Monday was the biggest night in College Football for the season and it simply did not disappoint. In a very entertaining football game, the University of Indiana Hoosiers, the number one seed in College Football this season, defeated the University of Miami Hurricanes 27-21 in the College Football Championship game.
This was a monumental championship for the Hoosiers, as they have never won a college football championship game in the past. They had won two Big Ten Championships (1945 and 1967), but never College Football’s National Championship.
Success in other sports
The Hoosiers are best known historically for the success of their men’s basketball program. They were national champions in 1940, 1953, 1976, 1981 and 1987. The most notable team of the five came in 1976, as the Hoosiers had a perfect season with a record of 32 wins and zero losses. In fact, the Hoosiers are the last national champions in College Basketball to go undefeated.
Indiana also has had great men’s swimming success in the past. From 1968 to 1973, the Hoosiers won six straight national championships. The Hoosiers’s top swimmer in this time was Mark Spitz of Modesto, California. Spitz won nine Olympic gold medals for the United States, including seven gold medals alone at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. Indiana has also won three national championship in cross country running (1938, 1940 and 1942), one national championship in outdoor track and field (1932), eight in men’s soccer (1982, 1983, 1988, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004 and 2012), and one in men’s wrestling (1932).
Inside Look at the Championship Game
The Hoosiers were led in the Championship game by Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza of Boston, Massachusetts. Mendoza, who was the first Heisman Trophy winner to come out of the University of Indiana, completed 16 of 27 passes for 186 passing yards. However, it was Mendoza’s amazing 12 yard run into the end zone for a major score that will be forever remembered most. Mendoza’s major score came on a play when the Hoosiers gambled on fourth and four, and extended their lead from 17-14 to 24-14 with nine minutes and 18 seconds left in the contest. Mendoza was the offensive player of the game.
The defensive player of the game was Mikail Kamara of Ashburn, Virginia. Kamara, a junior defensive end, had three tackles. The selection committee got the defensive player of the game wrong. It should have gone to defensive back Jamari Sharpe of Miami, Florida, who recorded a game-winning interception with 44 seconds left in the game to stop a Hurricanes drive.
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