Indiana vs. Miami: College Football Playoff players to watch, key to the national championship game
- - Indiana vs. Miami: College Football Playoff players to watch, key to the national championship game
Nick Bromberg January 19, 2026 at 2:17 AM
0
Indiana is going for its first national championship in school history while Miami is trying to snap a streak without a championship that dates back to 2001.
If the Hoosiers win, not only will they cap one of the best seasons in modern college football history, they’ll extend a Big Ten title streak to three seasons after Michigan’s win in 2023 and Ohio State’s victory a season ago. Miami, meanwhile, would complete an improbable run to the title after the Hurricanes were the final team in the 12-team field thanks to the College Football Playoff committee’s decision to jump Miami over Notre Dame in the final set of rankings.
Here’s everything you for Monday night’s game.
National championship game: No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 10 Miami
Indiana (15-0): The Hoosiers have been a playoff steamroller. No team has done what Indiana has done over its first two games of this postseason. Not only is Indiana the only team to win a game after getting a first-round bye in the 12-team playoff format, the Hoosiers have dominated. Indiana has outscored Alabama and Oregon 94-25 after a 38-3 win over the Crimson Tide in the Rose Bowl and a 56-22 victory over the Ducks in the Peach Bowl.
Over the whole season, Indiana has outscored opponents by 31.5 points per game. Only North Texas scores more points per game. Only Ohio State gives up fewer points per game.
Miami (13-2): The Hurricanes have won seven consecutive games after their 26-20 overtime loss at SMU. Just two of those wins have been by one possession — and both of those came in the College Football Playoff. The Hurricanes won 10-3 in the first round at No. 7 Texas A&M before beating No. 6 Ole Miss 31-27 in the Fiesta Bowl. In between, Miami took down Ohio State 24-14 with the help of a pick-6 from Keionte Scott that flipped the game in the first half.
No. 10 Miami faces No. 1 Indiana in the national championship game on Monday night. (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports)How the QBs stack up
Carson Beck needs to be more like the QB he was against Ole Miss for the Hurricanes to have a chance.
Beck was 23-of-37 passing for 268 yards with two passing touchdowns and an interception against the Rebels. Oh, he also rushed for the game-winning score with 18 seconds left.
His yardage total in the Fiesta Bowl was more than he had thrown for in the first two playoff games … combined. Over the course of the first-round game against Texas A&M and the Cotton Bowl against the Buckeyes, Beck was 33 of 46 for 241 yards and two touchdowns.
Miami is 12-0 in games where Beck has thrown one or fewer interceptions and 1-2 when he has multiple picks. That only win came against USF, when he threw for 340 yards and three scores while having two interceptions and five incompletions.
Against Louisville, Beck threw four interceptions in the Hurricanes’ 24-21 loss. Two games later, Beck had two interceptions — including on Miami’s OT possession — in that loss to the Mustangs.
Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza has thrown 41 TDs and six interceptions. Those six picks have been spread across six games.
Mendoza’s season has been historic — and not just because he won the Heisman. He’s 31-of-36 passing for 369 yards and eight touchdowns over Indiana’s two playoff wins. Yes, he’s thrown five incompletions and eight touchdowns. In both the Rose Bowl and the Peach Bowl, Mendoza had more TD passes than incompletions.
He’s now done that five times this season and has another game with four touchdowns and four incompletions. Nearly every quarterback has more incompletions than touchdown passes on a weekly basis. That’s only happened 60% of the time for Mendoza this season.
Players to watch
Indiana WR Omar Cooper Jr.: The junior has had a relatively quiet postseason. Cooper is Indiana’s leading receiver with 64 catches for 866 yards and 13 scores but hasn’t added much to those stats over the past three games.
After injuring his ankle in the Big Ten title game against Ohio State and going without a catch, Cooper has six catches for 62 yards and two scores in the College Football Playoff. To be fair, the Hoosiers haven’t really needed him. Indiana has rushed for 400 yards and four scores in those games.
So far, Cooper’s biggest moment of the season has been his game-winning catch against Penn State. That catch will live on for a long time in highlight reels whether or not the Hoosiers ultimately win the national championship. And we have a feeling that Cooper is in line for a big game against the Hurricanes on Monday night.
Miami WR Keelan Marion: The BYU transfer picked a heck of a time for his second 100-yard game of the season in the Fiesta Bowl.
Marion had seven catches for 116 yards and a score in Miami’s win. Before the Fiesta Bowl, Marion’s only other 100-yard game came in a blowout win against a depleted Syracuse squad. And that’s the only other game in which Marion has scored a TD.
Overall, Marion is Miami’s second-leading receiver behind Malachi Toney with 56 catches for 740 yards, but he’s scored just two touchdowns all season. Toney will be a focus of Indiana’s defense — just like he’s been a focal point for every other Miami opponent — and Miami is going to need another receiver to step up. Will it be Marion or CJ Daniels? TE Elija Lofton is set to miss the game after he was injured in the Fiesta Bowl.
Keys to the game
Can Miami’s defensive line continue to be a dominant playoff force? The Hurricanes have been able to beat up opposing offensive lines so far, but this Indiana offensive line is better than any line that Miami has faced in its three playoff games. Indiana has been able to push both Indiana and Oregon around, even as Mendoza has been sacked four times over those two games.
Against Alabama, Indiana RBs Kaelon Black and Roman Hemby combined to rush 33 times for 188 yards and two scores. In the Fiesta Bowl, their totals were muted — they rushed 29 times for 116 yards — but Black still scored twice.
If Indiana can run against Miami like it did the Crimson Tide, the Hurricanes could be in trouble. Miami’s biggest deficit of the playoff came in the Fiesta Bowl when the Hurricanes trailed by four early in the first quarter. What happens if Indiana gets out to a two-score lead?
Miami’s chances of an upset also hinge largely on Toney breaking a big play. After tallying just 51 total offensive yards in the first two playoff games, he had five catches for 81 yards and a score and two carries for 11 yards in the Fiesta Bowl. Miami isn’t winning if Toney’s stats resemble those first two playoff games.
A Miami win would also be the biggest title game upset since the Hurricanes lost as 11-point favorites in January of 2003. But we’re not bullish on that happening. Even if Miami can get pressure on Mendoza, he’s the quarterback best-equipped to beat that pressure with the way that he can diagnose defenses. We’re taking Indiana to be the first team at the top level in college football to go 16-0 in over 125 years.
Source: “AOL Sports”
