Chuck Culpepper at WaPo — "Indiana wins a national championship that is almost too much to fathom" (gift link) — begins:JUST IN: Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza gives all glory to God, breaks down in tears after winning the College Football National Championship.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 20, 2026
“I was a two-star recruit coming out of high school. I got declined a walk-on offer to the University of Miami, full circle moment… pic.twitter.com/jhufc5yvVN
Maybe sometime this month or this summer or this century, all the fans and alumni widely known as Hoosiers and all the people who follow college football might scale a deeply human mental hurdle about the rousing theater of Monday night. They might find a way to believe what they saw. They might believe the gobsmacking truth that when a storybook five months ended, the confetti in Hard Rock Stadium rained down Indiana crimson-and-cream. Many of the 67,227 might comprehend that, indeed, as the videotape shows, they hung around with their joy and their goose bumps and belted out “We Are The Champions.” They might grasp that they heard a revolutionary 64-year-old coach in his second Indiana season tell of “waxing tables” among the unglamorous tasks of a Division II coach a decade ago, at which time, of course, “I never really thought this was possible."... The first 16-0 team in the top level since Yale in 1894 was the losingest program in college football history as of 2023 when it hired [coach Curt] Cignetti from James Madison to very little national ripple on an innocuous Thursday in late November....
Hoosiers fans sing “We Are the Champions.” Incredible. pic.twitter.com/y6LWVXnKqt
— Blake Toppmeyer (@btoppmeyer) January 20, 2026
The crowd at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami roars as @POTUS is shown during the Star-Spangled Banner 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/gqQ3ojBXho
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 20, 2026
AND:Safe to say Bloomington ain’t sleeping tonight
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 20, 2026
pic.twitter.com/vEcr7FU9tp
Never Daunted. Tonight, our tower lights will shine in cream and crimson for one hour to celebrate @IndianaFootball winning the College Football Playoff National Championship! pic.twitter.com/S9a8tI7xbD
— Empire State Building (@EmpireStateBldg) January 20, 2026
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61 comments:
He is a quintessential American young man.
Love it!
Until Cig was hired, Indiana was the doormat of college football. Now, in two years Indiana is the undefeated champion of college football. Consider that his former team, JMU, also made the playoffs.
Consider also the near hapless Cornhuskers who still struggle after three years under Matt Rhule notwithstanding all the money, tradition and facilities at Lincoln.
In a post-game interview he spoke of a play that scored a touchdown. It was put in specially for this game. Miami has a certain defense and his staff knew it had a weakness. When the right time came, they ran the play. Touchdown!
For his turnaround, Curt Cignetti is the greatest coach in college football history. From zero to hero.
The QB did have a scholarship to Yale even with his two star HS status. He ended up at Cal. Cal has always underperformed. At IU, Mendez was protected by his line and had great receivers.
So, from two stars to a Heisman and an undefeated season. Probable #1 draft pick.
Mendoza said he wrote a paper in HS on why college football players shouldn’t be paid. Under the new regime, players can be paid and IU spent very well; especially on lineman.
And how about the receiver Sarrat? And their running backs? Nebraska hasn’t had running backs like that in decades.
Congrats to the Hoosiers everywhere. What a victory!
It’s a beautiful thing. Congratulations to all of them!
Gloriana, Frangipana
E'er to her be true
She's the pride of Indiana
Hail to old IU
I've seen my beloved and currently irrelevant Badgers beat Indiana 83-20, 59-0, 59-7, 62-14 and 62-13. The Hoosiers were the most obvious footwipe in college football for nearly the entirety of the school's history. It's difficult to overstate the accomplishment of Cignetti, Mendoza and everyone associated with the program. And a special shout-out to Riley Nowakowski, the former Badger who scored the initial touchdown last night.
Insanity on Kirkwood. A little part of me is at Nick's staring into a bucket of beer. Settle in for a slice of pedantry.
"Indiana Our Indiana" the fight song you have heard ad infinitum, was adapted from the trio section of "The Viking March" written by Karl L. King (A great Iowan, and director of Barnum and Bailey's Circus Band) when he was only 19 years old. The lyrics were written by the then director of Indiana's band, Russell P. Harker, and was first played at the game with Northwestern in 1912.
On campus, the entire march is played only at the end of the graduation ceremony. The march is passed out to the graduation band without comment.
Never Daunted.
Expect more stories like this in college football. Historically dormant programs suddenly emerging as contenders while traditional powerhouses fall from grace. NIL has completely changed the game.
"Congrats to the Hoosiers everywhere."
Meade is a Hoosier, so it was a big deal around here.
And think of the pride and emotions of Mendoza’s parents. All the time and money they spent on football camps and other things. All the emotional support they gave him. So happy for them!
"NIL has completely changed the game."
Well, that and the portal.
IU would not have even been in the playoffs without them. But they exist, they used it well, and congrats.
