I don’t say this because of the murderer’s row that Miami faced in the playoffs or how they’ve peaked at the right time. I say this because they’re playing in Miami, they’re bigger in the trenches, they run the ball very well, and their defense is built to keep a QB like Mendoza under wraps.

This Indiana team reminds me of the 2014 Ducks team. We killed FSU because of their turnovers and then we got worn down by a more physical Ohio State team despite forcing four turnovers. If the Canes run the ball consistently without trying to be cute they can wear the Hoosiers defense down. They can’t rely on Beck. They have to play Mario-ball.

I think I'll be rooting for Miami. I don't like Cinderellas, and I don't like disruption to the status quo. Miami and Cristobol are just about the last team/person I want to root for, though. I might only dislike Notre Dame and Alabama less.

Nyet. IU rolls. They are that good. (And does anyone else find it interesting that they almost always start their defense toward the direction of the play... AT the beginning of the play ... before the ball carrier gets the ball? Sometimes I think they must be getting the O's play in advance. Hmm. Dunno.

But they are great in all 3 phases of the game.

Indiana just completely punked Alabama and Oregon, I’d expect more of the same.

Indiana in a game that is not as close as it will look. We are witnessing a historic run. I’ll say that until I’m proven wrong.

26 minutes ago, Gizmoduck said:

Indiana in a game that is not as close as it will look. We are witnessing a historic run. I’ll say that until I’m proven wrong.

Indiana’s rout of Oregon has me thinking they’ll hand it to Miami as well.

Mendoza, who languished at Cal for three years, will have extra incentive (not that he needs it) going up against Miami. He’s a local kid who wanted to play for the Hurricanes, and they didn’t offer him a scholarship.

After having won the Heisman, nothing would be sweeter for him than beating Miami on the biggest stage in college football …. In his hometown.

You could really tell Mendoza wants a shot at the U

If Mendoza plays like he did the last two games, Miami has no chance IMO.

Edited 15 hours ago15 hr by GeotechDuck

Doctor, Doctor, Mr. MD, what did I see that you don't see?

T-H-A-T was a clinic. It couldn't have started worse, but hope abounded with Oregon's first impressive drive that tied the game. Then ...

Curt Gignetti must have found a wormhole to the city Kandor on planet Krypton, visited Jor-El, and brought back a bottle of Superman Sauce to Bloomington, Indiana. A bunch of 3* players just blew out Blue Chip Roster Bama by 35 points and OBD by 34 points, and is on the way to breaking the BCR championship glass ceiling.

After coming up Roses, Curt and Fernando topped it off with Peaches and Cream in a 'home' game played in a stadium that is Dan Lanning's Kryptonite. D-A-N do not go A-T-L again, please.

In the Rose Bowl, Fernando had more TDs than incompletions. Last night, it looked like he had a laser in his hand. OBD's coverage was not terrible. Fernando's throws were on time and spot on.

Kalen DeBoer and Dan Lanning did not fall off the last pumpkin wagon through town. The Duck defense schooled a Texas Tech team that was averaging 40 points a game. Last night?

If Mario can defeat these guys with every advantage going his way, hats off. I watched Miami lose in Hard Rock Stadium to an average Louisville team. I saw Miami doing everything it could Thursday night to give the game away to an Ole Miss team with far less talent on both LOS than Indiana. Against a disciplined Indiana team, Miami will not overcome drive killing penalties.

I won't be surprised if Indiana has an equal number or more fans in the stadium on January 19th. I know for certain that Indiana will have the better coach on the sideline and a QB better than Carson Beck at his best.

I think the Hoosiers cover the 7.5. And you may hate teams wearing a Glass Slipper, but this game is Big for the B1G, and the Big Ten's reputation, a reputation that pundits and pollsters across the country are waking up to. Three in a row by three different B1G teams will halp seal the deal.

Mendoza comes home, plays the team with the campus Fernando walked by on his way to school, and schools Mario and The U.

14 hours ago, DrJacksPlaidPants said:

I don’t say this because of the murderer’s row that Miami faced in the playoffs or how they’ve peaked at the right time. I say this because they’re playing in Miami, they’re bigger in the trenches, they run the ball very well, and their defense is built to keep a QB like Mendoza under wraps.

This Indiana team reminds me of the 2014 Ducks team. We killed FSU because of their turnovers and then we got worn down by a more physical Ohio State team despite forcing four turnovers. If the Canes run the ball consistently without trying to be cute they can wear the Hoosiers defense down. They can’t rely on Beck. They have to play Mario-ball.

Not a chance. At least Miami will have more than 1,500 fans in attendance, not that it will help...

This will be another game over at halftime. Too many players on Indiana with 3,4,5 and 6 years experience.

Edited 11 hours ago11 hr by 1Ducker1

The Fighting Google Me 42

The Fighting Mario’s 10

With all due respect, nope.

IU 38 - Miami 18

5 hours ago, Jon Joseph said:

Doctor, Doctor, Mr. MD, what did I see that you don't see?

T-H-A-T was a clinic. It couldn't have started worse, but hope abounded with Oregon's first impressive drive that tied the game. Then ...

