By Scott Salomon
Fans of the University of Miami have waited 23 years to play in a College Football National Championship.
It did not end the way they wanted.
As it turns out, the tilt against the Indiana Hoosiers, who came into the game ranked as the No. 1 team in the land, did not end as Canes fans desired.
The Hoosiers’ won their first-ever college football national championship by defeating Miami 27-21 before a sellout crowd of 67,227 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
The game hinged on two special teams’ plays that backfired on Miami and flipped the scoreboard. First, Carter Davis missed a first-half field goal wide right that would have given Miami life and points on the scoreboard.
Next, Indiana blocked a Dylan Joyce punt in the second half, after Miami brought the game close, and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown.
Mikail Kamara of the Hoosiers danced right around Miami tight end Alex Bauman and waltzed untouched toward Joyce and swatted the attempt backwards.. Isiah Jones pounced on the loose ball in the end zone for the touchdown.
The blocked punt resulted in the winning points for the Hoosiers (16-0).
As an interesting footnote, the Indiana football team went undefeated exactly 50 years after their basketball team went undefeated and won a national title.
With under a minute remaining in the game, the Hurricanes had the ball with a chance to score. However, Carson Beck’s final collegiate offering was intercepted by Jamari Sharpe, who is the cousin of former Miami defensive back Glenn Sharpe.
All that was remaining was a few kneel downs by Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza.
Junior running back Mark Fletcher paced the Hurricanes with 112 yards on 17 carries. He also scored two touchdowns. Beck, a seventh-year senior, capped off his collegiate career by going 19-of-32 for 232 yards with one touchdown and the one interception.
Defensively, the Canes were led by Rueben Bain who had eight tackles, one sack and 2.5 tackles for loss. Mohamed Toure was in on 10 tackles over the course of the evening.
Mendoza, who played his final collegiate game, would score the game winning touchdown on a 12-yard scamper which will be replayed over and over again for the ages. He was pounded four times by Hurricane defenders on the play, but still willed himself into the end zone.
Miami had a Cinderella season throughout the playoffs, defeating Texas A&M on the road and Ohio State and Ole Miss in bowl games. The Canes have a lot to be optimistic about heading into next season.
