Indiana and Miami squaring off for the College Football Playoff national championship

The College Football Playoff national championship game between No. 1 Indiana and No. 10 Miami is underway in front of a sold-out and electric crowd at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

The Hoosiers have kicked off to the Hurricanes as quarterback Carson Beck gets ready to lead Miami on the opening drive.

It’s a beautiful 60-degree night at kickoff. Skies are clear, with a 16-mph breeze.

This is the third all-time meeting between the schools and first since 1966.

Score: Hurricanes 0, Hoosiers 0

Indiana players huddle together before kickoff.

After performances of “America the Beautiful” and the national anthem, referee Michael VanderVeld of the Big 12 Conference officiating crew and delegations from each team met at midfield for the coin toss.

Despite being less than 20 miles from their Coral Gables campus, the Miami Hurricanes are the designated road team and picked tails on the coin toss.

The coin came up heads and Indiana elected to defer, so the Hoosiers will kick off to the Hurricanes to begin the game.

The buzz inside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens is reaching electric levels as the start of the game is just moments away.

President Donald Trump waves to the crowd before kickoff.

President Donald Trump was greeted by a hearty round of applause here when cameras showed him during the singing of the national anthem.

Miami's Xavier Lucas received a targeting penalty for this hit on Cayden Lee late in the Fiesta Bowl.

Miami will be without defensive back Xavier Lucas for the first half.

Lucas was called for targeting in the second half of the Fiesta Bowl. By rule any player ejected for targeting in the second half must sit out the first half of his next game.

It’s a big blow for an already depleted Hurricane secondary as it faces Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza. Damari Brown is day-to-day with a foot injury and OJ Frederique Jr. played sparingly against Ole Miss.

Asked about the suspension, Hurricane coach Mario Cristobal was measured with his words but got his point across.

“We feel it was unjustly administered and now it impacts the last game of the season,’’ he said on Sunday.

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza joins other teammates in prayer before the Big Ten championship game last month.

Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza doesn’t do anything without first giving thanks. Indiana’s signal caller is a man of faith and he’s not shy about giving full credit to God for the life he has experienced thus far.

Ahead of kickoff, ESPN’s Holly Rowe ran through the Miami native’s pre-title-game routine, which starts with waking up and watching a Catholic mass online before eating and attending game-prep meetings.

Then comes a 30-to-60-minute nap. He’ll pray rosary on the team bus headed to Hard Rock Stadium.

Once on-site, he’ll put in his contact lenses. According to Rowe, the contacts are new this season (and appears to be working as evidence of his more touchdown passes thrown (8) than incompletions (5) during the postseason.

Finally, he’ll spend 10 minutes meditating, hoping to find the perfect mix of zen and calm before the opening snap.

Indiana linebacker Isaiah Jones and defensive back Jamari Sharpe tackle Oregon wide receiver Dakorien Moore during the Peach Bowl.

They stood a few yards apart on the confetti-strewn field, one a redshirt senior offensive lineman who serves as the anchor of his team, the other a sophomore defensive lineman who has yet to log his first career start.

They were discussing the same big thing – the machine that is now the Indiana Hoosiers – but from entirely different perspectives. Yet both said the same word over and over again.

“We’re afraid to death of complacency,’’ said Pat Coogan, the lineman.

“We never want to be complacent,’’ said Daniel Ndukwe, the defensive lineman.

It sounds simple. It is not, of course. No one wants to settle at anything but the human spirit being what it is, invariably it happens. Except, apparently, among the Hoosiers who play football as if not playing football hard would be an unforgivable sin.

The reckoning in college football is not coming via financial windfall, as everyone thought that it might in the NIL era. It is coming via old-school values that tend to seep into the soil in the Midwest. Work hard. Take nothing for granted. Don’t settle. Never get complacent.

Indiana's Curt Cignetti coaches during the Peach Bowl.

With a 56-22 dismantling of Oregon, Indiana has romped through this College Football Playoff like nothing the sport has seen in years, if ever. In the last three games, the Hoosiers have held Ohio State to 10 points, Alabama to three and Oregon to 21, though that should come with an asterisk. The Ducks scored their last touchdown with 34 seconds left in the game.

