Rece Davis announces his favorite for Miami vs. Indiana national championship game

ESPN "College GameDay" host Rece Davis shared his pick for the college football national championship game Monday night between Indiana and Miami, but he noted he might have picked the opposite way earlier in the season.

Davis, like many, is giving the edge to the undefeated Hoosiers, who have steamrolled through the playoffs with wins by 35 points over Alabama and 34 points over Oregon.

Indiana (15-0) is an 8.5-point favorite, per DraftKings Sportsbook, against the Hurricanes (13-2) despite the game being on Miami's home field at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

"There was a point in the season, for quite a while actually, that I was voting Miami No. 1. I thought they were the most talented team in the country. But I really trust Indiana to make fewer mistakes," Davis said while being interviewed by On3.

ESPN host Rece Davis sits on the College GameDay set | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"And the way they've played, really all season but particularly in the playoff, I have a hard time picking against them. So I probably lean Indiana, just because I need to be convinced that Miami won't do things like they did against Ole Miss to keep Ole Miss in the game, really. If Miami plays the way it did against Ohio State, they certainly can win the game, but that's how cleanly they need to play. So I lean Indiana."

Miami was the last at-large team to make the 12-team playoff, landing the No. 10 seed (ahead of only automatic qualifiers Tulane and James Madison), but the Hurricanes have proved they belonged while beating No. 7 Texas A&M 10-3, reigning national champion and No. 2 seed Ohio State 24-14 and No. 6 Ole Miss 31-27.

To Davis' point, Miami QB Carson Beck had an interception in the third quarter vs. Ole Miss to upend a potential scoring drive and had 6 interceptions in the Hurricanes' two losses to unranked Louisville and SMU.

He's been pretty good overall, though, and did lead the game-winning touchdown drive in that semifinal showdown with Ole Miss, taking it in himself or a 3-yard touchdown with 18 seconds left.

But Indiana QB and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza has been almost flawless in the playoffs, with more touchdown passes (8) than incompletions (5) through those two games with zero picks.

Indiana has been flat-out dominant, scoring the first 24 points in its 38-3 win over Alabama and going up 42-7 in the third quarter of an eventual 56-22 win over Oregon.

"I've followed this sport my whole life. I've never seen anything like what Indiana has done and what they can finish off -- and that will be true whether they win or lose," Davis said.