Universities spend big money to attract top professors, so why not spend to attract top football coaches (and now players)? It speaks to the priorities of the "school." The tenuous attachment of colleges to the concept of amateurism is gone, and those "schools" that wish to be known as the best minor-league sports team will follow Indiana's model.
I once spoke to a European who was amazed at how we do college sports in America. "Is it really true that colleges own sports teams?" More like the other way around, I replied.
What a great win. I had a sinking feeling during the last Miami drive. IU hadn't been able to stop them in the 2nd half (why? I dunno) and it felt like a Miami TD was inevitable, but a great play and interception sealed it.
God its so great that another team won the championship instead of the same ol, same ol.
Picking QBs is hard. Its not just the physical aspect, there's the mental aspect. The Miami QB has all the tools but he throws a lot of interceptions. I don't know if the NFL thinks thats curable.
Nice to see a crowd of happy, mentally healthy people in the streets.
Congrats, Meade! That's awesome.
I feel so happy for the Indiana Hoosier fans. They have had little go their way over a century of football. Mendoza played great and is a guy that can be truly admired. The shot of Mark Cuban admiring the results of his largesse was poignant.
Someone mentioned Mark Cuban in the cafe thread last night. I $u$pect he had $omething to do with Indiana's $ucce$$.
This looks like an actually interesting story.
The NCAA will probably raise the salary cap to freeze out smaller programs.
Cignetti looks pretty good for 64, and you gotta wonder why it took so long for him to get hired by a Big-time College Football program. He was assistant coach at Alabama in the 00s' and went on to be a very successful coach at James Madison and other smaller schools.
It's nice to see some of these top tier athletes be unashamed to express their faith in God after great moments. Our nation needs more of this. You also see some teams kneel down together in prayer, expressing faith in front of large audiences.
Cignetti on the way to the game.
With all the stories about the football-industrial complex identifying promising high school players and sending them off to special training camps and football schools, as though all that matters is eventually making it to the NFL, it's nice to see the whole magilla won by kids who were passed over by that system.
This wouldn't be possible in the old days when the NCAA and the coaches Hoovered up all the money and only the crooked programs whom paid players under the table could contend for national championship.
Kinda like ending prohibition.
Thanks, but for accuracy’s sake, I was born and raised a Boilermaker. Last night though, I was happy to be a Boilermaker Hoosier. What a game, what a story!
Howard said...
This wouldn't be possible in the old days when the NCAA and the coaches Hoovered up all the money and only the crooked programs whom paid players under the table could contend for national championship.
Kinda like ending prohibition.
This was my interest in this matter.
What is the NCAA cartel going to do to make sure they keep control over who wins college football?
I thought the state flag down here was maroon with a white A in the middle of it for a while. It was a long time before I saw the actual flag.
Such an incredible season for Indiana. And a very fine young man. Great for the game of college football…
Give credit to Curt Cignetti. He is the master of evaluating and developing football talent in young men.
He had 4 4-5 star players on his team while Miami had around 45. That normally means that you get clobbered. Cignetti understands better than others that young athletes need development and focus. He provided that for them.
Given that most colleges are toxic waste dumps of bad far-left scholarship, affirmative action babies, and overpaid Administrators, the idea of worrying about "Football gets too much attention and the coaches are overpaid" seems almost quaint. Its not 1965 anymore.
RCOCEAN II said...
Picking QBs is hard. Its not just the physical aspect, there's the mental aspect.
Yeah, I’m thinking of a kid who attracted almost no interest by Division I programs despite throwing for 4421 yards in two seasons as the starter on his high school team, including a game where he threw for 6 TDs. He had 1310 out of 1600 SAT, so no dummy. He was grudgingly offered a chance to compete for a partial scholarship as walk-on at the University of Illinois.
He went to a JuCo and took the program to a 10-1 record. A coach from UCal Berkeley went to that junior college to recruit a wide receiver, and offered the quarterback a scholarship too, so so the kid finally made it to Division I.
The kid that the Illini grudgingly extended a walk-on offer to was Aaron Rodgers. That Aaron Rodgers.
Good luck to you, Mendoza.
You will be made to give all glory to the Mob-run Democrap party.
Thank you, mom and dad, Nature, and Nature's God.
The Mendoza line has been obliterated.
Wait. That's baseball. This football.
Never mind.
Was there no burning of cop cars, or looting, no twerking?
When people say MAGA, this is part of what they mean. I'm neither religious nor a Hoosier, but more of this, please.
Achilles: The NCAA cartel has sold out to the Las Vegas gambling money changers. They will only allow these Cinderella stories to continue if it's somehow helps the house shave even more punters.
I admit I've lost a lot of interest since the transfer portal, NIL, and now playing players directly. It's not really 'college' football anymore, it's the NFL's minor league sponsored by universities.
That said. . . .GO BIG TEN!
