Fernando Mendoza bulldozed his way into the end zone and Indiana bullied its way into the history books Monday night, toppling Miami 27-21 to put the finishing touch on a rags-to-riches story, an undefeated season and the national title, the AP reports. The Heisman Trophy winner finished with 186 yards passing, but it was his tackle-breaking, sprawled-out 12-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-4 with 9:18 left that defined this game—and the Hoosiers' season. Indiana would not be denied. "I had to go airborne," said Mendoza, who had his lip split and his arm bloodied by a ferocious Miami defense that sacked him three times and hit him many more. "I would die for my team."
Mendoza's TD gave turnaround artist Curt Cignetti's team a 24-14 lead—barely enough breathing room to hold off a frenzied charge by the hard-hitting Hurricanes, who came to life in the second half behind 112 yards and two scores from Mark Fletcher but never took the lead. The College Football Playoff trophy now heads to the most unlikely of places: Bloomington, Indiana—a campus that endured a nation-leading 713 losses over 130-plus years of football before Cignetti arrived two years ago to embark on a revival for the ages. "Took some chances, found a way. Let me tell you: We won the national championship at Indiana University. It can be done," Cignetti said.
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 fitting 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. That hasn't happened since.
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