It has been a college football season full of firsts for the Indiana Hoosiers, while the Miami Hurricanes have reminded fans of the past in 2025. Regardless of the outcome of the national championship, it has already been the best season in Indiana history.
Indiana has long been known as a basketball powerhouse, winning five national championships in hoops. Now, head coach Curt Cignetti is making the Hoosiers known for football, not just basketball.
Indiana has never won a college football national championship, something Cignetti hopes changes against Miami. As for he Hurricanes, Miami has won five national championships.
Despite being a historic program, it has been a long drought for Miami who last won a national championship in 2001. Indiana is hoping the Hoosiers are just getting started, in football that is.
Here’s what you need to know about Indiana and Miami’s national championship history in college football.
Heading Into the Miami Game, Indiana Has Never Won a National Championship
Indiana is already making history by reaching their first national title game. The Hoosiers won their first Big Ten championship since 1967 this season. Indiana also won the program’s first ever Rose Bowl on the way to the national championship.
Cignetti did not wait until Indiana started winning before he put the college football world on notice. The Indiana coach went viral for his “Google me” comment as well as calling out Big Ten rivals before the Hoosiers had even played a game under Cignetti.
Yet, Cignetti already had plenty of success at James Madison, and the Hoosiers coach believed the program needed some confidence after he was hired in November 2023.
“We had pretty much won championships year in and year out, and doom and gloom on the Indiana side, and that’s kind of why I got out there a little bit the way I did,” Cignetti explained during a January 17, 2026, media session. “I knew I was out on a limb. I had to find out if the fan base was dead or on life support.
“The basketball game was the first thing, and then ‘Google me’ was our press conference, signing day press conference when I was asked the same question for about the 14th time.”
Miami Has Won 5 National Championships in College Football
Miami is searching for the program’s sixth national championship. The Hurricanes notched college football national titles in 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991 and 2001.
Michael Irvin is not just a massive Miami fan but helped the Hurricanes win a national championship under legendary coach Jimmy Johnson in 1987. Irvin’s message to the current Miami players? Don’t waste this championship opportunity.
“I don’t know that anybody could ever say they’ve been around anybody that worked harder than I’ve worked at any level,” Irvin told WGN Chicago ahead of the national title matchup. “But I still say, ‘I wish I would have put more in.’
“I won championships and I’m happy about my career, but I still say, ‘I wish I would have put more in.’ I want them to understand these times are special.”
Has Miami QB Carson Beck Ever Won a National Championship?
Carson Beck is in his first season with Miami, but already had a standout career at Georgia. Heading into the 2026 national title clash, Beck already holds two national championships.
Beck won two national titles with Georgia (2021, 2022). A win over Indiana would mark Beck’s third national championship, but his first title as a team’s starting quarterback.
Has Indiana or Miami Ever Won a College Football National Championship?