This page began as a dated preview of No. 1 Indiana against No. 10 Miami. It now includes the final result: Indiana beat Miami 27-21 on January 19, 2026, completing a 16-0 season and winning the CFP national championship.
Game Information
- Date: Monday, January 19, 2026
- Venue: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
- Final: No. 1 Indiana 27, No. 10 Miami 21
- Records after game: Indiana 16-0, Miami 13-3
The Pre-Game Snapshot
At publication time, Indiana had reached the title game by beating Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal and Oregon 56-22 in the Peach Bowl semifinal. Miami had advanced through Texas A&M, Ohio State, and Ole Miss before meeting the top seed.
The original article framed the matchup around Indiana's unbeaten run, Miami's bracket climb, and the Iron Bowl-adjacent angle that Alabama's season had ended against the team that later won the title.
That pre-game snapshot should remain visible because it explains why this article existed before the final score was known. Alabama's loss to Indiana gave the site a direct playoff-thread reason to follow the title game. Miami's run added a coaching-history angle through Mario Cristobal's Alabama staff stop. Together, those connections were enough for coverage, but they did not make the game an Iron Bowl story in the narrow sense.
The old preview should not be rewritten as if every concern was obvious afterward. Indiana was the No. 1 seed and unbeaten; Miami was the lower seed but had already survived multiple playoff rounds. The responsible archive keeps those pre-game conditions and then adds the result separately.
What Happened in the Championship Game
ESPN's box score shows Indiana leading 10-0 at halftime, Miami answering with two Mark Fletcher Jr. rushing touchdowns, Indiana scoring on an Isaiah Jones blocked-punt return, and the Hoosiers later keeping control with a Fernando Mendoza rushing touchdown and a late Nico Radicic field goal.
Miami cut the deficit to 24-21 in the fourth quarter on a Carson Beck touchdown pass to Malachi Toney, but Indiana's final field goal created the six-point margin. The useful update is the result and scoring path, not a retroactive claim that the outcome was inevitable.
The game summary also gives readers enough detail to understand the rhythm without turning into a play-by-play rewrite. Indiana's special-teams touchdown changed the margin, Miami's second-half response kept the game alive, and the late field goal forced Miami to chase a touchdown rather than a tying kick. Those are box-score-supported details, and they are safer than relying on unsourced descriptions of momentum or sideline emotion.
Because this page is now maintained months after publication, it should use past tense consistently. Any remaining "tonight," "will face" or "kickoff ahead" language would be stale. The May 13 revision keeps the page useful as an archive instead of a frozen preview.
Iron Bowl Lens
For Alabama readers, the title game put the Rose Bowl loss in broader context: Alabama's CFP exit came against the eventual national champion. For Auburn readers, Miami's run is relevant mostly as a case study in how quickly a roster can reach the CFP when quarterback play, defense, and bracket timing align.
The Alabama point should not become consolation spin. Losing to the national champion explains the quality of the opponent, but it does not change the 38-3 score or the offensive issues Alabama showed in Pasadena. The Auburn point should also stay limited: Miami's run can inform rebuild discussions, but it does not prove Auburn can copy the same path under a different roster, conference schedule and staff timeline.
That is the standard this site should use for national playoff content. Keep the source-backed result, identify the real Alabama-Auburn connection, and avoid pretending that every major college football event belongs to the rivalry. Done that way, the article adds context instead of looking like filler.
Sources reviewedExpand
Reference notes
MethodologyUpdated May 13, 2026: This preview was revised to remove betting-line language and exaggerated descriptions, then updated with the verified championship result.
Official CFP source for the bracket path and the national championship result: No. 1 Indiana 27, No. 10 Miami 21.
Used to verify final score, scoring by quarter, team records, passing/rushing lines, and team statistics.
Secondary source for AP recap framing and scoring-play context.