Indiana football beat Miami 27-21 on Monday night to become the fourth Big Ten team overall and the third in a row to win the national championship during the College Football Playoff era, joining 2014 Ohio State, 2023 Michigan and 2024 Ohio State.

The Big Ten’s run comes after the SEC dominated the first decade of the playoff, winning titles in 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. But this year’s title game was the third in a row to not include at least one SEC team.

In becoming the first national champion since Yale in 1894 to go 16-0, the Hoosiers have a very strong case for being counted among the most successful teams in modern college football history.

When evaluating champs of the playoff era, though, IU faces stiff competition for the top spot from 2020 Alabama, 2022 Georgia and 2019 LSU.

1. 2020 Alabama (13-0)

In dominating the FBS with an unstoppable offense led by Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith and quarterback Mac Jones, the 2020 Tide have a strong argument for counting among the top teams in modern history. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alabama beat 11 SEC teams, Notre Dame and Ohio State, scoring at least 31 points in every game, at least 41 points in every game but two and winning every game by at least 15 points. This was a dominant group and coach Nick Saban’s best team, which says it all.

2. 2022 Georgia (15-0)

Close behind the Tide are the 2022 Bulldogs, the second of Kirby Smart’s back-to-back champs and the program’s first since 1980 to run the table. A suffocating defense was joined by an offense that ranked fourth nationally in yards per play. Georgia had five wins against opponents ranked in the top 15 and ended things with a 58-point destruction of TCU to become the first and only repeat champs of the playoff era.

3. 2019 LSU (15-0)

The offense will live forever in FBS history. Heisman winner Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and others formed an intimidating and explosive group that set a slew of school and conference records. LSU beat seven ranked teams, including Alabama and Georgia, but the Tigers didn’t really take off until beating Auburn on Oct. 26. From there, though, this team was an all-timer.

4. 2018 Clemson (15-0)

The 2018 Tigers put together what was then the most dominant two-game run in playoff history, beating Notre Dame 30-3 and Alabama 44-16. Freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence put himself on the map with an epic game against the Tide, throwing for 347 yards and three scores. The Christian Wilkins-led defensive line is one of the most memorable in history. Overall, Clemson beat 12 bowl teams but didn’t face the same strength of schedule as the other undefeated teams on this list.

5. 2025 Indiana (16-0)

The Hoosiers’ résumé is built on an incredible close to the year, which featured a win against then-unbeaten Ohio State in the Big Ten title game and playoff wins against Alabama, Oregon and Miami. Indiana was also led by the best player in school history in quarterback and Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza. But while the Hoosiers beat some good-to-very-good teams before that point, including Iowa and Oregon, the difficulty of the IU’s regular-season schedules pales in comparison to what the four teams higher on this list had to face.

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6. 2021 Georgia (14-1)

The Bulldogs did drop the SEC championship game to Alabama but avenged that loss by topping the Tide 33-18 in the national championship game. Moreso than the 2022 squad, the Bulldogs were defined by their incredible defense. Georgia allowed 10.2 points per game to lead the Bowl Subdivision and gave up just 16 touchdowns all season. But the offense didn’t have the explosiveness it did with Stetson Bennett’s improvement heading into the following season.

7. 2023 Michigan (15-0)

A flimsier regular-season schedule that featured only two legitimate contenders (Penn State and Ohio State) and many of the worst offenses in college football docks Michigan a bit, though there’s no doubt the Wolverines were a deserving national champion and one of the best teams in program history. The offense never received too much credit but married physicality with solid play from quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Defensively, Michigan took care of business in Big Ten play and proved itself by shutting down Washington in the title game.

8. 2016 Clemson (14-1)

Clemson played almost exclusively strong teams, with 13 of 15 opponents advancing to the postseason. But the Tigers played single-possession games against Auburn, Troy, Louisville, NC State, Florida State and Virginia Tech while losing to Pittsburgh, so it wasn’t always pretty. The Tigers are boosted by winning a classic against Alabama in the playoff championship game with Deshaun Watson’s memorable last-second touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow.

9. 2015 Alabama (14-1)

The 2015 Tide closed out the year by beating teams then-ranked No. 1 (Clemson), No. 2 (LSU) and No. 3 (Michigan State), and there’s something to be said for that. But Alabama also lost to Mississippi in September and was not the most consistent bunch on offense, finishing the year ranked 49th nationally in yards per play and 46th in yards per carry. But this group stepped up when it mattered to win a 45-40 shootout against Clemson in the title game.

