The Indiana Hoosiers winning a national championship in football was an absurd proposition until about two years ago but everyone is waking up to that reality after Curt Cignetti's team outlasted Miami on Monday night in an instant classic. Indiana collected its 16th win of the season in the same manner it earned the first 15—with a reliance on Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza to come up big when it mattered and clutch play from all three units. The Hoosiers saw their star quarterback gut out an incredible fourth-down run and their punt block team change the game with a touchdown. Then it was up to the defense to seal things against a hard-charging Hurricanes offense led by Carson Beck.
And they did just that as Jamari Sharpe came up with a championship-clinching interception in the game's final minute. This was a thrilling climax to a great game—and the moment legendary Hoosiers broadcaster Don Fischer has been waiting over 52 years to narrate.