That is, to underscore, Ohio State, Alabama and Oregon. The first two have won 25 national titles between them. Indiana has lost more than 700 games in its history.

Next up is none other than The U, yet another member of the college football hoi polloi, in a championship game that might require organ donation to get a ticket. The Miami Hurricanes are at home, while the entire state of Indiana – save for some in West Lafayette – is content to abandon their homes to enjoy this unexpectedly stupefying playoff march.

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Miami head coach Mario Cristobal works with his players before a game against Louisville earlier this season.

Mario Campos grew up deep in the hills of Cuba, a guajiro as the poor farmers there were called.

Despite his rural roots, Campos wound his way to a job with the national police. He kept his position for 26 years, until Fidel Castro came to power and those who worked under the Batista regime were tossed into prison.

Campos was one of the lucky ones. His association with the overthrown Batista government was through the police and not political, a distinction that may have spared him his life and certainly aided his relatively early release from prison. In 1961, as soon as he was freed, Campos fled Cuba for Florida.

He could not speak, write or read English, and the country he now called home did not necessarily want him. In the early 1960s businesses readily hung “Cubans Don’t Apply” signs on their windows. Undeterred, Campos taught himself the language, found work as a dishwasher, and saved up his money so he could buy a produce truck.

Idling along the road one day for a lunch break, Campos spied someone building houses. He struck up a conversation with the man about his job, divining some basic information about construction and determined – with absolutely no background or experience whatsoever – that he, too, could become a general contractor.

In 1970, Campos Construction Company Inc., filed for incorporation. Mario Campos would build and work on houses well into his 70s, including a string along SW 25th Street in Miami that belonged to his extended family.

On Monday night, Mario Cristobal – a second-generation Cuban American, the son and grandson of Cuban exiles, and one-time resident of 6713 SW 25th Street – will lead the University of Miami onto the Hard Rock Stadium field for the College Football Playoff national championship, a personal ascension nearly as improbable as the team revolution at Indiana.

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Nick Saban, left, hired Curt Cignetti for his Alabama staff before Cignetti would go on to become a head coach.

Nick Saban wanted to change his job description. After three years coaching linebackers, he was eager to take over the secondary, where he’d played in college. He was not, however, so sure he wanted to change jobs.

It was 1978, and he’d spent the past season at Syracuse University. While the Orange’s 6-5 record didn’t necessarily reflect it, Saban was fairly certain the staff was onto something and he thought he ought to stick around.

So when Frank Cignetti, Sr., called to offer him a job coaching the defensive backs at West Virginia – a team Syracuse had beaten 28-9 in the last game of the season – Saban was tempted but not entirely sold. He didn’t know Cignetti personally and figured someone on his staff must have recommended him. Probably because of his West Virginia roots.

So Saban mulled the decision only to find it wasn’t his to make. Cignetti already had closed the deal.

Nick Saban celebrates with his wife, Terry, after Alabama won the SEC championship game in 2015.

Terry Constable and Nick Saban met as seventh graders in Fairmont, West Virginia. She’d gone with Nick to Kent State as an undergrad, the two marrying during the holiday break in 1971. She thought her husband was going into the car business like his father - the original plan was to go to General Motors school after graduation.

Instead, while Terry finished her coursework, Nick took a job as a graduate assistant on the football team. Two years later, the would-be holdover gig turned into a full career pivot, and Nick chased his coaching dream to Syracuse, the first step in what would invariably be a far more nomadic career than the car business for the Sabans.

And now here was Cignetti offering Terry an unbelievable gift – the chance to go home.

“Frank taught me to figure out who was the key in the recruiting process. Who’s going to have the most influence? He was a master at that,’’ Saban told CNN Sports. “And in my case, it was Miss Terry.”’

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Indiana fans hold up a flag with head coach Curt Cignetti on it before the game.

A little hard to tell the crowd split here. It’s definitely more even than Atlanta, where Indiana fans overwhelmed Oregon visitors but still feels like it tilts toward the Hoosiers. In the lower bowl, IU basically holds serve the length of the field behind its own bench and until about the 50 on the Miami side.

The upper deck looks very red. I’m leaning 65-35 toward Indiana.

President Donald Trump speaks to the media outside of the White House on Friday.

