College Football Title Game: Indiana’s Cinderella Run Meets Miami’s Grit-Fueled Redemption
It’s a little surreal, isn’t it? Miami is playing for a national championship on its home turf at Hard Rock Stadium - and yet somehow, the spotlight belongs almost entirely to Indiana.
The Hoosiers have taken over the narrative, and rightfully so in many ways. No five-star recruits in the starting lineup.
Just two four-stars. A preseason 100-to-1 longshot.
And now, they’re 60 minutes away from a title.
But here’s the twist: Indiana, the so-called Cinderella, is walking into Monday night as a 7.5-point favorite. That’s not just a nod of respect - it’s the second-largest spread in the history of the College Football Playoff title game.
Vegas isn’t buying the underdog storyline anymore. They see a team that’s been dominant all season, and they expect that to continue.
So what do we make of Miami?
Because while Indiana’s rise has been the feel-good story of the year, Miami’s path to this moment deserves just as much recognition - even if it doesn’t come wrapped in the same underdog packaging.
Let’s start with the quarterback. Carson Beck was supposed to be Georgia’s guy until an elbow injury derailed his season and his standing in Athens.
Miami took the chance, and now Beck is leading a team into the biggest game of the year. Then there’s Malachi Toney - a freshman who was just 17 when the season started - who’s played beyond his years and added a spark to the offense that no one saw coming.
And on the defensive side, Rueben Bain Jr. has been a relentless force off the edge. He’s heard the critiques - too short, not long enough - but he’s answered them with production. When asked again this week about his arm length, Bain just rolled his eyes: “This again?”
Jason Taylor, his position coach and a Hall of Famer who knows a thing or two about being doubted, put it best: “I was told I was too light my whole career. How’d that work out?”
Miami’s not without its own underdog energy - it’s just wrapped in a different package. Head coach Mario Cristobal’s first head coaching job was at FIU.
He was fired. He calls it “the best thing that could’ve happened” to him.
He rebuilt, learned, and climbed his way back to the top of the sport.
Defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman’s résumé reads like a tour of college football’s lesser-known outposts: Fitchburg State, King’s College, Western New England, Old Dominion, Maine. He’s grinded his way to this stage. And along the way, he formed a close bond with Indiana DC Bryant Haines - the two are best friends, and Haines was even the best man at Hetherman’s wedding.
That’s the backdrop to this matchup. On one sideline, Indiana’s improbable run - a team that went undefeated, knocked off Ohio State in the Big Ten title game, and has been steamrolling opponents ever since. On the other, a Miami squad that didn’t even make its conference championship, lost to two unranked teams, and was largely written off before the playoff even began.
Cristobal remembers those moments. The criticism.
The doubt. The whispers that Miami’s season was over.
“Everyone was throwing dirt on our grave already and buried us,” he said. “And that’s good.
It’s good for the soul. It’s good for you from a mentality standpoint so you understand and recognize more than ever that all that matters are the people inside the building.”
That’s the heart of Miami’s story. It’s not a fairy tale.
It’s a fight. A team that clawed its way back from the brink, leaned on each other, and refused to fold when the season could’ve slipped away.
Indiana may have the Cinderella label, but Miami was a 35-to-1 longshot to make it this far. This isn’t a team that stumbled into the spotlight. They earned it, even if they’ve been overshadowed in the lead-up.
And here’s the kicker: the so-called underdog is favored by more than a touchdown. That’s where the fairy tale gets flipped on its head. Indiana may be the darling of the moment, but Miami’s not here to play the supporting role.
“We’re not a fairy tale kind of team,” one Miami official said.
No glass slippers. No magic pumpkins. Just a team that believes it belongs - and is ready to prove it on the biggest stage in college football.