Indiana beats Miami in college football national championship thriller to clinch first-ever title

The University of Indiana Hoosiers football team clinched its first-ever College Football Playoffs championship title, winning 27-21 against the University of Miami Hurricanes in a nail-biter. 

The undefeated Hoosiers team dominated early and entered the second half up 10 points. The new champions fended off several attempts at a Miami comeback in the second half.

The game, played in the Miami Gardens home stadium of the Hurricanes, was a homecoming of sorts for Hoosier quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who was born and raised in Miami. This game was the first time the college football sensation played in his hometown during his collegiate career. 

Mendoza also won the coveted Heisman trophy this season, making him the eighth player to win the award and the College Football Playoffs championship in the same season, according to the NCAA.

President Donald Trump was in attendance and was spotted earlier in the evening waving to the crowd and standing alongside his family during the national anthem. In addition to members of the Trump family, the president was joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Miami native who represented the State of Florida in the U.S. Senate before joining the administration.