President Donald Trump is expected to attend tonight’s College Football Playoff national title game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, the latest high-profile sporting event the president has attended.

Trump has been at the Ryder Cup, the US Open men’s tennis final, a Yankees-Tigers baseball game on September 11, Super Bowl LIX, Club World Cup Final, multiple UFC events and other high-profile events during the last year or so.

Fans are starting to filter into the stadium now, getting in early to try and navigate the enhanced security that a presidential visit brings.

Alberto Mendoza watches his brother Fernando warm up before the Big Ten title game last month.

Back in 2023, Jase Richardson sought a more rigorous athletic and academic high school program for his senior year. His younger brother, Jaxon, was attending a Team USA Under 16 training camp out, competing alongside Cameron and Cayden Boozer.

They suggested their spot: Christopher Columbus High School.

Together, they’d already led Columbus to one 7A state title. Selfishly, they knew Jase would help his team, but they also thought Columbus would help Jase.

He did some quick Googling. He screwed up his nose at first when he saw that it was an all-boys school but did a little more searching anyway. He liked what he saw, so Jase and his family relocated from Las Vegas to Miami. On the first day of school, Jase sat down in his honors calculus class and introduced himself to the kid sitting next to him.

Alberto Mendoza said hello. The two became friends, Alberto filling in Jase on what a great spot Columbus had been for him as well as his big brother, Fernando.

Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal also went to Christopher Columbus High School in Miami.

And now a pause to recap the players involved. Jase Richardson, who spent just one year at Michigan State, was selected in the first round of the NBA draft by the Orlando Magic. Cayden Boozer averages 6.4 points and 3.2 assists for No. 6 Duke and is on more than a few NBA draft boards. His twin brother, Cam, leads the Blue Devils in scoring and rebounding and, come this June, will be a first-round pick and possibly the top overall player elected.

And Alberto Mendoza is the backup quarterback for Indiana, which will play for the national championship against Miami on Monday. His big brother, Fernando won the Heisman and more than likely will be the top draft pick in the NFL draft.

One high school, two sports, four draft picks in two years. And we’re only getting started. Denver Broncos All-Pro quarterback Brian Griese went to Columbus and so did Alonzo Highsmith, the third overall NFL pick in 1987. Baseball star Alex Rodriguez spent a year there and University of Miami football coach Mario Cristobal is an alum.

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Indiana quarterback Alberto Mendoza talks to the media on Saturday.

While his brother held court at a small dais on media day, Alberto sat with his teammates on a metal bleacher. He got his share of attention - mostly fielding questions about his big brother, Fernando.

But there is a bit of intrigue surrounding Alberto, too. Alberto transferred from Kennesaw State to Indiana before Fernando and helped sell the Hoosiers to his brother. The pitch clearly went well for all parties. Fernando has a Heisman. Indiana is playing for a national title.

Alberto meanwhile bided his time. He understandably played sparingly this season, but hoped to have a shot at the starting signalcaller position next year. But, amid prepping for Indiana’s run to the title game, Curt Cignetti dipped back into the transfer portal for a quarterback. The Hoosiers snared TCU’s Josh Hoover, who threw for 3,949 yards this season.

So now what? Asked if he might consider transferring, Alberto shook his head definitely.

“No,’’ he said. “I’m ready to compete.’’

Miami defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman, left, and Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines were once co-defensive coordinators at James Madison under Curt Cignetti.

Bryant Haines admits the first time he met Corey Hetherman, he wasn’t sure he’d like him.

Haines worked for Curt Cignetti as his linebackers coach at Elon and when Cignetti moved to James Madison he figured he’d get a shot at the defensive coordinator gig since Cignetti’s Elon defensive signalcaller, Tony Trisciani, stayed on as head coach.

Instead Cignetti brought Hetherman in from the University of Maine and tabbed the two men co-defensive coordinators.

“I felt like maybe I was ready,’’ Haines says. “But what I love so much about Corey, and what makes him a great coach is he wants to collaborate. He was open to my ideas. He didn’t shove the scheme in our face and say, ‘Hey this is what we’re doing.’ It was all of us.’’

The two worked incredibly well together, leading the Dukes to the best defense in FCS before the program transferred to FBS. So well in fact that, in 2021 when Core married his wife, Jill, he asked Bryant to stand up for him as his best man.

