(MIAMI GARDENS) - Indiana completed a historic season Monday night, defeating Miami 27-21 to win the College Football Playoff National Championship and secure the first football national title in program history.
The Hoosiers finished 16-0, becoming the first team in the modern era to reach that win total following the expanded 12-team playoff.
Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza delivered the defining moment of the game, breaking multiple tackles on a 12-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-4 with 9:18 remaining. The score pushed Indiana's lead to 27-17 and sealed the victory.
Mendoza finished with 186 passing yards and absorbed heavy contact throughout the game as Miami attempted a late comeback. Hurricanes running back Mark Fletcher rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns, but Miami never regained the lead.
Indiana scored its other touchdowns on a one-yard run by Riley Nowakowski in the second quarter and a blocked punt recovered in the end zone by Isaiah Jones in the third. Nico Radicic added two field goals.
The championship completed a remarkable turnaround under head coach Curt Cignetti, who took over a program burdened by more than a century of losses just two seasons ago and guided it to an undefeated title run.
The game was played before a crowd of more than 67,000 at Hard Rock Stadium.
Indiana's title comes exactly 50 years after the school's unbeaten 1976 men's basketball championship, marking one of the most unlikely championship runs in college sports history.