During the coverage they cut away to Mendoza's family so often that I had to look closely to make sure Taylor Swift wasn't sitting with them. His mom's a dead ringer for Mary Tyler Moore.
"The NCAA will probably raise the salary cap to freeze out smaller programs."
"What is the NCAA cartel going to do to make sure they keep control over who wins college football?"
The NCAA has little power anymore in college football...almost none. Control is in the hands of the power conferences. As long as the NCAA goes along with what they want, they can still dip their beak and manage things. If they don't the power conferences will just their own thing, and take all the money with them.
No riots? = no democrats.
I wasn't really rooting for either team, I just enjoyed the game with great interest in the quality of play and ,of course, the outcome.
Funny, back in October I heard some golfers with whom I'm familiar talking by the practice green about the likely CFP teams. They all agreed on the local team, Miami, and went on to mention several others. When I piped up "Better keep an eye on Indiana" they all scoffed at me.
I had just seen the Hoosiers beat my Illini, a good team, 63-10, and it wasn't that close. I chose not to enlighten them. They know now.
’The NCAA has little power anymore in college football…’
It’s closer to none than little. And that’s a good thing!
’…only the crooked programs whom paid players under the table could contend for national championship.’
The list of programs that didn’t pay players under the table could fit on a Post-it note. You know that, right?
Meanwhile leftist insurrectionists attack a MN church ...
Why was Curt Cignetti "waxing tables"?
What does that even mean - was he using Pledge? Some other waxing product? On his office desk? Some other sort of table?
I've never been in an athletic facility where any tables needed to be waxed. Am I missing something? That statement by Cignetti just stuck out to me.
’They all agreed on the local team, Miami…’
I thought Ohio State was in its own strata this year. After that I would have said Georgia, with few others as truly elite.
Fathom it, "Chuck Culpepper" (if that is your real name)!! So happy that the Hoosiers finished the job and are 16-0, national champs. That Mendoza 4th-down play call, and TD carry, is the stuff of legends. To those who say of college NIL economics "Oh, so all you do now is just write a check and you win" - Nope. Still got to bring the right personnel. Still must plan and execute. And outscore your opponent. Anyone can write a check. Anyone could have hired Cignetti. Indiana did. HOO HOO HOO!!
I almost believe the kid on the dying thing.
bagoh2o said,
"Was there no burning of cop cars, or looting, no twerking?
When people say MAGA, this is part of what they mean. I'm neither religious nor a Hoosier, but more of this, please."
I can assure you that 80-90 percent of the faces in that crowd voted for Harris. When I was at IU from 1973-1978 we ranked third in the Big 10 for radicalism behind Michigan and Wisconsin. Little has changed since then. That said, I'm also glad to see people celebrating without rioting.
@mongo - this was true in the 70's as well. Bloomington is a very blue island in a red state.
According to my sources, Miami is looking for someone to make a Hoosier Boiler.
Aha - I read that as 80s instead of 70s. Got it. You understand it all. Daily fliers from InPIRG, lining up at Ashram Bakery...
Although Fernando Mendoza is what--23 or 24 now? He still looks and talks like a good kid.
He says he's willing to die for his team. If he's drafted by the Raiders he might get a chance to do that.
Good game, well played by both teams--each had a half where they dominated.
Dave Begley: Mendoza did not have Yale scholarship offer. Ivy League does not allow sports scholarships. But FYI he started high school at Miami Jesuit prep. But switched to Marist football power his dad had attended.
Readering:
1. I know all about that fake “no athletic” scholarships policy at the Ivy League schools.
2. I knew I liked that kid. Jesuit education for at least one year.
I don't.
"I can assure you that 80-90 percent of the faces in that crowd voted for Harris. "
Maybe a little high, but I get it.
It's frustrating that people vote for one thing, but choose to live the opposite. Do Harris voters really want riots in their town, criminals released, cops assaulted, high taxes, homelessness? So, why do they vote for people who give them that. It seems relatively retarded.
"Why was Curt Cignetti "waxing tables"? What does that even mean - was he using Pledge? Some other waxing product? On his office desk? Some other sort of table?"
I know! I tried to find out. Grok: "Cignetti himself had to handle basic maintenance tasks like waxing the staff table (likely meaning cleaning/polishing it with wax, as part of keeping the facility tidy in a low-budget program). He also mentioned taking out the trash himself in those days."
Made me think of the routine in the Marx Brothers film "Horse Feathers."
The professor's secretary rushes in and says "The Dean is furious! He's waxing wroth!"
The professor (Groucho): "Is Roth out there too? Tell Roth to wax the Dean for a while."
My all-time favorite pun.
Waxing eloquent.
NFL life is going to make it tough for Fernando to give a lot of glory to God. I never understood why God needed or wanted glory. Isn't it enough to be God? What does he not have, aside from the Nobel Peace Prize?
Maybe he can borrow Obama's.
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