Indiana-Miami National Championship Is My Personal And Professional Hell

With the college football national championship game mere days away, I can already feel my nerves starting to kick in.

And no, it isn't because I am a fan of either team – quite the contrary, actually – but rather, I just know Monday night is going to suck for me, regardless of the outcome.

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For those of you who are unaware, the Miami Hurricanes are set to take on the Indiana Hoosiers in the College Football Playoff Final, with the winner taking home the coveted national championship.

And if you're still confused as to why this would be a nightmare scenario for me, let me break it down for you.

We can start with the obvious: as a Gator fan living in South Florida, I have dreaded this moment for years.

The U has threatened being "back" for quite some time now, and I thought I dodged that bullet last season, when Miami couldn't parlay a first overall pick at quarterback into any semblance of postseason success.

Unfortunately, I now have to watch one of my biggest rivals compete for a natty while living in "enemy territory."

It isn't just personal with the 'Canes, either.

My professional reputation is at stake here, too.

I've written quite extensively about how Mario Cristobal isn't the man for the job when it comes to bringing Miami back to national prominence.

He's too conservative by nature and makes too many boneheaded in-game decisions to be a championship level coach, but to his credit, he has surrounded himself with phenomenal coordinators and stacked both lines of scrimmage with elite talent.

For Curt Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers, the reasons I don't want them to win on Monday night are all professional.

"But, Austin," I can hear you saying, "you have been extolling the virtues of Coach Cig from the mountaintops this season."

You would be right, my unusually verbose hypothetical reader, but I have also been a huge proponent of high school recruiting, talent rankings, and I've been a harsh critic of what I like to call "portal merchants" (see my many pieces about FSU coach Mike Norvell).

Indiana has spat in the face of conventional wisdom when it comes to building a national power, and although I still believe Cignetti to be a one-in-a-million outlier when it comes to these things, a win over Miami would solidify the notion that my beliefs on how to win a college football national championship have some holes in them.

With Indiana's roster being ranked 72nd in the 247Sports talent composite rankings, and many of their best players – including Heisman Trophy-winning QB Fernando Mendoza – coming via the transfer portal, this Hoosiers team is about to make me look silly once again for suggesting that stars matter and talent wins football games.

Imagine that!

To be completely honest, Indiana doesn't even need to win in South Florida for Cignetti's coaching to already be considered one of the best of his era. A natty would just be the cherry on top.

It's gotten to the point that I have become the embodiment of the "unsure Larry David" meme when people ask me who I want to win this game.

It's tough sledding out here, folks. But nevertheless, I persevere.

In the end, I'll have to root for the Hoosiers, because I can stomach being wrong as a professional sports writer; that will happen a million more times in my career.

I just can't stand watching another rival get to have all the fun while my team wallows in mediocrity and irrelevance.

Go Hoosiers… I guess.