It’s finally here, folks. The Indiana Hoosiers and Miami Hurricanes will face off in Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.
How Did We Get Here?
Both teams went through the gauntlet to reach the championship game; however, Miami was not expected to make it this far. The Hurricanes were not even expected to make it into the playoffs, as they were the last at-large team to earn a bid. As a 10 seed, it was bound to be tough for Miami to make a run at glory. However, they used the underdog mentality to their advantage, as they took down Texas A&M, Ohio State, and Ole Miss, while being favored to win only against Ole Miss. After the upset victory over Ohio State, head coach Mario Cristobal credited his players, “Their resiliency, their just desire to find a way to punch through and get better on a weekly basis has led us to this opportunity, and now has granted us another one.” The resiliency Cristobal talked about has been the biggest strength for the Hurricanes, a team that had two ACC losses in the regular season and had to fight to make it back to the championship game. Will the underdog story continue, or will the Hurricanes fall just short of their goal?
The Indiana Hoosiers have been nothing short of amazing this year, with a perfect 15-0 record led by coach Curt Cignetti and Heisman quarterback Fernando Mendoza. The Hoosiers entered the playoffs as the number one overall seed after a massive victory over Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship. They have dominated their competition in the playoffs thus far, beating Alabama 38-3 and Oregon 56-22. Now, the only thing that stands in the way of the Hoosiers and a national championship is the 10-seed Miami Hurricanes.
The Matchup
After how dominant they’ve been all year, it seems as though the Hoosiers should easily win this game and lift the trophy. However, Miami has been through adversity and will be prepared to give the Hoosiers all they can handle. The Hurricanes’ defensive line, led by Rueben Bain Jr and Akheem Mesidor, must have a similar impact to the one they had on Ohio State, where they sacked Julian Sayin 5 times. For Indiana, Mendoza needs to continue to play like the Heisman winner he’s been all season. Not only that, but Indiana must be prepared to deal with adversity, something that they haven’t struggled with all postseason. Miami will come out firing early; it’s on Indiana to be able to respond
The Prediction: Miami 17, Indiana 21
