SI:AM | College Football’s Most Unlikely Champion Ever

Indiana—the most hapless program in the sport's history—completed a storybook season with a thrilling win over Miami.

Dan Gartland Good morning, I'm Dan Gartland. I want to make sure you know that there was a goalie fight in the NHL while you were busy watching the national championship game last night. In today's SI: AM: 🏆 Indiana's impossible turnaround 🏈 What Hoosiers' win can teach us about CFB 1️⃣ Way-too-early 2026 top 25 Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated They actually did it The Indiana Hoosiers are national champions. In football.  By now you've heard every college football reporter, TV analyst and guy at the barbershop talk about how unlikely Indiana's 2025 season was—how the Hoosiers began this journey coming off a 3–9 finish in '23 with a then-unknown coach who kicked off his tenure by telling doubters to "google me" at his introductory press conference. It wasn't just that they had struggled of late, either. They started the year with more losses than any program in the history of the sport.  BUY NOW: GET SI'S COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE Monday confirmed what had become increasingly clear throughout the season: Indiana was the best team in the country. The Hoosiers beat Miami, 27–21, to complete a historic 16–0 season and put a period at the end of their storybook season.  It's impossible to overstate how improbable Indiana's victory was. Before this season, Indiana had not won a postseason game since the 1991 Copper Bowl. In the three seasons immediately preceding coach Curt Cignetti's arrival, the Hoosiers had a combined 3–24 record in Big Ten play. Cignetti inherited a program that was historically among the most hapless in any sport and that was going through a particularly fallow period. Building a bowl-eligible team would be a tough task. The idea of building a champion was laughable.  READ MORE FROM DAN ICYMI Kelley L Cox/Imagn Images Butler out for season Late Monday night, Warriors forward Jimmy Butler reportedly suffered a torn ACL in his right knee against his old team, the Heat. The best of Sports Illustrated Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated Indiana completed its improbable run to its first national championship. Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza's fourth-down touchdown run becomes the most iconic play in the team's unbelievable romp to a 16–0 season, Pat Forde writes. Bryan Fischer says the Hoosiers' perfect season and a third straight national title for the Big Ten show how the league's strength now runs from top to bottom. Fischer reveals his way-too-early 2026 top 25 college football rankings, with Ohio State, Notre Dame and Georgia looking stacked for next season and Indiana needing to reload after winning the title. Chris Mannix issues a warning for the Eastern Conference: The Pistons will be a problem. The Bills should be thinking of Sean McDermott's replacement as a five-year hire for Josh Allen's early 30s. Conor Orr has some offensive-minded candidates for the job. Before you rip another quarterback, Orr says to take a look around at just how miserable defensive coaches are making life for offenses across the board. Get the print edition of Sports Illustrated delivered to your door. Click to subscribe! Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated The top five ... … plays from the national title game:  5. The comically loud clang when Miami's Carter Davis missed a 50-yard field goal. (I mostly wanted to mention this so I could direct you to the video someone made incorporating the sound into the song "Ants Marching" by Dave Matthews Band.) 4. Miami freshman sensation Malachi Toney's touchdown run to get the Hurricanes back in it late in the fourth quarter.  3. Mark Fletcher Jr's 57-yard run for Miami's first touchdown of the game.  2. Indiana's punt block that was recovered for a touchdown in the third quarter. (The Hoosiers only sent five rushers against six blockers but were still able to get home. It looks like Indiana had correctly identified that Miami's Australian punter Dylan Joyce was rolling to his right on every punt and Mikail Kamara was able to get around the edge for the block.) 1. Fernando Mendoza's clutch touchdown run.  The best of SI Video WNBA star and Unrivaled player Brittney Griner joins Around the W for a wide-ranging conversation with host Maria Clifton. Sign up for SI Newsletters Stay ahead of the game—sign up for all of SI's newsletters, from golf and soccer to MMQB, and never miss a moment. Get it in your inbox We may receive compensation for some links to products and services included in this email. 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