10. 2024 Ohio State (14-2)

The Buckeyes lose points for failing to play for the Big Ten title after losing (again) to Michigan. Ohio State also lost to Oregon earlier in the year, though it avenged that loss by blowing out the Ducks in the playoff quarterfinals. As the first champ of the 12-team era, the Buckeyes had to beat Tennessee, the Ducks, Texas and Notre Dame to finish atop the FBS.

11. 2014 Ohio State (14-1)

The first champs of the playoff era sneaked into the top four by demolishing Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship and then beat Alabama and Oregon. Ohio State deserves credit for getting it done after losing two starting quarterbacks (Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett) and winning the final three games behind third-stringer Cardale Jones. But the Buckeyes were stunned by Virginia Tech in nonconference play, needed two overtimes to top Penn State and weren’t always reliable on defense.

12. 2017 Alabama (13-1)

The 2017 team comes in last as the first champion of the playoff era to not even win its own division. Despite dropping the Iron Bowl and the SEC West to Auburn, the Tide made the playoff as the No. 4 seed, beat Clemson in the semifinals and then topped Georgia 26-23 after making a halftime quarterback change from Jalen Hurts to Tua Tagovailoa, who tossed the game winner in overtime.

MIAMI GARDENS, FL — Fernando Mendoza delivered some late magic and No. 1 seed Indiana held on to beat No. 10 Miami, 27-21, in the College Football Playoff championship game to claim the first title in program history.

The win completes a stunning turnaround orchestrated by second-year coach Curt Cignetti, who inherited what is historically one of the weakest programs in the Football Bowl Subdivision but quickly transformed the Hoosiers into the best team the sport has to offer.

A surprisingly low-scoring game through the first half began to open up in the third quarter and then took on a frenzied pace in a final quarter that saw Mendoza put the finishing touches on the most memorable individual season in program history by providing clutch plays on two Indiana scoring drives.

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Mendoza finished 16 of 27 for 186 yards and ran for a touchdown. Kaelon Black ran for 79 yards on 17 carries and Roman Hemby added 60 yards on 19 carries. Omar Cooper led IU with 71 yards on five receptions and Charlie Becker added 65 yards, including multiple driving-extending catches in the fourth quarter.

Miami quarterback Carson Beck threw for 232 yards on 19 of 32 passing with a touchdown and an interception. Mark Fletcher Jr. had 112 yards on 17 carries and freshman receiver Malachi Toney had a game-high 10 catches for 122 yards and a score.

The teams exchanged punts on the game’s first three possessions. Indiana opened scoring on a 34-yard field goal by Nicolas Radicic with 2:42 left in the first quarter. That capped an 11-play, roughly six-minute drive featuring a key 25-yard completion to Cooper after a holding penalty left IU facing first-and-20 inside its own red zone.

After the teams combined for three consecutive three-and-out drives, the Hoosiers stirred to life and took a 10-0 lead with 6:13 remaining in the half on a 1-yard plunge by tight end Riley Nowakowski. Capping an 85-yard march, the score was set up by a 15-yard completion to Becker that was originally called a touchdown but brought back to the 5-yard line on an official review.

At this point, Miami’s offense had gained only 26 yards, 9 coming on Fletcher’s carry on the first play from scrimmage, and just a single first down.

Combined with the Hoosiers’ growing lead, this rough start led Miami to attempt and convert a fourth-and-1 play at its 34-yard line on a short Fletcher run. But after a 25-yard grab by receiver CJ Daniels pushed the Hurricanes into IU territory, coach Mario Cristobal opted for a long field goal attempt on fourth-and-2 from the 32.

Kicker Carter Davis’s 49-yard attempt with 33 seconds left in the half had the distance but drifted right and clanged off the goalpost to send the Hoosiers into the break ahead 10-0. IU went into the locker room with a 100-yard edge in total offense (169-69) and 11 first downs to Miami’s three. The Hurricanes were 0 of 6 on third down.

But the momentum built during that drive carried over into the third quarter. After sacking Mendoza twice and forcing an IU punt, Miami scored on its second play of the half via a 57-yard run by Fletcher, who waited patiently for a seam to open on the right side before going untouched into the end zone to make it 10-7 less than four minutes into the half.