Hetherman wound up leaving JMU for Rutgers and Haines took the defensive reins on his own. He followed Cignetti to Indiana as Hetherman followed his career trajectory on to Minnesota and finally to a new job this year.

He’s the defensive coordinator at Miami.

“We text all the time,’’ Hetherman says. “I wished him good luck in the Peach Bowl and he did the same for me. We both texted each other congrats after we won. But, uh, that’s been about it.’’

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza celebrates after the Rose Bowl win against Alabama on January 3.

Pat Coogan hemmed. He hawed. He gazed into space and stroked his chin, clearly pondering one of the most difficult questions he’d been asked at the College Football Championship media day.

“I really don’t know the answer,’’ the Indiana lineman said finally. “And it’s annoying because I’m trying to come up with one right now.’’

The riddle he couldn’t solve: What does Fernando Mendoza do wrong? The Indiana quarterback won the Heisman and led his team to the national championship game. He has a degree from Cal. He’s earnest and thoughtful. He loves his mother. He’s humble and God-fearing. He looks people in the eye when he speaks. Even his nail beds are well groomed.

But it can’t be real. There has to be a fatal flaw. And yet … a quick survey of folks who know him well found everyone as stymied as Coogan. Head coach Curt Cignetti practically guffawed when asked, as if the mere concept of Mendoza doing something wrong was absurd.

Mendoza runs with the ball during the second half of the Peach Bowl win over Oregon.

Wide receiver Charlie Becker, who shares a house with Mendoza and a few other players, said he and his housemates actually had this very conversation the other day. Just thinking about guys moving on and ways they could improve as people, as players, whatever.

“And we were all pretty much stumped with Fernando,’’ he said.

Even baby brother Alberto had no tea to spill. He admitted they used to scrap his kids. Punches might get thrown and someone would go crying back to mom. But that was years ago. Now? Alberto laughed.

“So he gets a lot of stuff because he’s him,’’ Alberto said. “And sometimes he lets the boxes stack up. Like not that many.’’

How horrid.

Mendoza answers questions at a Peach Bowl news conference earlier this month.

It was left, then, to the source himself to solve the riddle. Fernando insisted he wasn’t perfect, though he didn’t exactly list a lot of flaws. He did own up to the box collection, but then quickly made up for it by saying he probably needed to apologize to Becker, whose bedroom is nearest to it.

Finally, after ruminating a bit, Mendoza wound up his way to the most hilarious flaw of all.

“I’m a people pleaser,’’ he said. “People have said to me. You always want to make a good impression on everybody, but you need to focus on the right things. Sometimes you have to say no. And that’s true. I need to learn to say no.’’

So there it is: the worst thing about Fernando Mendoza is he’s too nice.

Indiana alumnus Mark Cuban is at Hard Rock Stadium for the big game.

Fans here heeded the advice to arrive early on account of President Trump’s scheduled attendance. They were in the stands as early as 5 p.m. ET and were filing up a good hour before kickoff.

Among those milling out on the sidelines early: Mark Cuban. The proud IU graduate did a few interviews on the Miami sideline before going behind the end zone to get to the Hoosier side. En route, however, he had to pass the Miami band. They booed him giddily.

Dave Dunn, left, coached Indiana star Fernando Mendoza, second from left, at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami. Here, they celebrate with Mendoza's father, also named Fernando, and Mendoza's brother Alberto after the Hoosiers beat Maryland in November.

As Florida-bred quarterbacks - Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and Miami’s Carson Beck - battle for the national championship, the deep Florida roots were on display Saturday on CNN as the players’ former high school head coaches shared their perspectives on the journey to the big stage.

Mendoza’s head coach at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, David Dunn, saw his former standout return to Miami as a Heisman champion as a full-circle moment.

“It’s been a great ride to watch the success that Fernando has had this year,” he said. “To have the ability to win the Heisman Trophy, cap an undefeated season, and get a chance to play for the National Championship in your own backyard—it’s pretty surreal.”

Miami quarterback Carson Beck looks for an open receiver during the Fiesta Bowl on January 8.

As for Beck, his head coach at Mandarin High School in Jacksonville, noted that Beck’s ascent to collegiate stardom was not surprising.

