I don’t think I picked Indiana once. And was I proven wrong.
Clearly, my neglect was a heavy motivation for the Hoosier Nation to reach something not done since the 1894 Yale team: 16-0 and National Champions. Incredibly impressive.
In all seriousness, I believe this is what college football needs. A ‘spreading of the wealth’ vs. the same four teams fighting for the National Championship. There are very few fans who predicted that either Miami or Indiana would be playing in Miami on January 19th. But we were…and we were treated to a good football game that any fan would enjoy watching.
More teams with the chance to win = better CFB experience.
Hats off to Miami. What a run in the latter part of the season. Carson Beck looked good, the running game looked even better, and their defense hits as hard or harder than anyone I watched this year. I like what’s happening down there. College football is more fun when Miami is good.
Some Natty Thoughts:
- Mendoza may be the real deal. I’m not sure how he’ll do in the pros, but I think he’ll probably be fine. He’s already completed internships with companies that most of us would drool to experience. He got his bell rung in the first half quite a few times (I think he had 6 drop backs, and was sacked three times). His QB sneak on 4th and 5 for the diving touchdown will be played roughly one million times over the next few years.
- What a game from Fletcher – the Miami RB. That guy is an absolute stud and is coming back to Miami next year. 6’3″ and 230 pounds with some wheels…look out, Heisman.
- Indiana’s lines were critical to their win. Games are won in the trenches.
- If Miami cut its penalties in half, they would have won that game.
- Mendoza’s and Fletcher’s moms. The joy on her face is what any athlete loves. Whether it’s Little League Pinto baseball or the college football national championship. That was really great to see.
- If I were Cristobol, I’d put a ton of focus on special teams. Their kicking game, punt team, and general kickoff coverage were average at best.
- ESPN did a relatively good job of calling the game. Herp Kirbstreet can get a little long-winded, but I thought their announcing was insightful and helpful.
Overall 2025 CFB Thoughts:
- The playoffs are the right move. I think it’s fluid, and I’d like to see them get rid of conference championships and expand the field to the 24 best teams. I think we’ll get to some form of that in the next couple of years.
- The Big10 and the SEC are tops in CFB right now. I think they will be the best conferences next year, with the ACC sneaking up. This is what we want as college football fans.
- The portal is broken. Thousands of kids transferring with no penalties breaks the college football model. I could write a whole post about this.
- Gameday needs to focus more on football and football-related things. It’s turning into a Lifetime movie.
I’d love to hear what you think…
Spot on with your comments. The portal has to be fixed, but I don’t see that happening until there is a breakaway “big dog” league that has some sort of commissioner. The NCAA has shown they don’t have any interest in truly solving problems.
Great game. The refs let the players play, and I didn’t see any questionable no-calls (am I wrong?).
Miami kept it closer than I had thought they would, and the Hoosier defense got a little sloppy late in the 4th.
Really tough on a personal level NOT to pull for Mendoza and Coach Cignetti. I imagine IU recruiting class for 2027 will be stacked.
A great football game until the very end, and RCS is correct, this IS the game championship game the NCAA needed.
Will Mendoza make it in the NFL? With the current state of the NFL, who knows. I hope I’m not finished watching him play. He could play 2-3 seasons and end up with a PE or VC firm, so he’ll be just fine.
Portal is broken and on some level, NCAA football just doesn’t seem “as fun” as a fan… I don’t have any real ideas on how to fix it other than going back to how it used to be, but I realize there’s no going back.
Of course, if Notre Dame had been let in, they would’ve won the whole thing….
Enjoyable game. Lifelong Miami hater I was glad to see them take an L. Playoffs were enjoyable but hate how it’s devalued the regular season. SEC is closer to ACC/Big12 than it is the Big10 but folks down here will keep living in their echo chamber.
Glory days of CFB are gone but it will remain broken until they make the players true employees. Unless the powers that be at the universities are willing to give up their $80M windfall of TV money and cut from the bloated athletic departments, the portal madness will continue to frustrate everyone. Would be much better if everyone stopped pretending it’s anything other than semi-pro ball at this point