"Are Indiana Unstoppable?" National Championship Final Preview and Semifinal Recap
- Gareth Evans
- 9 hours ago
- 6 min read
"Are Indiana unstoppable?" was the unexpected Whatsapp message I received from my father-in-law the morning after the Hoosiers' stunning 56-22 thrashing of No.5 Oregon in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
My father-in-law, originally from Dundee in Scotland, is not your typical college football fan, but is a man with a wonderful curiosity for life. The traditions, stories and rapidly changing nature of this great game seem to be increasingly capturing his interest, and highlights the rapidly growing fascination with college football in the UK. Few stories could capture more interest than the extraordinary rise of the Indiana college football program.
The Hoosiers, until this season, had lost more games of college football than any other FBS program. Indiana won just two games two years ago and have been regarded as perennial mid-table to bottom feeders in the Big Ten conference, looking up at the likes of defending national champion Ohio State and last year's Big Ten champion Oregon. Not any more.
Fast forward to the 2025 season and Indiana are not just competing with, they are blowing these teams away. Ohio State were summarily dismissed in this year's Big Ten championship game and, having swatted Alabama aside in the quarterfinal, Indiana put Oregon to the sword in a heavily one-sided semifinal. Miami, having overcome an emotionally charged Ole Miss team in a very entertaining opening semifinal, will meet them in the national championship final on Monday 19th January.
Semifinal Recap
Miami 31, Ole Miss 27
Miami's improbable run to a tilt at a national championship continued with a thrilling win over an inspired Lane-less Ole Miss. Kiffin, their previous head coach, now at LSU, had sent messages of support on social media, but this is Pete Golding's team now. In just his third game as a full head coach, he took the Rebels within an incomplete pass of reaching the College Football Playoff final following a wild final five minutes of play.
Miami head coach Mario Cristobal was hired to bring back an edge and meanness to the Hurricanes. His team ground down Ole Miss and simply wore their defense out. Miami had possession of the ball for 41 minutes, compared to just 18 for the Rebels. Mark Fletcher, whose pounding running game has reached a higher level in the Playoff, carried the ball 22 times for 131 yards. The Hurricanes completed 58% of their third downs and converted both of their fourth downs.
The U's ground game opened up Miami's passing attack and unleashed the talented receiving corps Keelan Marion and outstanding freshman Malachi Toney who combined for two touchdowns and 195 receiving yards.
Carson Beck was pulling the strings at quarterback. After a shaky start, the much heralded Georgia transfer has found a home in Miami. He went some way in repaying the millions of dollars invested in his transfer portal capture by leading a composed drive with 3:13 left. Trailing 19-17, Beck orchestrated the offense to move the ball 75 yards in 15 plays, culminating in an 3-yard touchdown run as the pocket collapsed, with the eyes of the college football world on him.
Thirteen seconds appeared too little time for Ole Miss to make a comeback. Starting from their own 25-yard line, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss moved the ball 40 yards in just seven seconds and Miami nerves were being tested. Two time outs were exchanged before Chambliss launched a pass from Miami's 35-yard line, intended for receiver De'Zhaus Stribling, deep into the back left corner of the end zone. The pass fell incomplete and Ole Miss hearts were broken as Miami sprang their third upset of the Playoff and advance to an unlikely home national championship final.
Indiana 56, Oregon 22
The writing was on the wall for Oregon just nine seconds into this eagerly anticipated second semifinal. D'Angelo Ponds reacted sharply to Oregon's opening snap, picking off Dante Moore's pass and returning it 25 yards to put Indiana up 7-0. It was a stunning body blow that knocked the stuffing out of the Ducks.
Oregon reacted gamely. Receiver Jamari Johnson hauled in a 19-yard pass from Moore to tie at 7-7 and it looked like we were in for a tight afternoon. Indiana's defense thought otherwise.
Following the outstanding Fernando Mendoza's 8-yard touchdown pass to Omar Cooper Jr., which handed the lead back to the Hoosiers, the defense forced a Dante Moore fumble which Indiana recovered to give their Heisman-winning quarterback the ball back on Oregon's 5-yard line. Running back Kaelon Black scored the first of his two touchdowns.
