MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Fernando Mendoza made his way into the end zone and Indiana blasted its way into the history books Monday night, defeating Miami 27-21 to put the finishing touches 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, sprawling 12-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-4 with 9:18 to go 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 from the hard-hitting Hurricanes, who bloodied Mendoza’s lip early and then came alive late behind 112 yards and two scores from Mark Fletcher, but never took the lead.
The College Football Playoff trophy now goes to the unlikeliest of places: Bloomington, Indiana – a campus that suffered a league-leading 713 losses in more than 130 years of football before Cignetti arrived two years ago to begin a perpetual revival.
Indiana finished 16-0 – using the extra games provided by the expanded 12-team playoff to match the perfect season win total last posted by Yale in 1894.
In a sense, this undefeated title comes 50 years after Bob Knight’s 32-0 basketball team won everything 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 from Cignetti in the fourth quarter, after Fletcher’s second touchdown cut 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 that the boys have perfected all season. Four plays later came a decision and a championship-winning play.
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 made a quarterback draw.
Mendoza, not known as a run-first man, slipped one tackle, then took a hit and spun. He held his feet, then dropped them, went horizontal and stretched out the ball – a ready-made poster photo for a title straight out of the movie.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
#Indiana #ends #undefeated #season #wins #league #title #beating #Miami #CFP #final #WSVN #7News #Miami #News #Weather #Sports #Fort #Lauderdale