Indiana vs. Miami: Players to Watch, X-Factors in CFP National Championship Game

The Hoosiers can win their first title in a stunning turnaround, while the Hurricanes will play at their home stadium in a bid to bring prominence back to The U.

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza looks to throw a pass against Oregon in the College Football Playoff semifinal game at the Peach Bowl. / Kevin D. Liles/Sports Illustrated

The 2025–26 season is down to its final 60 minutes.

The College Football Playoff reached its natural conclusion on Friday night as Peach Bowl semifinal victor Indiana punched its ticket to South Florida to take on Fiesta Bowl champion Miami in the national championship game. 

It doesn’t really get bigger than this, both for the Hurricanes trying to return to the pinnacle of college football 24 years after their last national title or for the Hoosiers chasing history with their first to put the finishing touches on one of the wildest turnaround in sports—not just college football—history. 

Who will wind up holding up that famous golden cylinder amid plenty of glittery confetti? Here’s an early look at the two teams who will play for all the marbles. 

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College Football Playoff national championship

Teams: No. 10 Miami Hurricanes vs. No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers
Date: Monday, Jan. 19, 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Location: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla.

Series history

Miami and Indiana split their only two meetings on the football field, with both taking place appropriately enough in Miami back in 1964 and ’66.

How Miami got here

Head coach Mario Cristobal took over at his alma mater four years ago with a mandate to return the program where it always thought it should be after spending two decades putting forth futile attempts at getting back to the top. The program has progressively improved its record from five wins to seven in the coaching staff’s second season to 10 last year as the team narrowly missed out on the CFP.

With another talented recruiting class and a host of high-profile transfers in 2025, Miami was widely viewed as the ACC favorite and opened the season at No. 10 in the preseason AP poll. Things got off to a good start in the opener as it dispatched familiar foe Notre Dame on the Sunday before Labor Day and proceeded to look like a true contender by becoming state champions with consecutive wins over USF, Florida and Florida State to rise to as high as No. 2 in the country. However, things hit quite a speed bump in the middle of conference play when the Canes turned the ball over too many times in a loss to Louisville. That was compounded two weeks later when they dropped their second game of the season with an overtime loss to SMU—notably the first time they left the Sunshine State for a game on Nov. 1. 

Many wrote them off at that moment, including possibly the selection committee given how far down in the early rankings Miami was. But slowly and surely, the turnovers dissipated and the Hurricanes looked more dominant by the week. One of the best offensive and defensive lines in the country kept mashing and eventually they leaned on that win over the Irish to sneak into the playoff as the final at-large team placed in the field. 

They have not looked like it though as they’ve gone on a remarkable run away from home. They escaped the conditions and a pesky Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, shocked the reigning champs Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl quarterfinal and survived with some incredible late heroics to win the Fiesta Bowl over Ole Miss. Now comes a return to South Florida to play for the national championship on their home field in what should be an incredible environment. 

No need to Google Curt Cignetti any longer. / Kevin D. Liles/Sports Illustrated

How Indiana got here

Curt Cignetti begged everybody to Google him. He wins, period. 

That he has done since arriving in Bloomington, Ind., leading the program to a remarkable CFP appearance last season and earning just about every coach of the year honor available. Many thought the turnaround would stop there, a good one-year wonder that would fade to the background as the rest of the Big Ten caught up. Turns out, it was only the opening salvo from Cignetti & Co.

Landing a number of key players out of the portal and returning quite a bit of production from last season, the Hoosiers were ranked No. 20 in the preseason polls (though Sports Illustrated, ahem, was a bit higher on them). They blew out three overmatched nonconference teams early on but really opened everybody’s eyes with a 63–10 clinic to knock off then-No. 9 Illinois in prime time. After escaping with a solid win over Iowa, Indiana announced itself as a true CFP contender by going into Autzen Stadium and knocking off Oregon for one of the Ducks’ rare home losses under head coach Dan Lanning. A few more blowouts were sandwiched around a thrilling comeback at Penn State to remain perfect, sending them up the road to Indianapolis for the Big Ten championship game. 

That’s when the power conference program who had more losses than any other peer coming into the season went from lovable underdog to full on wagon. They ended the reigning national champion’s perfect season to earn their first football title and painted the Rose Bowl quarterfinal red—both from the crimson fans that flocked to rain-soaked Pasadena and from trouncing No. 9 Alabama in a statement of intent. Finally, they breezed past the Ducks in a rematch in the Peach Bowl semifinal to put them on the doorstep of the first modern 16–0 season with one more win.

Key players to watch on the Hurricanes

QB Carson Beck

The former Georgia quarterback was nails late in the semifinal win for the Canes and has more wins under his belt than any other active quarterback. 

WR Malachi Toney

The Miami native is nicknamed “Baby Jesus” and lives up to that billing with incredible quickness and change-of-direction ability.  

Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney runs with the football during the Fiesta Bowl. / Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

DL Rueben Bain Jr.

One of the stars in the trenches for the Hurricanes, Bain can be relentless if he’s chasing after the quarterback but is also a playmaker against the run.

Key players to watch on the Hoosiers

QB Fernando Mendoza

The Heisman Trophy winner leads the FBS in passing touchdowns and seems like a lock to be the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft.

WR Elijah Sarratt

A lengthy senior pass catcher who has not met a window too small for him to haul in a pass, with the backshoulder connection he has with Mendoza turning into one of the team’s most devastating plays. 

CB D’Angelo Ponds

Few cornerbacks have a nose for the football quite like Ponds, who is as aggressive as they come and often sparks the runs that break open games. 

X-factor for Miami

The Hurricanes played nearly perfectly to beat Ohio State but self-inflicted mistakes kept those wins against Texas A&M and Ole Miss much closer than they should have been. You can’t help but think that the team will be extra amped up to be playing at home for the national title, but they’ll need to come out and execute at a high level to limit turnovers and penalties if they want to fully proclaim The U is back.

X-factor for Indiana

The prolific passing attack that the Heisman winner fronts gets a lot of attention, but the Hoosiers will need to effectively run the ball if they want to keep Miami from completely rearing back to get after the quarterback. Tailback Roman Hemby is extremely underrated between the tackles and will need one of his best games to provide the needed balance to what Indiana wants to do.

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