Indiana football bold predictions for the CFP national championship game against Miami

Indiana is a historically bad football program. The school has an all-time record of 514-517-46 and has never won a state championship. Now they have the opportunity to make school history beating Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship game on Monday night.

Indiana has been nothing short of dominant this season. They are 15-0, the only undefeated team in the nation. It was a 12-0 regular season, scoring 50 or more points six times during the season. Furthermore, they allowed over 15 points just twice during the regular season. They won ten of their 12 regular season games by ten or more points. The Hooisers extended their dominance to the Big Ten Championship against Ohio State. While the game ended 13-10, Indiana did not give up a point in the second half due to a strong Ohio State offense.

The playoffs were more than a game. In the CFP quarterfinals at the Rose Bowl, Indiana’s offense was clicking on all cylinders, as was its defense. They beat Alabama 38-3. Then, in the CFP semifinals at the Peach Bowl against Oregon, Indiana flexed its muscles once again. Indiana opened the game with a Dante Moore pick-six just 11 seconds into the game. Oregon would tie the game, but Omar Cooper hauled in a pass from Fernando Mendoza to make it 14-7 at the end of the first quarter. Indiana then scored 21 points in the second quarter to take a 35-7 lead at the end of the first half. The Hoisers would add 21 more points while forcing three turnovers in the game. Indiana punched a ticket to the national championship with a 56-22 win over Oregon.

Miami was solid in its own right. They are 13-2 on the season, after a 10-2 regular season. Miami did not play for the ACC Championship, despite going 10-2 and tied for second place. The Canes missed out on a five-game tiebreaker against Duke. Regardless, the team made it to the playoffs, but as the tenth seed. They would dominate the defense in the first two rounds, allowing just 17 total points in wins over Texas A&M and Ohio State. The offense would make an appearance in the CFP semifinals against Ole Miss, winning the game 31-27. As they look to stop Indiana’s historic streak, it’s time to make three bold predictions about the Hooisers in this game.

Miami struggles to slow Indiana’s run

Miami’s defense has been great this year. They are fifth in opponent points per game while 11th in opponent yards per game. They are fifth against the run, while they are 50th against the pass. Although the defense was great, they will struggle with Indiana’s run in this game. The Hoosiers are third in points per game, while they are 16th in yards per game. They are also 11th in rushing and 60th in passing. The Hoosiers have a great backfield with Roman Hamby and Kaelon Black.

Hamby led the backfield this year, entering the game with 1,060 yards and seven touchdowns. Furthermore, he has run for 194 in the last three games with a touchdown. Black has run for 961 yards this year and then scores a touchdown. He’s been on fire lately, running for 231 yards and three touchdowns in the last three games. Further, he has been a major threat in the running game, with at least one run of 20 or more yards in each of the last three games.

If Miami can shut down Hamby and Black, they will have to deal with Mendoza. Let alone the fact that Mendoza had more touchdowns than fumbles last time, he is great on earth. He ran for 284 yards and six scores this year. Between Hamby, Black and Mendoza, the trio would run for over 200 yards and two touchdowns.

Carson Beck is being tormented by Indiana’s defense

Indiana’s defense is second in the nation in opponent points per game and fourth in opponent yards per game. They are third against the run and 26th against the pass. Miami has shown they will give the ball away, and Indiana showed last week that they can force turnovers. They are eighth in the country in interception rate.

Carson Beck showed earlier this year that he can throw the last interception, including a pick against Louisville. The quarterback has thrown 11 interceptions this year, including six in two losses. Further, he threw one against Ole Miss last timeout that almost cost them the game. Indiana has Roliah Hardy and Isaiah Jones, who will put constant pressure on Beck in this game. Hardy had eight sacks while Jones had seven.

With that pressure, Beck will have to make quick passes, which will lead to some reckless passes. Then Louis Moore or Amare Ferrell will take over. Moore has six interceptions to go along with his two interceptions this year. Ferrell has six passes and four picks. Against Oregon, it was D’Angelo Ponds who had the pick-six. In the national championship, there may not be an interception returned for a touchdown, but the interception is coming, and Moore or Ferrell will have it.

The Hooisers are the champions… and it’s not even close

Indiana hasn’t just been covering games lately; they dominated. They have won by 30 or more points in three of their last four games. Furthermore, they have won 30 or more times eight times this year. On average, Indiana has covered the margin by 22.4 points per game over the last four games. The only game they didn’t cover by more than three points was when they were a 3.5-point underdog at Ohio State, and won by three points, covering by 6.5 points.

Miami has also covered the margin in each of the last four games, but the largest margin they’ve covered is 24.5 points. It was also the biggest margin of the season for the Canes. Miami showed vulnerability against Ole Miss. They had multiple chances to kill Ole Miss earlier in the game, and almost gave up the game. Between the missed field goal and multiple interceptions, they were able to have complete control over the Rebels. Furthermore, the Rebels struggled defensively in the second half.

On the first drive of the second half, Ole Miss missed a field goal. They would hit field goals on each of their next two attempts, then score a touchdown on a six-play, 75-yard drive to take the lead. The offense saved the defense, but there was a clear vulnerability.

Indiana didn’t show an ounce of vulnerability; instead they put their foot on the opponent’s neck. Odds at the time of writingprovided by DraftKings, have Indiana as an 8.5-point favorite. Miami will not only cover that growth, but cover it with more than a touchdown in a win of at least 16 points.