‘Unbelievable’: Hoosiers fans rejoice in Miami after defeating UM
History was made at Miami Gardens’ Hard Rock Stadium on Monday night.
The Indiana Hoosiers ended a perfect season with 21-27 victory over the Hurricanes, who put up a good fight.
The Indiana Hoosiers fans who made the trip to South Florida saw return on their investment. Brad Alford traveled to Miami from Los Angeles and was glad to talk about the victory.
“The whole thing has been unbelievable,” he said. “If someone would’ve told me two years ago that we would’ve had the top football team and be better than Alabama, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
Alford graduated from Indiana University’s business school in 1980 and waited decades for this moment. He quickly rushed off to find somewhere to buy a celebratory beer at Hard Rock Stadium.
Indiana Hoosiers fans of all ages filled the stadium, one drove 17 hours to watch the game.
Indiana University freshman Jack Alberti traveled from the school’s Bloomington campus to Miami for the game with his father, Merritt. Alberti believes he’s a “good luck charm” for Indiana and played high school football with Indiana offensive lineman Bray Lynch in Texas.
“I just started rooting for them this year,” Jack Alberti said. “They were my favorite team since August. I’m getting Snapchats from my friends, and they’re going crazy up there.”
Brandt Kimmel has been an Indiana season ticket holder for years and supports their all the teams — from women’s volleyball to football. He didn’t expect them to win it all this year, but he was pleasantly surprised when they did.
“We had our woes” said Kimmel. “And now we’re national champions.”
Monday night’s game marked the end of the best football season in school history. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana’s starting quarterback, is a Christopher Columbus High alum and won the game in his hometown of Miami against a team that didn’t recruit him.
UM head coach Mario Cristobal even played high school football with Mendoza’s dad.
The Hurricanes might have hosted the big game in their backyard, but Indiana fans were able to go home with their first college football championship.
Lauren and Bryce Daugherty, both IU alumni, left their 1-year-old daughter with family so they could make it to Monday night’s game. The couple is excited that their alma mater is now being recognized for more than just basketball.
“We did it,” Lauren said. “We were a basketball school. This changed things.”
This story was originally published January 20, 2026 at 12:13 AM.
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