But against the odds, Miami and Indiana have a date in the College Football Playoff final — a first-of-its-kind matchup on Jan. 19 in the second national title game of the expanded-playoff era.
The Hoosiers (15-0), the top-seeded favorite in the 12-team tournament, stomped Oregon 56-22 on Friday night to reach the final. The Hurricanes (13-2), seeded 10th and the last at-large team to make the field, beat Mississippi 31-27 the night before.
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Indiana opened as a 7 1/2-point favorite, according to the BetMGM Sportsbook.
The game is set for Hard Rock Stadium in South Florida — the long-ago-chosen venue for a game that happens to be the home of the Hurricanes. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is a Miami native who grew up less than a mile from the campus in Coral Gables.
“It means a little bit more to me,” Mendoza said of the title game doubling as a homecoming.
Miami quarterback Carson Beck (11) holds the offensive player of the game trophy after winning the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal game against Mississippi, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. Credit: AP/Ross D. Franklin
He’ll be going against the program known as “The U.” Miami won five titles between 1983 and 2001 and earned the reputation as college football’s brashest renegade.
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A quarter century later, they are one side in a tale of two resurgences.
Miami’s was sparked by coach Mario Cristobal, a local boy and former ‘Cane himself who came back home four years ago to lead his alma mater to a place it hasn’t been in decades.
Among his biggest wins was luring quarterback Carson Beck to spend his final year of eligibility with the ‘Canes.
Miami head coach Mario Cristobal yells from the sideline during the second half of the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal game against Mississippi, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. Credit: AP/Rick Scuteri
Beck, steadily rounding back to form after an elbow injury that ended his season at Georgia last year, is getting better every week. He has thrown for 15 TDs and two interceptions over a seven-game winning streak dating to Nov. 8.
“He’s hungry, he’s driven, he’s a great human being, and all he wants to do is to see his teammates have success,” Cristobal said after Beck threw for 268 yards and ran for the winning touchdown against Ole Miss.
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It was the latest step in a long climb from No. 18 in the season’s first CFP rankings on Nov. 4 — barely within shouting distance of the bubble — after their second loss of the season.
The Hurricanes haven’t lost since.
Hoosiers rise from nowhere to the edge of a title
Indiana’s climb to the top is an even longer haul. This is the program that had a nation-leading 713 losses over 130-plus years heading into the 2024 season. Since then, only two.
The turnaround is thanks to coach Curt Cignetti, who arrived from James Madison and declared: “It’s pretty simple. I win. Google me,” while explaining his confident tone at a signing day news conference in December 2023 when he landed the core of the class that has taken Indiana from obscurity to the edge of a title.
But Indiana’s biggest catch came about a year ago from the transfer portal — the oxygen that drives the current game.
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Mendoza, who went to the same high school as Cristobal in Miami, chose Indiana as the place to finish his career. So far, he has won the Heisman Trophy and is all but assured to be a top-five pick in the NFL draft.
“Can’t say enough about him,” Cignetti said.
One more win and he’ll bring a national title and an undefeated season to Indiana, an even 50 years after the Hoosiers’ 1975-76 basketball team, led by coach Bob Knight, did the same.
Lots of people could see that one coming. Hard to say the same about this.
CFP selection committee almost kept this game from happening
It might seem like ancient history, but Miami almost didn’t make the playoffs.
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In its first ranking of the season, back in November, the CFP selection committee ranked the Hurricanes eight spots behind a Notre Dame team they beat to start the season.
The history of Miami’s slow crawl up the standings, then its leapfrogging past the Irish for the last spot, has been well-documented. If Miami’s trip to the final proved anything, it’s how off-base the committee was when it started the ’Canes at 18, even if they were coming off a loss at SMU, its second of the season.
Though these programs haven’t met since the 1960s, there is familiarity.
One of the best games of 2024 was Miami’s comeback from 25 points down to beat Cal. The quarterback for the Bears: Mendoza, who threw for 285 yards but got edged out by Cam Ward in a 39-38 loss.
With Ward headed for the NFL, the Hurricanes were a consideration for Mendoza as he sought a new spot to finish out his college career. But he picked Indiana, Beck moved to Miami, and now, they meet.
Miami cashes in big
The College Football Playoff will distribute $20 million to the Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conferences for placing their teams in the finals — that’s $4 million for making it, $4 million for getting to the quarters, then $6 million each for the semis and finals.
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While the Big Ten divvies up that money evenly between its 18 members, Miami keeps it all for itself — part of a “success initiatives program” the ACC started last season that allows schools to keep all the postseason money they make in football and basketball.
A mother in Miami Gardens has been sentenced to five years of probation after her 2-year-old son accidentally shot himself with a gun he found in her purse.
According to police, the incident happened last summer at an apartment complex in Miami Gardens. Authorities say the toddler grabbed his mother’s firearm from her purse and accidentally pulled the trigger, shooting himself in the leg.
Video captured at the scene showed the child being rushed to the hospital on a stretcher. The boy survived and has since fully recovered.
The child’s mother, 35-year-old Christina Monique Doyle, was arrested and charged with child neglect and culpable negligence for allowing easy access to the weapon. Prosecutors said those charges carried a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
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During a court hearing, the presiding judge, Alberto Milian, emphasized the responsibility that comes with gun ownership.
“I am a very pro-gun person, but along with the right and the privilege of having a gun comes responsibilities,” Milian said.
Doyle ultimately accepted a plea deal where she pleaded no contest, allowing her to avoid jail time. Instead, she was sentenced to five years of probation.
Her attorney, Dustin Tischler, said Doyle has no prior criminal record and described the incident as a mistake.
“She’s 35 years old, never been in trouble whatsoever in her life,” Tischler said. “She’s a very good mother, a very caring mother to several children. This has been a nightmare, and she’s happy to get it behind her.”
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Tischler also said the case should serve as a warning to gun owners about keeping firearms secure around children.
“Even though she had it in her purse and thought it was secure, the child was able to get to it when she was distracted,” he said. “If you have a firearm, it’s important to keep it locked away.”
Tischler said Doyle has completed a parenting program through the Florida Department of Children and Families and how she is allowed to have contact with her children, including her son who is now doing well after recovering from the injury.
NBC6 reached out to DCF about the case but we haven’t heard back yet.
Miami’s own pays tribute to former teacher on SNL Miami’s own Marcello Hernandez brought a piece of home to SNL for his latest performance, giving a tribute to his hometown and a special teacher in that classic Miami accent.
NEW YORK CITY — Miami’s own Marcello Hernandez brought a piece of home to SNL for his latest performance, giving a tribute to his hometown and a special teacher in that classic Miami accent.
During his performance, Hernandez definitely brought the character of “Mr. Fronzi” to life.
The over-the-top teacher with a big heart was a character inspired by his real-life theology teacher at Miami-Dade’s private Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, Angie Fernandez.
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And Hernandez even flew her up to New York City to see the skit live in person.
“When I saw the skit, I was flabbergasted. I laughed from here to eternity. It was so good,” Fernandez said. “I am so honored that he chose to imitate me. That’s the best compliment you can give somebody!”
Fernandez said that while Hernandez drove her crazy in her classroom, he was also always humble, honest and she calls him one of her favorite students.
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Jenise Fernandez
Jenise Fernandez is a six-time Emmy award winning anchor and reporter at Local 10 News. Currently, she anchors the 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. news, Monday through Friday.
