Indiana's Mikail Kamara
blocks a punt from Miami punter Dylan Joyce. It happens in the second half of
the College Football Playoff title game in Miami Gardens.MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.—Fernando Mendoza powered into the end zone. Indiana
stormed into history Monday night. They beat Miami 27-21. The win capped a
comeback tale, a perfect season, and the national championship.
The Heisman winner threw for 186 yards. His big moment came on a 12-yard
touchdown run. He broke tackles on fourth-and-4 with 9:18 left. That play
summed up the game and the Hoosiers' year.
Indiana refused to lose.
Mendoza's score put coach Curt Cignetti's squad up by 10. It held back
Miami's late push. The Hurricanes hit hard. They cut Mendoza's lip early. Mark
Fletcher ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns. But they never led.
The playoff trophy goes to Bloomington, Indiana. That school racked up 713
losses in over 130 years of football. Cignetti started the turnaround two years
ago.
Indiana went 16-0. The 12-team playoff gave extra games. It matched Yale's
perfect mark from 1894.
This title mirrors history. It comes 50 years after Bob Knight's basketball
team went 32-0 in Indiana's top sport.
Guys like Mendoza are rare. He transferred from Cal. He grew up near Miami's
campus, "The U."
Cignetti took two fourth-down risks in the fourth quarter. Fletcher's second
score cut the gap to three.
First gamble: a 19-yard pass to Charlie Becker on a back-shoulder fade. They
nailed it all season. Four plays later came the killer call.
Cignetti sent out the kicker on fourth-and-4 from the 12. He called timeout
fast. The team huddled. He drew up a quarterback draw.
Mendoza isn't a runner. He dodged one tackle. Took a hit and spun. He stayed
up, then flew horizontal. He stretched the ball over the goal line. Pure championship stuff, like a movie poster.
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