That was the sixth run of at least 50 yards given up by the Hoosiers’ defense this season, more than all but five teams in the FBS.

Two drives later, following another IU punt, Miami was stopped short on a third-and-8 completion to Toney and lined up to punt back to the Hoosiers at its 16-yard line with 5:04 left in the third quarter.

Miami’s special teams were again an issue: IU’s Mikail Kamara blocked Dylan Joyce’s punt, which bounced into the end zone and was recovered by Isaiah Jones to put the Hoosiers back up by double digits at 17-7.

That was the first blocked punt for a score in College Football Playoff history.

The Hurricanes remained composed and provided a response. Starting at its 19 with five minutes to go in the third quarter, Miami went 81 yards in 10 plays, ending with Fletcher’s second touchdown run from 3 yards out, and drew within a field goal at 17-14 with 14:57 to play.

Miami had dominated the third quarter and put the Hoosiers on their heels. After that score, the Hurricanes were ahead in total offense with 222 yards to IU’s 180; the defense held Mendoza without a completion in the quarter.

But the fourth quarter would belong to the Hoosiers.

IU would have a major answer behind a rejuvenated Mendoza. He threw for 37 yards on the next drive, including a key 19-yard completion to Becker on fourth-and-5 from the Miami 37, and then ran it in from 12 yards out on fourth-and-4 from the 12 to put Indiana ahead 24-14 with 9:18 left.

Yet Miami would not go away thanks to more open-field brilliance from Toney. The Hurricanes needed just 2:34 to go 91 yards and make it 24-21 via Toney’s weaving 22-yard touchdown on a short completion from Beck. The former Georgia transfer found Toney for a 41-yard two plays earlier to drive deep into IU territory.

With 6:37 left, the Hoosiers took over at their 25 with a chance to put Miami in a serious bind with another score. Again, Mendoza stepped up to deliver one final blockbuster sequence.

He hit Cooper for 14 yards on a third-and-5 from IU’s 31. He then found Becker for 19 yards on third-and-7 from the 48 to get the Hoosiers across midfield. After Hemby went around the right end for 10 yards on the following play, the Hoosiers were set up at the Miami 23 at the two-minute timeout.

Hemby then ran for 9 yards and Miami called its first timeout. IU followed that with a key false start to make it second-and-6 from the 19 with 1:56 to play. The Hoosiers gained a yard on the next runs, both of which were followed by Miami timeouts, to make it fourth-and-4 from the 18.

Radicic made the 35-yard field goal to grow the lead to 27-21 with 1:42 left, but Miami was left in position to win the game with a touchdown.

The Hurricanes committed a false start on the first play. Beck was hit and threw incomplete on first-and-15. Next, Beck again missed his target but the Hoosiers were flagged for a late hit, giving Miami a first down at its 35-yard line.

A 7-yard gain from Beck to Toney with 51 seconds left moved the Hurricanes into IU territory at the 47. On the next snap, Beck arced a throw down the left sideline toward Keelan Marion. But Marion wasn’t looking for the ball; defensive back Jamari Sharpe undercut Marion and intercepted at the Hoosiers’ 7-yard line to seal the win.

Before going 11-2 and losing in the opening round of last year’s playoff, IU had never won more than nine games in a season. The 2025 team is the first national champion since Yale in 1894 to finish 16-0. In their final four games, the Hoosiers beat teams then ranked No. 1, No. 5, No. 10 and No. 11 in the US LBM Coaches Poll.

If Indiana football can pull out the win in the College Football Playoff national championship game, it will be because of the aggression from Curt Cignetti to go for it on fourth down in the fourth quarter… twice.

Following a timeout to mull over the decision with a three-point lead, Cignetti sent the offense back out on the field, and did it ever work out in the Hoosiers’ favor. Their Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, bulldozed his way to the end zone for a 12-yard rushing touchdown.

The gusty touchdown call pushed the Hoosiers’ lead back up to a 10-point game with just over nine minutes remaining at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

‘That’s why he won the Heisman Trophy,’ ESPN’s Chris Fowler said on the broadcast at the end of the touchdown call.

Added Kirk Herbstreit: ‘What a call from Curt Cignetti and the offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan.’

It was the second fourth-down conversion that the Hoosiers were able to convert on their first scoring drive since the second quarter, as Mendoza connected with Charlie Becker for a ridiculous catch as he fell backwards on the field along the sidelines.

