On Jan. 19, Hard Rock Stadium, located in Miami, hosted the NCAA Division One (D1) Football National Championship. In this matchup, the University of Indiana defeated the University of Miami Hurricanes, giving the program its first ever national title. Indiana finished their season with an undefeated 13-0 record and was ranked first in the Big 10 Conference, making them the first seed moving into the playoffs. As for Miami, they finished their regular season with an 11-2 record, making them a 10th seed as they progressed into the post season. Despite Miami’s efforts to take down the number one seed, Indiana dominated the field with a final score of 27-21.
The first quarter lacked intensity, with the only points scored being derived from a successful field goal by Indiana’s Nico Radicic at 2:42. Radicic finished the season with a 94.7 field goal percentage and 141 total points scored.
The Hoosiers began to showcase their offensive dominance moving into the second quarter with a touchdown at 6:13 from tight end Riley Nowakowski. Radicic followed with a successful extra point kick for a score of 10-0. Nowakowski is a red shirt senior who previously played four seasons at the University of Wisconsin before transferring to Indiana for his final year of eligibility.
Running back Mark Fletcher Jr., was able to score with a 57 yard rush for a touchdown at the beginning of the second half. Following Fletcher Jr.’s touchdown, Carter Davis made a successful kick to narrow Indiana’s lead to just three points. This season, he accumulated a total of 12 touchdowns and finished 18th in rushing yards for D1 with a total of 1,192. Although Miami was able to reduce their deficit, Indiana defensive end, Mikail Kamara, blocked the kick by Miami’s Dylan Joyce which was then recovered by Indiana linebacker Isaiah Jones for a special teams touchdown.
Fletcher Jr. continued his offensive production in the final quarter with a three yard rush that resulted in a touchdown for Miami. Davis successfully kicked the extra point, making the score 17-14 in favor of Indiana. Quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, was able to increase Indiana’s lead with a 12 yard rushing touchdown which was then followed by another successful kick from Radicic. Mendoza was the Heisman recipient this year and finished the season with 3,535 passing yards, 41 touchdown passes and only six interceptions over the course of the season. With Mendoza’s touchdown, alongside a field goal by Radicic, the final score was 27-21 in favor of the Hoosiers.
Although this season was filled with many highs and lows, teams look forward to spring and summer training sessions to prepare for next season. Indiana is losing about twenty players at the conclusion of the season, and other programs also will be using this off period to rebuild their rosters with transfers alongside incoming freshmen. The next season is scheduled to kick off the last week of August where fans can stream games on ESPN, NBC and Fox.
