MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Fernando Mendoza powered his way into the end zone, leading Indiana to a historic victory over Miami with a 27-21 win on Monday night. This triumph capped off an undefeated season and secured the national championship, marking an incredible turnaround for the Hoosiers.

The Heisman Trophy winner posted 186 passing yards, but it was his determined 12-yard touchdown run on a crucial fourth-and-4 play with 9:18 remaining that truly encapsulated the game—and Indiana’s remarkable season.

Indiana’s resolve was unwavering.

Mendoza’s decisive touchdown extended the lead to 10 points, just enough for head coach Curt Cignetti’s squad to withstand a late surge from the relentless Hurricanes. Miami, with Mark Fletcher rushing for 112 yards and scoring twice, fought fiercely but never managed to overtake the lead, despite Mendoza sustaining a bloody lip early in the game.

The College Football Playoff trophy is now heading to an unexpected destination: Bloomington, Indiana. This triumph is particularly significant for a university that previously endured a record-setting 713 losses over more than 130 years of football. Under Cignetti’s leadership, the team has experienced a dramatic and inspiring revival.

Indiana finished 16-0 — using the extra games afforded by the expanded 12-team playoff to match a perfect-season win total last compiled by Yale in 1894.

In a bit of symmetry, this undefeated title comes 50 years after Bob Knight’s basketball team went 32-0 to win it all in that state’s favorite sport.

Players like Mendoza — a transfer from Cal who grew up just a few miles away from Miami’s campus, “The U” — certainly don’t come around often.

Two fourth-down gambles by Cignetti in the fourth quarter, after Fletcher’s second touchdown carved the Hurricanes’ deficit to three, put Mendoza in position to shine.

The first was a 19-yard-completion to Charlie Becker on a back-shoulder fade those guys have been perfecting all season. Four plays later came a decision and play that wins championships.

Cignetti sent his kicker out on fourth-and-4 from the 12, but quickly called his second timeout. The team huddled on the field and the coach drew up a quarterback draw.

Mendoza, not known as a run-first guy, slipped one tackle, then took a hit and spun around. He kept his feet, then left them, going horizontal and stretching the ball out — a ready-made poster pic for a title run straight from the movies.