Should Be Much Of The Same For Hoosiers In Title Game

Miami vs. Indiana, 7:30 ET

We had vastly different games that led up to tonight's matchup. No matter the path a team took to get to the National Championship, they had to endure a grueling schedule, a gauntlet of good teams in the College Football Playoffs, some scrutiny, some great times, and certainly much success. While I am sad to see this college football season end, I think this has been a very entertaining year, and one that highlights why the NIL and transfer portal are beneficial. The National Championship will either belong to Miami or Indiana at the end of this one - how should we bet it?

Miami put together a great season, and will either end it at 14-2 or 13-3. Both should be considered great successes. To be honest, the story around Miami was if they should even be in the playoffs or not. I would hope by now that they've cleared up any questions around that, but I'm sure there are still some people who would say this would be the same path if Notre Dame was in it or someone else could've beaten them. The reality is that the Hurricanes have looked great in the playoffs, even if they've also gotten a bit lucky. Miami has played three College Football Playoff games, with a low-scoring win over Texas A&M 10-3. That wasn't much of a surprise, but the next game against Ohio State was a surprise. They established their dominance on defense and held the Buckeyes to just 14 points. The most recent game, against Ole Miss on the 8th gave them the path to this game. The game was fairly boring for the first three quarters, if we are being honest. The fourth quarter was explosive, though. There were back and forth scores with alternating leads. Ole Miss had the ball with 18 seconds left after Carson Beck ran in untouched for a score. The Rebels had a chance to win, and a very questionable no call on the final possession gave the Hurricanes the lead. Not taking anything away from Miami, because that fourth quarter was played without a few of their best defenders due to injury and targeting. 

 (Photo by Jason Clark/Getty Images)

Indiana is not just in the great season category, but they are in the conversation for best team of all time. They are currently 15-0 which would've given a lot of teams a National Championship in the past. The Hoosiers have a chance to be the first 16-0 team ever and close the book on this amazing campaign. No matter what happens in this game, it will be an impressive run from the Hoosiers, but it will be disappointing if they can't close it out. They've only had two games in the College Football Playoff, earning a bye in the first round. They haven't just looked like the better team in those games, they've looked insanely dominant. They beat Alabama, one of the football powerhouses, 38-3, and then the next week took down Oregon 56-22. In fairness, the Oregon game was a bit misleading because Oregon seemingly did everything they could to help Indiana. They consistently turned the ball over and allowed Indiana to get a 35-7 lead at halftime. 

Miami's defense is something to keep an eye on here. They are good, but I'm not quite sure they are better than what the Hoosiers are fielding. They've looked great in the Playoffs, but they've also sustained some injuries. The Indiana defense looks relentless. Even when they were up big it seemed like they were still hungry, but a little more conservative. In terms of offense, the Hoosiers are better. I like a lot of the playmakers for the Hurricanes, but they don't have a ton of space between them and the Hoosiers. Indiana is just better than Miami. That's really all there is to it. I think this game goes over the total, but I also like Indiana to cover the spread, they haven't had many close games, and I just think they are significantly better than everyone else in football. Give me the Hoosiers and the over. It is essentially a home game for Miami so that does make me a little weary of the Hoosier spread. 

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