MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes’ best football season in 23 years ended Monday night as the top-ranked Indiana Hoosiers defeated the Canes 27-21 in the College Football Playoff Championship Game before a crowd of 67,227 at Hard Rock Stadium.
 
Miami’s season ended at 13-3 while the Hoosiers finished 16-0 to claim their first national title.
 
After trailing 10-0 at halftime the Canes closed within three points three times but could never catch the Hoosiers, who clinched the victory with an interception at their six-yard line with 44 seconds remaining.
 
Running back Mark Fletcher, Jr., capped a remarkable postseason with 112 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns. Quarterback Carson Beck completed 19 of 32 passes for 232 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Wunderkind wide receiver Malachi Toney paced Miami with 10 catches for 122 yards and one score.
 
Defensive end Rueben Bain racked up eight tackles, one sack and 2.5 tackles for loss. Linebacker Mohamed Toure had 10 stops and linebacker Wesley Bissainthe added eight tackles.
 
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza completed 16 of 27 passes for 186 yards, adding a rushing touchdown. Running backs Kaelon Black and Roman Hemby combined to rush for 139 yards. Wide receiver Omar Cooper caught five passes for 71 yards, while Charlie Becker had four receptions for 65 yards. The Hoosiers went 4 of 4 in the red zone.
 
Indiana forced punts on Miami’s first two possessions and then Mendoza threw a 25-yard dart to Cooper for a first down to jumpstart a drive that got all the way to the Canes 16. But Mendoza’s third down pass to the end zone was broken up by OJ Frederique and the Hoosiers settled for a 34-yard field goal by Nicolas Radicic to take a 3-0 lead.
 
In the second quarter an offsides penalty on Bain gave Indiana second life and third down and Black burst up the middle for 20 yards to move the chains. Two plays later Mendoza connected with Becker for 15 yards to set up first and goal at the five-yard line. Tight end Riley Nowakowski later bulled into the end zone from a yard out and IU had a double-digit lead with 6:13 left in the first half.
 
On the next drive Fletcher moved the chains on a fourth down run and on the next play Beck found wide receiver CJ Daniels for 25 yards to the Indiana 40. But the drive stalled, and Carter Davis missed a 50-yard field goal attempt. The Hoosiers took a 10-0 lead into the locker room after holding Miami to just 69 total yards.
 
Bain sacked Mendoza to thwart IU’s opening possession of the second half and Miami took over at its 38. Two plays later Fletcher burst through a hole in the right side of the line and raced 57 yards for a touchdown. The Canes were on the board, and it was a three-point game again.
 
But later in the third quarter, defensive lineman Mikail Kamara blocked Dylan Joyce’s punt deep in Miami territory and linebacker Isaiah Jones pounced on the loose ball in the end zone. The Hoosiers extended their lead to 17-7.
 
On the ensuing drive, Beck scrambled and found Daniels for 24 yards to convert a key third down. Two plays later he hit Toney on a 22-yard catch-and-run to move the ball to the 12-yard line. Fletcher covered the remaining dozen yards on three carries and cut IU’s lead back to three points three seconds into the fourth quarter.
 
The Hoosiers crossed midfield before facing a 4^th and 5 at the Canes 37. Mendoza hit Becker down the right sideline for 19 yards to move the chains. Miami’s defense forced another fourth down try and this time Mendoza ran it himself for a 12-yard touchdown. IU’s lead was back up to 24-14.
 
Beck responded, connecting with tight end Alex Bauman for 22 yards before hitting Toney for a 41-yard gain to the Indiana 22. Two plays later Toney took a shovel pass from Beck and danced his way through the secondary and into the end zone. The Canes drove 91 yards in just 2:34 and It was a 24-21 game with 6:37 left on the clock.
 
Indiana marched all the way down to the Miami 17 and Radicic kicked a 33-yard field goal to increase the Hoosiers’ lead to six points. The Canes used all three of their timeouts and there was 1:42 on the clock.
 
IU was flagged for roughing the passer, which gave Miami some breathing room. Beck then drove the Canes down to the Indiana 41 but was picked off by Jamari Sharpe near the end zone with 44 seconds left to seal the win.