Couldn't Write This Script In Hollywood: Indiana Defies Logic To Win CFP Title Behind Fernando Mendoza

MIAMI— Indiana has cemented itself as one of the best teams in college football history, and it only took Curt Cignetti two years to turn the Hoosiers from Big Ten doormat to national champion. 

What started as a story of perseverance has now turned into one of the best stories in sports history, thanks to the 27-21 win Monday over Miami inside Hard Rock Stadium in front of what felt like a partisan Indiana crowd. 

Sorry college football fans, you can no longer call Indiana a ‘fluke’ 

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - JANUARY 19: Fernando Mendoza #15 of the Indiana Hoosiers reacts after a second quarter touchdown against the Miami Hurricanes in the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship at Hard Rock Stadium on January 19, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida.  (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

Maybe, this team lived up to the hype that some fans had such a hard time wrapping their heads around. Sure, it was difficult at times to look at the Indiana team early in the Curt Cignetti tenure and think of them as a juggernaut in the making. 

But now, two years after taking the job in Bloomington, Cignetti has helped write a story that Hollywood scriptwriters would have a hard time putting together. Who would have thought a team that sat near the bottom of the Big Ten just two years ago would not only have a Heisman Trophy winner, but also a championship ring to go with it. 

If Curt Cignetti is the director, Fernando Mendoza is the best actor in a leading role. And, while he took home the first trophy in New York City, his performance on a 75-yard drive in the fourth quarter to put Indiana up 24-14 might have been the gutsiest play we've seen this postseason.

Mendoza finished 16 of 27 for 186 yards passing, but his biggest play was a 12-yard touchdown run on fourth down in the fourth quarter.

Jamari Sharpe sealed the win for the Hoosiers with an interception with 51 seconds remaining. 

Best College Football Team Since…? Indiana Defies The Odds

We will almost certainly talk about this Indiana team for decades to come. Maybe we have witnessed a revolution in the sport, no longer needing four years to build a championship-winning program. While it might be hard for those outside of Bloomington to grasp, I promise you athletic directors across the country were paying attention to how the Hoosiers put together this undefeated season. 

Sure, some teams can spend upwards of $40 million in NIL on a roster, but there is only one team raising a trophy this season, and the Hoosiers were not flushed with five-star talent. No, Cignetti decided that he would go the veteran route, and he did it with a quarterback who was playing football for the Cal Bears last season. 

If you want a Cinderella story, look elsewhere. For a coach like Curt Cignetti, who says he has never seen the movie ‘Rudy’, this sure felt like a Disney movie in the making. 

At the 5:04 mark of the third quarter, a blocked punt by Mikali Kamara, which Isaiah Jones returned for a touchdown, which was the first in the CFP era. So, not only did Indiana make history on Monday night in Miami Gardens, they did it in all three facets of the game. 

There have been plenty of football teams in the past that have started a revolution in the sport. Look at the run Georgia and Alabama went on, or the Big Ten's current three-year reign as national champions. 

We can now argue over whether the Hoosiers are better than the 2019 LSU Tigers. Sure, different era and different times. But, there are plenty of examples of why this squad will be talked about in future folklores. 

Miami had just 35 total yards with under five minutes to play in the first half. And, even though they cut the lead to 17-14 in the fourth quarter, it never felt like Indiana was truly in danger of losing this championship game. 

How could that be? How could a team like Indiana have fans believing that any situation was not going to deter them from the win column? I guess all you need is Fernando. 

That's what makes this team so much different, led by Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza. There seems to be nothing they haven't been prepared for this season. Whether that's a win on the road at Oregon, beating Penn State in the final seconds in Happy Valley, or destroying both Oregon and Alabama in the CFP. 

Guess what? It's good for the sport, and so is a coach like Curt Cignetti. Finally, some new blood is winning a title, and doing it without having to be tabled a ‘fluke’. 

When Curt Cignetti took the Indiana job, he told folks who did not know his background coming from James Madison to ‘Google Me’. 

Two years later, I don't imagine college football fans are going to need the internet to remember this Indiana team. We have spent decades talking about Hoosiers basketball, keeping them in mind when March Madness rolls around. But now? We are finally talking about Indiana football again, and rightfully so. 

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - JANUARY 19: Aiden Fisher #4 of the Indiana Hoosiers reacts after a sack during the first quarter against the Miami Hurricanes in the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship at Hard Rock Stadium on January 19, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida.  (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Not only has Curt Cignetti changed how we look at the hiring process of coaches above a certain age, but he's now setup for enough future success to drive Big Ten foes crazy. 

Just over a mile away from where he grew up, Fernando Mendoza raised a championship trophy while celebrating with his Indiana teammates across the Hard Rock Stadium field. 

You can't make this stuff up, and we might be witnessing the next best thing in college football. 

Welcome back, Indiana Hoosiers.