Mendoza’s rushing score was just his seventh on the ground this season for the Miami native. It also got a heartwarming reaction from his mom, Elsa — who is battling multiple sclerosis — from the stands with the rest of the Mendoza family.

The Hurricanes responded to Mendoza’s touchdown with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Carson Beck to Malachi Toney, bringing the score back to a one-possession game at 24-21 with 6:37 remaining in the fourth quarter.

If Mendoza and Indiana can pull out the win over Miami, the Hoosiers will win their first-ever national championship in program history. It would also give the Big Ten their third consecutive CFP championship, with the last two coming from Michigan and Ohio State.

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Robert Saleh is back among the head coaching ranks of the NFL.

The Tennessee Titans are hiring Saleh, the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator, to be their next head coach, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet finalized.

NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported on Jan. 18 that the Titans had scheduled Saleh for an in-person interview on Jan. 19, right after their interview with Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy. Saleh had a second interview scheduled with the Arizona Cardinals on Jan. 20, per NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero, but Tennessee did not let him leave its building without a deal.

Saleh, 46, spent three and a half years as head coach of the New York Jets between 2021 and 2024. He joined the Green Bay Packers staff in the middle of the 2024 season as an offensive consultant. Before the 2025 season, Saleh returned to San Francisco for a second stint as the team’s defensive coordinator, a role he originally served under head coach Kyle Shanahan from 2017 to 2020.

Tennessee’s head coach vacancy has been open since Week 6, when the Titans fired former head coach Brian Callahan amid his second season in charge after the team got off to a 1-5 start. Callahan finished his tenure with a 4-19 record as Tennessee’s head coach.

Saleh takes over a Titans team that just drafted quarterback Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall pick in 2025 and owns the No. 4 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

It was a busy week on the NCAA women’s hockey schedule. 

Most of the women’s Beanpot championship took place in Boston, with the home of the Boston Bruins hosting the final two games on Tuesday. Boston College takes on Northeastern in the third-place game at 4:30 p.m. ET, while Harvard and Boston University will battle for the championship at 7:30 p.m. ET.

All of the nation’s top programs were in action this past week as well.

While the WCHA’s top three teams maintained their dominance, Minnesota-Duluth was this week’s biggest dropper in the women’s college hockey power rankings. The Bulldogs have gone winless in six straight games. The Yale Bulldogs, meanwhile, are on the rise.

Here’s a look at the top 10 NCAA women’s hockey programs this week.

Women’s college hockey power rankings

1. University of Wisconsin (WCHA)

This team continues to mow through the competition. Since being left of USA’s Olympic roster, Lacey Eden has been a force to be reckoned with. She scored two goals in each of Wisconsin’s 5-1 wins over St. Thomas this weekend. Every weekend, a new leader steps forward in Wisconsin, which makes them such a difficult team to plan for and beat.

2. Ohio State University (WCHA)

The Buckeyes swept through conference rival Minnesota State with ease. A four-goal performance from Joy Dunne and a four-point night from Jocelyn Amos powered Ohio State’s offense on Friday, while Swedish Olympian Hilda Svensson continued her spectacular rookie season. If there’s one question mark remaining for Ohio State, it’s in net where they’ve played three different goaltenders this season. None has emerged as a clear difference-maker.

3. University of Minnesota (WCHA)

It’s a broken record at this point, but Abbey Murphy has become unstoppable. Murphy recorded her fifth and sixth straight multi-point games this weekend. She notched eight points in two games, boosting her nation-leading totals to 33 goals and 58 points in 24 games. Uniquely, she also leads the nation in penalty minutes. Minnesota showed no mercy to Bemidji State this past weekend, outscoring them 16-4 in a series sweep.

4. Penn State (AHA)

Penn State is a difficult program to judge. They keep winning, but they haven’t looked as dominant lately, and many of their wins continue to come against weaker opponents with thinner margins. They beat Syracuse 3-2 and 4-1, with captain and American national team member Tessa Janecke continuing to lead as Penn State’s top scorer and best player. The question is: where would Penn State rank if it played in the ECAC or the WCHA? 

