The No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers are heading to the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship.
Spearheaded by superstar quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the Hoosiers inflicted a 56-22 defeat on the fifth-ranked Oregon Ducks in the Peach Bowl held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta.
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Mendoza’s sparkling display in which he completed 17-of-20 passing for 177 yards and five passing touchdowns only boosted his stock of being taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft.
Indiana’s defense set the tone, taking a lead on the first play from scrimmage with a defensive score.
From then on, it was just utter dominance from the nation’s best team, who scored seven touchdowns on 10 drives, excluding the final one as they went into victory formation.
Indiana will enter the CFP national championship game against the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes with an undefeated 15-0 record on the season.
After securing the victory, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti – who has been instrumental in turning the Hoosiers’ program around since his arrival in 2024 – gave a hilarious response to his team recording the sixth-largest win in CFP history.
“I’m really not thinking about the next game. I’m thinking about cracking open a beer,” Coach Cignetti told ESPN’s Molly McGrath.
Whilst the Canes will be vying for the championship at home at Hard Rock Stadium after their 31-27 victory over Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl, it will also be a homecoming for Mendoza as well having grown up there.
“Playing any national championship is fantastic. But it means a little bit more to me,” Mendoza said to ESPN postgame.
“I used to be able to walk to the University of Miami. I used to play rec basketball games there or beach volleyball in the sand and courts. And to live under a mile away, it means a lot to myself.
“However, I’m really excited for the city of Miami to get the opportunity as well and can’t wait to play in Hard Rock Stadium.”
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Curt Cignetti receives all his flowers
The Hoosiers have seen a huge transformation since the appointment of Cignetti, with the Big Ten team going 11-2 in 2024, despite having amassed just 9 total wins from the previous three seasons from 2021-2023 combined.
“There was a lot of skepticism after last year, that we were a fluke,” Cignetti said once the dust had somewhat settled. “That [2024] team did a lot of great things and got it all started…
“I think a lot of that negative stuff in the media fueled the guys returning from this team, and we added some real key pieces.”
After their sheer dismantling of Oregon and quarterback Dante Moore – who the Las Vegas Raiders could look to select over Mendoza in the 2026 draft – Dave Portnoy gave a huge amount of credit to Cignetti for what he has done in such a short space of time at the helm.
“What Curt Cignetti has done at Indiana is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most impressive things I’ve seen in the history of sports,” the Barstool Sports founder tweeted on X (formerly Twitter).
“Indiana was one of the worst football programs in the history of college football. I thought Cig was a clown during that initial presser when he said “google me”.
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“I was like this guy is gonna get throttled by the big boys. Instead it only took him 2 years to turn Indiana into a dominant national power. Sure NIL helps but still this is insane.
“It seemed beyond impossible to ever do it but to do it this fast? I still can’t believe it. The Big 10 now goes through Ann Arbor and Bloomington. Who would have ever dreamed it?
Mendoza credits Hoosiers’ ‘synergy’ for their success
Whilst the 2024 team put Indiana in motion, Mendoza has played a huge role in taking them to the very top.
Spending the first two seasons of his college career with California in the Pac-12 before they then joined the ACC, Mendoza opted to enter the 2025 transfer portal and opted to join Cignetti at Indiana.
There, he has flourished and entering the Peach Bowl, he had completed 72.3 of his passes for 36 touchdowns to just six interceptions in 14 outings.
But the 22-year-old, who has already been warned about the possibility sliding down the draft like that of Shedeur Sanders – credits his team of ‘misfits’ who go to battle for each other for the success they have seen this season.
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“We’re a bunch of misfits. There are zero five-stars on our team,” Mendoza said in an emotional interview. “We’re just guys, glued together, trying to reach a common goal – to win each and every single game.”
The Heisman Trophy winner also credits the culture that has been built and runs throughout the program.
“It’s a collaborative effort and with a strong culture, you can accomplish anything,” Mendoza continued. “We have a strong culture in the locker room, in the coaching staff, and the entire support staff in our administration.
“But with those three things, it’s great synergy in our program and that’s why we’re headed to the national championship.”
Mendoza – in what is sure to be his final collegiate game – and Indiana will meet Carson Beck and the Hurricanes in Miami on January 19 to battle it out for the chance to be crowned as national champions.
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