01/19/26 10:26:00
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01/19 22:24 CST Indiana completes undefeated season and wins first national
title, beating Miami 27-21 in CFP final
Indiana completes undefeated season and wins first national title, beating
Miami 27-21 in CFP final
By EDDIE PELLS
AP National Writer
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) --- Fernando Mendoza bulldozed his way into the end
zone and Indiana bullied its way into the history books Monday night, toppling
Miami 27-21 to put the finishing touch on a rags-to-riches story, an undefeated
season and the national title.
The Heisman Trophy winner finished with 186 yards passing, but it was his
tackle-breaking, sprawled-out 12-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-4 with 9:18
left that defined this game --- and the Hoosiers' season.
Indiana would not be denied.
Mendoza's TD gave turnaround artist Curt Cignetti's team a 10-point lead ---
barely enough breathing room to hold off a frenzied charge by the hard-hitting
Hurricanes, who bloodied Mendoza's lip early, then came to life late behind 112
yards and two scores from Mark Fletcher but never took the lead.
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.
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 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.
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.
Mendoza, not known as a run-first guy, 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.
___
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