5. Princeton (ECAC)

Princeton’s best continue to get better as Issy Wunder and Mackenzie Alexander lead the way. The Tigers’ depth, however, also stepped forward in wins over Harvard and Dartmouth. One significant change since last season is the return of Uma Corniea in net. She’s been the consistent and reliable factor Princeton needed, stopping 33 of 34 shots faced over the weekend.

6. Quinnipiac (ECAC)

Felicia Frank has been the busiest goaltender in NCAA women’s hockey this season, and she may be the best as well. She only bettered her numbers this past week, winning both starts while turning aside 37 of 38 shots faced in wins over Dartmouth and Harvard. Kahlen Lamarche continues to add to her career-best season totals, including nearly doubling her goal output from last season as she now sits at 27 in 26 games.

7. Northeastern (Hockey East)

With more midweek action approaching to close out the Beanpot, Northeastern won its only matchup of the weekend, a 2-1 decision over New Hampshire. Eloise Caron scored both for the Huskies, which looked out of sorts after failing to punch their ticket to the Beanpot final. They fell 2-1 in an emotional overtime upset at the hands of Boston University last Tuesday. 

8. Yale (ECAC)

Watch out, top 10, Yale is hot. Yale beat higher-ranked Colgate and Cornell this weekend, with goaltender Samson Frey picking up the Bulldogs’ third shutout in four games and captain Carina DiAntonio continuing to power their offense. Yale even beat Providence College 4-2 on Monday, with Hannah Weyerhaeuser recording a hat trick. It’s not just the results, but how they’re achieving those wins that have them moving up the rankings.

9. Cornell (ECAC)

Cornell fell to Yale but beat a red-hot Brown team. Annelies Bergmann remains their deciding factor in net. When she’s at the top of her game, this team doesn’t lose. But their continued struggles to score put a lot of onus on Bergmann’s play. Sometimes, even making at least 30 saves isn’t enough for a win, which was the case in Cornell’s loss to Yale. 

10. University of Minnesota-Duluth (WCHA)

January hasn’t been kind to Minnesota-Duluth. Since their sluggish start overseas in Northern Ireland, the Bulldogs haven’t been themselves. They tied St. Cloud State in the first game before losing the extra point in a shootout, and they lost to them again in the second game, 5-2. This team is spiraling, having not won a game in its last six.

After the Rose Bowl, it was a movie. But after the national championship, it became real.

Moments after defeating Miami 27-21 in a thrilling national championship that came down to the wire, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti finally allowed himself to believe a Hoosiers football national championship is possible.

Speaking to ESPN’s Molly McGrath on the field after the game, Cignetti broke down how Indiana won its first national title, while also inserting some of his now-customary sentimentalism. The coach, already a legend in his own right, was all smiles following the win, even as he acknowledged some of the struggles Indiana faced over the course of the game.

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‘It took a lot to get here, but I’ll tell you what it took to come out ahead in this game was a lot of guts,’ Cignetti said. ‘I give Miami a lot of credit they played really hard. We couldn’t get anything done on offense — couldn’t protect the quarterback at all … Let me tell ya: We won the national championship at Indiana University. It can be done. And I’m so happy for our fans. Words can’t describe it.’

As the interview ended, Cignetti concluded with what seems to be another motif he’s adopting. After McGrath asked him how he was going to celebrates, he said while beaming: ‘I’m gonna have a beer.’

It wasn’t a perfect win for Cignetti and the Hoosiers, but to hear him tell it, that’s what made it special. Even as he listed everything that went wrong in the game, Cignetti had high praise for Fernando Mendoza and his players. After his beer, Cignetti will undoubtedly be back to work preparing for 2026, as Indiana gets ready to defend a title for the first time ever.

The first national title in program history came down to the final minute inside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Miami was in Indiana territory, but Hurricane quarterback Carson Beck threw a pass that Indiana defensive back Jamari Sharpe had his eyes on and intercepted at the Hoosiers’ 7-yard line.

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The win sealed the 27-21 victory and became one of the biggest plays in Indiana football history.

Indiana radio announcer Don Fischer, who has been on the headset for Hoosier football games since 1973, had the call, and had a great reaction to the moment:

‘Looks, throws it down the field and it is intercepted by Indiana! Wow, what a play! And it is Jamari Sharpe, who comes up with a pick, and he runs into the end zone,’ Fischer said, as he and everyone in the booth celebrated.

Fischer has seen plenty of lows in Indiana football history, but he was on the microphone to be on-hand for the national championship.