The dust has settled on the 2025 college football season, and what a season it was. It has now been nearly ten days since Indiana lifted the trophy in Miami, capping it all off with a win over the Miami Hurricanes.
The National Championship
I don’t think it surprised many people that the Indiana Hoosiers ended up winning this game against Miami. Indiana had shown its dominance throughout the playoff and made it clear they had one goal in mind.
Meanwhile, a Miami team that was on the bubble of even making the playoff rode its stout defense all the way back home to play for the national title. The game was predicted to be a defensive battle, but I don’t think many expected it to be as close as it was. I personally thought Indiana would get off to a slower start than in their previous two games, but would eventually pull away and win by no fewer than 17 points in a low-scoring affair—something like 27–10. That prediction seemed to be coming true, as the first half featured six punts and Indiana took a 10–0 lead into halftime.
Starting with the ball, Indiana had a chance to land the knockout punch early in the third quarter, but they couldn’t do it. Mark Fletcher Jr. then entered the chat and put the Hurricanes on the board. After forcing Indiana to punt two more times, it looked like Miami had found the defensive key—they just needed to find some offense. That didn’t happen, and disaster struck when a Miami punt was blocked and returned for a touchdown, pushing the lead to 17–7.
Miami picked itself up off the mat once again and drove 81 yards on its very next possession. Fletcher Jr. crossed the goal line again, cutting the deficit to three. That long drive seemed to light a fire under the Heisman Trophy winner, as Fernando Mendoza led the Hoosiers 75 yards on the ensuing drive, capped off by a 12-yard quarterback draw on fourth-and-4 that saw Mendoza bounce off would-be tacklers and dive into the end zone to restore Indiana’s 10-point lead.
The Hoosiers’ defense once again failed to land the knockout punch, as Miami responded with a 91-yard drive to cut the lead back to one score. Mendoza led another promising Indiana drive, but this time it stalled just inside the red zone. The Hoosiers settled for three, making it a six-point game.
Carson Beck had the ball in his hands with 1:42 left—one last chance to win a national title.
Let me be perfectly clear: I like to classify myself as a ball knower, and if you were a true college football ball knower, you knew exactly how this drive was going to end. In Beck’s college career, he lost just five games as a starter. In three of those losses, he had the ball with a chance to win—and instead threw an interception. On Monday, January 19, 2026, on the biggest stage of his career, he made it four out of six.
As the Hurricanes moved the ball past midfield with under a minute to play, Beck took a shot that had no chance. A ball that was five yards underthrown—into double coverage, I might add—was picked off by Jamari Sharpe to seal the win for Indiana.
Indiana won its first national championship in program history and became the first program to finish a perfect 16–0 season. They are the first first-time champion since 1997. Curt Cignetti adds another accolade to his résumé, and Indiana ends a wild season on top.
The 2025 Season as a Whole
As a year-end piece, I want to count down my top ten favorite games of the year. They might not have been the best football, but they were my favorite games this season.
10. BYU vs Utah
9. Wisconsin vs Washington
8. Army Navy Game
7. Memphis vs Arkansas
6. Ole Miss vs Georgia (Sugar Bowl)
5. Baylor vs SMU
4. Georgia vs Tennessee
3. TCU vs USC
2. UCLA vs Penn St
1. Texas A&M vs South Carolina
As you go over this list, you might remember what happened in these games, but I intentionally didn’t include any scores or explain why they’re ranked where they are. See if you can figure it out for yourself and go back and watch some highlights to pass the offseason.
TThis whole blog has been a huge experiment for me, and honestly something I never thought I could do. I want to thank all of you who read it — even if it was just one time — and I want to keep finding ways to make it better for you.
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Until then, enjoy the offseason. We’ll be back before we know it.
I’d love to hear from readers, too. Think my takes are dumb? Want my opinion on something I missed? Email me at thecollegefootblog@gmail.com.