Curt Gignetti must have found a wormhole to the city Kandor on planet Krypton, visited Jor-El, and brought back a bottle of Superman Sauce to Bloomington, Indiana. A bunch of 3* players just blew out Blue Chip Roster Bama by 35 points and OBD by 34 points, and is on the way to breaking the BCR championship glass ceiling.

After coming up Roses, Curt and Fernando topped it off with Peaches and Cream in a 'home' game played in a stadium that is Dan Lanning's Kryptonite. D-A-N do not go A-T-L again, please.

In the Rose Bowl, Fernando had more TDs than incompletions. Last night, it looked like he had a laser in his hand. OBD's coverage was not terrible. Fernando's throws were on time and spot on.

Kalen DeBoer and Dan Lanning did not fall off the last pumpkin wagon through town. The Duck defense schooled a Texas Tech team that was averaging 40 points a game. Last night?

If Mario can defeat these guys with every advantage going his way, hats off. I watched Miami lose in Hard Rock Stadium to an average Louisville team. I saw Miami doing everything it could Thursday night to give the game away to an Ole Miss team with far less talent on both LOS than Indiana. Against a disciplined Indiana team, Miami will not overcome drive killing penalties.

I won't be surprised if Indiana has an equal number or more fans in the stadium on January 19th. I know for certain that Indiana will have the better coach on the sideline and a QB better than Carson Beck at his best.

I think the Hoosiers cover the 7.5. And you may hate teams wearing a Glass Slipper, but this game is Big for the B1G, and the Big Ten's reputation, a reputation that pundits and pollsters across the country are waking up to. Three in a row by three different B1G teams will halp seal the deal.

Mendoza comes home, plays the team with the campus Fernando walked by on his way to school, and schools Mario and The U.

I was watching an interview on how Ohio State beat Miami in the 2003 national championship. They cited their ability to get four yards on first down and lean on the run to slow the game to a crawl. Fortunately, they had the talent and personnel to do that.

This caused Miami’s prolific offense to get out of sync which was aided by Ohio State’s very underrated defense. The knee injury to McGahee didn’t help Miami, but the Buckeyes defense was playing well anyway.

The reason why I have such a hot take on the national championship game is because of the following reasons:

1) I believe Miami has the running game to slow the game down and keep Mendoza on the sideline. I think if they hadn’t tried to get cute on a couple of drives they could’ve closed Ole Miss out without much drama. Their lack of composure needs to be remedied as well.

2) Miami has a great pass rush. It’s better than any one I’ve seen in the Big 10. Bain and Mesidor are a DC’s dream. This will be the best pass rush Mendoza has faced.

Now, the double digit prediction win is a huge guess, but when a favored team is down at the end of the game they might try to make plays they normally wouldn’t when trying to come back. For example, a run blitz on 3rd and short with under two minutes left and down 3 points. It’s a great opportunity to break through the line for a long run (remember Oregon/Stanford in 2010?). Keep in mind, a ten point win is double digits.

Thank you, Doctor, for providing more of your champ game thoughts.

Yes, Miami has a fearsome pass rush, but Mendoza has a quick release and is en fuego. Back-to-back games against quality Ds where Mendoza has thrown more TDs than incompletions. Indiana's O-line will be the best Miami has played against in the postseason.

The Ducks' DBs had Indiana's receivers covered, but with the quality of Indiana's receivers, you can't stop a passing attack when the QB is making perfect throws. I think Indiana is better than Miami at every position on offense, including QB.

Texas A&M was exposed late when it played its only SEC opponent that finished with a winning record and lost when its offense struggled.

Ryan Day played with a slow tempo on offense in the first half, just what Miami wanted to see. Ohio State did not run the ball that well all season; the O-line was the Buckeyes' weakest position. Ohio State's QB was up for the Heisman Award, but his inexperience showed in the Cotton Bowl.

Miami played undisciplined football against an Ole Miss team not talented enough to take advantage of the miscues.

Of course, Miami, playing on its home field, could win it all. But Indiana is on a roll and just blew out two teams, Bama and OBD, that I think would defeat the Canes.

It's a fascinating champ game. Indiana fans will show up in droves and will be loud. And I do not see Cignetti and friends being outcoached.

In 2019 (2020 NCG) I thought the Clemson Tigers had the talent to take down LSU. However, they tried to score with them and it didn’t work out so well. When teams have similar styles of offense the more talented offense wins. When they have opposite styles it can lead to upsets although the examples are few.

The 1986 Nittany Lions, 2002 Buckeyes, and a couple of Stanford/Oregon games come to mind (2012 for them and 2015 for us).

Miami and Indiana have one common opponent in OSU. Both played them tight and held them to two scores.

Doctor, no matter which team wins it all, it's going to cost a lot of money to rock hard in Miami. 🤑

https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/breaking-news/article/national-championship-game-ticket-prices-are-historically-high-ahead-of-indianas-matchup-against-miami-160159214.html

Yes, those ticket prices are high. And, trips to Pasadena and Atlanta weren't cheap for Hoosier fans. But, any long-term Hoosier fan understands the net cost per season of amortizing the cost of this 3-game run over 100 years of futility.

Dr J you’re relying on a game played in 2003, before most of the players in the coming NC game were born, and another game played in 2020, when they were still in high school? Really?