Bobby Ramsay, who also coached NFL star Derrick Henry in high school, sees a similar rare drive in the Hurricanes’ quarterback.

“The traits were certainly there physically, and his love of the game—I was fortunate to be able to coach Derrick Henry in high school, and that was something similar about the two of them,” Ramsay said. “They love football and everything that goes into making themselves the best players they can become. I’m not surprised he’s in this situation at all.”

Elijah Sarratt, left, and Fernando Mendoza celebrate an Indiana touchdown in the Peach Bowl win over Oregon earlier this month.

Everything we needed to know about Indiana’s College Football Playoff semifinal win over Oregon happened in the first eight seconds.

Oregon’s quarterback Dante Moore took a short drop and turned to his left, firing a pass toward Malik Benson. D’Angelo Ponds had other plans. The Indiana defensive back stepped in front of the Ducks’ receiver, grabbed the pass and raced 25 yards into the end zone, putting the Hoosiers up by a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage.

The Hoosiers never looked back.

The defense forced two more turnovers, the special teams unit blocked a punt and Fernando Mendoza and the offense took advantage of every opportunity offered to them. Seven more touchdowns followed and Indiana could spend most of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl partying as they rolled to a 56-22 victory over Oregon.

Indiana defensive back D'Angelo Ponds returns an interception for a touchdown on Oregon's first play from scrimmage in the Peach Bowl.

Heisman winner Mendoza went 17-20, throwing for 177 yards and five touchdowns – a passer rating of 241.8. Yes, that’s a real number.

The Ducks actually outgained the Hoosiers, but that was mostly a product of Indiana having multiple scoring drives that started in the Ducks’ red zone.

For a school that has long been known as a basketball blue blood, in a state largely known for the intense love of roundball that has been immortalized in film, this kind of football success was never expected. The holy site in Bloomington was always Assembly Hall, never Memorial Stadium.

But tens of thousands of Indiana faithful made the trip south to Atlanta and will likely be in South Florida tonight to see this historic team – a kind of only-in-this-era-of-college-football squad built by a new coach who brought in successful players from his previous school and transfers from around the country – play for the biggest prize.

Indiana fans hold signs during the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.

They’ll face a stout Miami defense and a veteran quarterback in Carson Beck, who may rival their own signal-caller for moxie in the clutch. They won’t be able to fill Hard Rock Stadium with the same crimson that packed Mercedes-Benz Stadium – it’s the Hurricanes’ home field after all.

In their last three games, Indiana has out-toughed Ohio State, rolled Alabama and crushed the Ducks.

Only Miami stands in their way now.

Miami quarterback Carson Beck celebrates after rushing for a go-ahead touchdown late in the Fiesta Bowl.

The Miami Hurricanes find themselves back in the national championship for the first time since 2003 after a thrilling 31-27 victory over Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl.

However, it didn’t always look like it was a sure thing for the Canes.

The Rebels took the lead in the third quarter and the Miami defense struggled with penalties and containing Ole Miss star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.

With five minutes remaining, Chambliss led Ole Miss down the field, culminating in a touchdown to take a three-point lead.

Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss scrambles late in the Fiesta Bowl loss to Miami.

It was all up to Miami quarterback Carson Beck to keep the season alive.

Driving down the field, the ex-Georgia Bulldog tucked the ball and took it untouched for three yards to propel the Canes back into the lead with just 18 seconds left.

Despite Chambliss doing his best hero ball, Ole Miss came up inches short on a last second Hail Mary into the end zone.

Ole Miss wide receiver De'zhaun Stribling can't make the catch on a last-second Hail Mary attempt in the Fiesta Bowl.

Beck finished with 268 yards and three total touchdowns to be named the offensive player of the game.

Chambliss had 277 yards and a touchdown.

Miami will look to bring home the program’s sixth national championship and won’t have to travel far (at all) to do so. They’ll face Indiana on their home turf at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

A look inside Hard Rock Stadium hours before the big game.

One last game, two teams remaining: The College Football Playoff national title game is finally here.

Tonight, it’s Miami and Indiana – a signature college football program and an upstart that no one ever thought would make it this far – facing off for the right to be national champions.

Here are the details: