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 1 of 5 | Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza holds the trophy after their win against Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier) 2 of 5 | Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza celebrates after scoring against Miami during the second half of the College Football Playoff national championship game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier) 3 of 5 | Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti smiles after their win against Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) 4 of 5 | Indiana defensive lineman Mikail Kamara blocks a punt by Miami punter Dylan Joyce during the second half of the College Football Playoff national championship game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) 5 of 5 | Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti holds the trophy after their win against Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) 1 of 5 Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza holds the trophy after their win against Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 2 of 5 Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza celebrates after scoring against Miami during the second half of the College Football Playoff national championship game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 3 of 5 Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti smiles after their win against Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 4 of 5 Indiana defensive lineman Mikail Kamara blocks a punt by Miami punter Dylan Joyce during the second half of the College Football Playoff national championship game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 5 of 5 Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti holds the trophy after their win against Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Miami GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Fernando Mendoza lowered his pads into a defender, spun in a full circle, used his hand to keep his balance, then launched himself horizontally and reached the ball over the goal line — an Indiana touchdown and a ready-made poster pic for a title run straight from the movies.Maybe they’ll call it “Hoosiers.”The Heisman Trophy winner’s touchdown Monday night put an exclamation point on a 27-21 win over Miami that closed out an undefeated season and brought an improbable — maybe impossible? — national championship to a program that had known nothing but losing and indifference for almost 140 years.“Let me tell you: We won the national championship at Indiana University. It can be done,” said coach Curt Cignetti, who took over a program with a nation-leading 713 losses and turned it into the game’s biggest winner in the span of two years. Cignetti, the 64-year-old coaching lifer, started it. Mendoza helped get the Hoosiers over the line. He finished with 186 yards passing, but it was that tackle-breaking, sprawled-out 12-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-4 with 9:18 left that defined this game — and the Hoosiers’ season.