"With a final score of 27-21, this was a perfect kind of national championship game. A defensive slugfest for the sickos who hate points for about three and a half quarters, and then an offensive onslaught in the fourth where two immovable forces finally started to give. Fernando Mendoza got his ass handed to him by the Miami defensive line and yet he continued to get after it, culminating with an instantly iconic fourth-and-4 QB draw that he ran in for the game's decisive touchdown."
"As for Miami, they gave a classic "valiant effort in a loss," and added another heartbreaking entry in their prolific history of national championship losses. Carson Beck, who had been on his best behavior all postseason, ended Miami's season with a bad interception. His birthright and true legacy. But Miami gave Indiana its toughest playoff battle, and, depending on the quarterback they can wrangle, there's no reason to think they can't be right back in the fight next season."
Indiana defeated Miami 27-21 to claim the national championship. The game was a defensive struggle for most of the contest before a fourth-quarter offensive surge decided the outcome. Fernando Mendoza finished 16-of-27 for 186 yards and scored the decisive touchdown on a fourth-and-4 quarterback draw. Curt Cignetti led the Hoosiers to an undefeated 16-0 season. Miami mounted a valiant effort but suffered a late interception by Carson Beck that ended their run. The 16-0 achievement joins 1894 Yale as the only teams with that mark and offers a blueprint for success at a lower-tier program.
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