Indiana 27, Miami 21: Full Recap of the Hoosiers’ First CFP National Championship

The Hoosiers capped a 16–0 season with the first football title in school history, making them the newest first-time champion since the 1996 Florida Gators. Here is everything SI saw in Miami.

Bryan Fischer

Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza holds up the College Football Playoff national championship trophy as he celebrates with teammates. / Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated

The fairy tale has a happy ending. Indiana, the losingest college football program in history coming into the season, romped through the 2025 season without a blemish and roared to a 27–21 win over Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship game to claim its first title. The No. 1-seeded Hoosiers capped a 16–0 season, the first such season since the 1800s, in dominant fashion. Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza was 16 of 27 for 186 yards and scored an absurd 12-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter on a fourth-and-5 play. Now, it’s off to the NFL draft for Mendoza and a host of other Hoosiers.

Full Recap of the College Football Playoff national championship game

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Bryan Fischer

Bryan Fischer is a staff writer at Sports Illustrated covering college sports. He joined the SI staff in October 2024 after spending nearly two decades at outlets such as FOX Sports, NBC Sports and CBS Sports. A member of the Football Writers Association of America’s All-America Selection Committee and a Heisman Trophy voter, Fischer has received awards for investigative journalism from the Associated Press Sports Editors and FWAA. He has a bachelor’s in communication from USC.