Moore's second fumble on his own 21-yard line gave Indiana excellent field position from another error and Mendoza capitalised ruthlessly, finding Elijah Sarratt in the end zone to put Indiana 35-7 up at the half.
The outstanding Daniel Ndukwe, who registered two of Indiana's three sacks, then blocked an Oregon punt with the Hoosiers already up 42-15, almost to highlight that in addition to a dominant defense and free-scoring offense, Indiana are pretty handy on special teams, too. Sarratt scored his second touchdown on the resulting Indiana drive to put the Hoosiers close to the half century. Kaelon Black's second touchdown, giving Indiana a 56-15 lead, finally elicited a smile from their poker-faced coach Curt Cignetti.
Fernando Mendoza showed why he will likely be the consensus No.1 overall pick in April's NFL Draft, completing 85% of his passes for 177 yards and five touchdowns. Indiana put up 185 yards on the ground and simply brushed Oregon aside.
The Final
Regardless of the outcome, there can be little doubt that Indiana are the story of the season, possibly of the last few. Are they unstoppable? Indiana are already being compared to some of the great single-season college football teams of the past, the likes of (ironically) Miami's 2001 national champions, and the 2019 and 2020 respective winners LSU and Alabama.
In their way stands Miami. Mario Cristobal will want to write his own story. Miami's head coach and former Hurricanes offensive lineman, won two national championships with the U in 1989 and 1991. It's almost poetic that the College Football Playoff Final will be playedat the Hard Rock Stadium, home stadium of Cristobal's 7-point underdogs. Indiana's quarterback Fernando Mendoza is also from Miami. The headline writers will be sharpening their pencils.
Indiana Hoosiers
The Hoosiers are a juggernaut and bidding to be the third consecutive Big Ten team to win the College Football Playoff, after Michigan in 2024 and Ohio State in 2025.
Indiana is extremely balanced in offense and defense, able to dominate on both sides of the ball. The Hoosiers beat Alabama and Ole Miss by a combined 69 points and their run defense has allowed just 2.5 yards per carry, a combined 174 yards allowed in three games against Ohio State, Alabama and Ole Miss, all top ten ranked teams.
Fernando Mendoza is a quarterback peaking at the right time. An impressive regular season performance has been elevated in the Playoff. Mendoza has thrown more touchdown passes (8) than incompletions (5), which is an extraordinary statistic.
The Hoosiers look complete all over the field. The special team's blocked punt at 42-15 up in the semifinal showed how single-minded and relentless Indiana are. They are deserving favourites and it will be a shock if they are beaten in the final.
Miami Hurricanes
Miami are on a roll and are hitting form at the perfect time, looking to win their first national championship since 2001.
Quarterback Carson Beck is a wily veteran of college football and while his individual stats are not the most spectacular, they don't need to be. Beck has been maturing by the game and is becoming an extremely efficient game manager, marshalling his offense behind a strong offensive line and the powerful running game of Mark Fletcher, who is averaging 131 yards per game in the Playoff. Freshman receiver Malachi Toney can be a game breaker capable of a quick score from a deep passing play.
Miami's defense holds the key to a surprise win. The Hurricanes' pass rush had 12 sacks in their games against Texas A&M and Georgia, just one against Ole Miss who frustrated them with a quick passing game. Miami will need to adapt to the complete threat of the Indiana offense and hope their highly talented pass rush can get to and unsettle Mendoza.
If the game becomes close, Miami will need an improvement in their kicking game, having missed four field goals in the Playoff.
After 136 teams started the season in late August in the FBS across ten conferences, we have seen these whittled down to 12 teams in a very entertaining 2025 College Football Playoff. Two weeks into January, we are down to the last two. Indiana and Miami will compete for the national championship final on 19th January.
Both can sign off remarkable seasons with their own story. Whose will be written?
College Football National Championship Final
Monday 19th January 2026, 7.30pm ET
No.1 Indiana vs. No.10 Miami
Hard Rock Stadium - Miami Gardens, Florida.
Saturdays Under The Lights
Tony and I preview the final and look back at the semis on our podcast, Saturdays Under The Lights. Feel free to subscribe!
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