tight end Riley Nowakowski lined up as a fullback behind Mendoza, as he rushed for a 1-yard score.
Miami’s offense picked up its first momentum of the contest on its final possession of the first half, gaining 43 yards across nine plays. However, the Hurricanes missed a 50-yard field goal, as the Hoosiers went into the locker room ahead 10-0.
Although Indiana received the opening kick to begin the second half, it went three-and-out and punted. Miami junior running back Mark Fletcher Jr. scored a 57-yard touchdown, cutting Indiana’s lead to just three points.
While the Hoosiers continued their offensive struggles, their special teams unit delivered a touchdown. Sixth-year senior defensive lineman Mikail Kamara blocked a punt that redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Jones recovered in the endzone to put the Cream and Crimson up 17-7.
The Hurricanes responded with a 10-play drive that Fletcher ended with a three-yard touchdown to cut Miami’s deficit to three in the early stages of the final quarter. Then, after the Hoosiers previously converted a fourth-and-5, they were tasked with a fourth-and-4. Mendoza ran for the score, giving the Cream and Crimson a 24-14 lead with just over nine minutes left.
Miami again found an answer. Freshman receiver Malachi Toney notched a 41-yard reception before scoring a 21-yard touchdown just two plays later, cutting Indiana’s advantage to three points.
The Hoosiers drove down much of the field but were forced to settle for a field goal with less than two minutes remaining to take a six-point lead. While the Hurricanes sought a game-winning touchdown, redshirt junior defensive back Jamari Sharpe sealed the victory with an interception.
The Hoosiers now stand alone at the top of college football with their first-ever national championship. While Cignetti just completed his second season at the helm, he’s cemented himself as an Indiana University legend.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
