With Fernando Mendoza, the Heisman Award-winning quarterback, and Curt Cignetti as head coach, Indiana looked destined to win the national championship, completing the first perfect season in the school’s history, and not having lost a game since Notre Dame in the playoffs last year (Go Irish). The game started off slow; the Hoosiers only kicked a field goal for three points, and Miami got none in the first quarter, but it picked up quickly. After a long battle between the teams, Indiana was up by 6 points with 50 seconds left, and Miami had the ball, with any play now deciding the game. As Carson Beck threw the ball downfield, Jamari Sharpe, a cornerback from Indiana, intercepted the ball, and brought Indiana their first ever National Championship win. Indiana closed out an undefeated season, and after years of being a team with one of the worst records in college football history and a 3-9 record in 2023, completed one of the greatest turnarounds in NCAA history.
After a long regular season with many twists and turns, the College Football Playoff started out with a bang, even from the team selection. Many blue bloods made the playoffs, such as Indiana, the number one seed, and reigning champions Ohio State. Ole Miss, Georgia, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and Oregon also made the cut. Tulane and James Madison took the 11th and 12th seeds for winning their respective conferences, which left the 9th and 10th seeds up to three teams: Alabama, Miami and Notre Dame. Alabama entered the playoffs at 10-3, and many fans were upset they were selected over Notre Dame, who only had two losses, highlighting the committee’s bias to SEC schools as a whole. Many fans also felt James Madison and Tulane, while both having excellent records, their strength of schedule was weaker than SEC counterparts such as Texas or Vanderbilt, meaning James Madison and Tulane took playoff spots from other teams that deserved them. Nevertheless, the committee set the bracket, and the games started off with a bang on December 19th, with Alabama beating 8th-seed Oklahoma 34-24.
Unfortunately for the underdogs, both James Madison and Tulane lost their first games, while Oregon and Ole Miss advanced through. Ole Miss had been a powerhouse throughout the season, but their head coach, Lane Kiffin, left mid-season to pursue a more lucrative position at LSU, and many thought Ole Miss would be unable to compete without him. They beat Georgia in a very close game to advance to the semifinals. Miami was similarly not expected to perform outstandingly, but after winning their first game against Texas A&M, the Canes beat out the defending champs, Ohio State, in a complete upset to advance to the semifinals against Ole Miss. Oregon, after having an easy first round against James Madison, would beat Texas Tech in their second game to make it to the semifinals as well, with three teams receiving a first-round bye being knocked out in their first game. This trend did not continue as much to the disappointment of many fans. Indiana beat Alabama by a staggering 38-3, then beat Oregon in a similar fashion, 56-22, advancing to the national championship in Miami. Miami would beat out Ole Miss, stopping a last-second hail mary to win the game and advance to the championship, but would ultimately come up short against Indiana in the national championship.
