Mendoza won this season’s Heisman Trophy en route to an undefeated season and tonight’s College Football Playoff championship game against the University of Miami Hurricanes. In the 2024 season, the Hoosiers went 11-2 and made it to the College Football Playoff for the first time. Between the 2015 and 2023, every title game included Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia or Clemson, and on six occasions, the title game included two of those teams. But by 2023, teams built under this new system were making waves: That year, Texas Christian made the national championship game. Last year’s title game, in which Michigan defeated Washington, was the first title game in the playoff era that neither of the four powerhouse teams mentioned above made it that far.

Source: New York Times January 19, 2026 21:30 UTC