FOOTBALL GAMEDAY: CFP National Championship Game (vs. Miami)
GAME 16
College Football Playoff National Championship Game
No. 10/10/10 Miami (Fla.) (13-2, 6-2 ACC) vs. No. 1/1/1 Indiana (15-0, 9-0 B1G)
Monday, January 19, 2026
Hard Rock Stadium | Miami Gardens, Florida
Setting The Scene
• No. 1/1/1 Indiana will face No. 10/10/10 Miami (Fla.) in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Monday (Jan. 19) at 7:30 p.m. inside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on ESPN.
• It will be Indiana's first National Championship Game appearance in program history.
• The matchup between the Hoosiers and the Hurricanes marks the third game in the series history with a 1-1 record between the programs and the first meeting since 1966. Both games in the series were played in Miami.
News & Notes
• Indiana won its first ever Peach Bowl when it defeated No. 5/5/5 Oregon, 56-22, in the second meeting of the season between the two programs. It was Indiana's third-ever Peach Bowl appearance and first since 1990.
• The Offensive MVP of the game was the Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and the Defensive MVP was defensive back D'Angelo Ponds.
• Indiana is the first top-four seed in the 12-team College Football Playoff era (2024-present) to win a game in the tournament and the first to advance to the title game.
• Since 2024, Indiana has multiple rushing touchdowns in 22 of 27 games and owns a 20-1 record in those contests. IU has multiple scores on the ground in 11 of 15 games in 2025. MORE ON PAGE 8
• Indiana’s offense is looking to join Ohio State as the only Big Ten programs to eclipse 7,000 yards of total offense in a single season. The Hoosiers sit at 6,915 yards of total offense entering the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
• IU moved its season yards rushing total to a program-record 3,275 and its second-ever 3,000-yard rushing season in program history. The only other 3,000-yard season was in 2014 when it finished with 3,163 yards behind Tevin Coleman's 2,036-yard season.
• With 3.0 sacks in the game, IU moved its season total to a program-record 44.0. It is only the second 40-sack season in IU history.
• The 26 victories since the beginning of the 2024 season are the most in any two-year span in program history and sit tied at No. 1 nationally in that time. The 17 Big Ten wins during that span are also the most in a two-year stretch in IU history. MORE ON PAGE 4
• Indiana turned three Oregon turnovers into 21 points in the game for the seventh game of the season with double-digit points off turnovers. The Hoosiers lead the FBS in points off turnovers this season at 134, while their turnover margin of 1.40 leads the FBS.
• IU has forced at least one turnover in seven straight games dating back to Oct. 25 versus UCLA and has multiple turnovers forced in 10 games this season.
• Curt Cignetti’s 26 victories over his first two seasons at Indiana are the most by an FBS head coach in his first two years at a school. His Peach Bowl win broke a tie with Kalen DeBoer (Washington, 2022-23) on the FBS list after his Rose Bowl Game win gave him the top spot over Urban Meyer (24; Ohio State, 2012-13) on the Big Ten list.
• Indiana had its first perfect regular season in program history with a 12-0 record and is 15-0 for the first time after the Peach Bowl. The only other IU team to finish without a loss is the 1945 team at 9-0-1. The 15 victories are tied for the most most in a single season in FBS history.
• The Hoosiers are 46-27-1 all-time as a ranked team, which includes a 3-3 record on a neutral site.
• In two College Football Playoff games, Fernando Mendoza has totaled eight touchdowns to just five incompletions.
• Wide receivers Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt each caught a touchdown in the Peach Bowl and now have touchdown catches in the same game on seven occasions in 2025. They have each hauled in a scoring pass in 11 of 26 career games played together. MORE ON PAGE 9
• Mario Landino had his first two career fumble recoveries. Each recovery led to an Indiana touchdown in the following offensive drive. MORE ON PAGE 13
• Daniel Ndukwe had his first two career sacks as well as his first carer forced fumble when he stripped Dante Moore in the second quarter. Ndukwe also had his third career blocked punt when he blocked James Ferguson-Reynolds' punt at the Oregon 14-yard line and Kaiden Turner recovered it in the fourth quarter.
College Football Playoff National Championship Game Game Links
Notebook: IU Seeks More History With National Title Opportunity (FEATURE)
Media Monday: National Championship Game (VIDEO)
Notebook: IU Follows Win-Now, Win-Big Modern College Blueprint (FEATURE)
Quoted: Pat Coogan, Aiden Fisher, Riley Nowakowski & Elijah Sarratt (VIDEO)
Ndukwe Latest Example of IU’s Next-Man-Up Success (FEATURE)
Keep up with all of the Indiana football insight from IUHoosiers.com staff writer Pete DiPrimio on Don't Miss a Pete.
The mission never changes, go 1-0 one more time. pic.twitter.com/fEfAF90lvy
— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) January 13, 2026