Resolution Criteria

The game is scheduled to be played on January 19, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Indiana will be considered to have defeated Miami if they have a higher final score at the end of regulation or overtime. Resolution will be determined by the official final score as reported by the College Football Playoff and major sports media outlets (ESPN, AP, etc.).

Background

This is Indiana's first-ever appearance in a national championship game, while it marks Miami's return to a national title stage for the first time since 2002-03. The No. 10-seeded Hurricanes (13-2) will take on the unbeaten No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers (15-0). The setting of Hard Rock Stadium will mark the first time in the BCS/CFP era (since 1998) that a team has played for the national championship on its home turf. Indiana's Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza led the Hoosiers to a 38-3 Rose Bowl blowout of the No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide. Miami defeated No. 7 Texas A&M, stunning the defending champion No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes 24-14 in the Cotton Bowl and defeating No. 6 Ole Miss 31-27 in the Fiesta Bowl.

Considerations

Indiana and Miami have played just twice ever and not since 1966. The Hoosiers won the first-ever meeting 28-14 back in 1964, and then the Hurricanes got revenge with a 14-7 victory two years later. In just two years, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti has turned the losingest program in college football history into a powerhouse.