It’s been a little bit strange reading and listening to previews of the Miami and Indiana National Title Game. I’ve never seen one team, in this case Indiana, be so heavily favored versus an opponent when the teams are basically a wash at the line of scrimmage on both sides. In fact, some college football observers even say Miami is better on both lines. Yet few give Miami a chance to win.
Here are a few reasons Miami is going to beat Indiana.
- Miami is light years better than Alabama, and Oregon are the lines of scrimmage. Alabama couldn’t run the ball on air, and came into the playoffs playing poorly. They probably shouldn’t haven’t even been in the playoffs. Oregon offensively was a mess against Texas Tech, and there wasn’t any reason to think that it wouldn’t be different against Indiana, and it wasn’t either.
- Miami has seen it all in the playoffs. From playing against 100K fans at Texas A&M, to the power and talent of Ohio State, to the elite QB play of Ole Miss. Indiana, on the other hand, played an extremely flawed Alabama team and an offensively erratic Oregon team.
- The Canes may be able to limit Indiana’s possessions in a way few teams can. When Indiana has struggled, it’s been against teams that turned the game into a lower-possession, lower-scoring game and had the better offensive and defensive lines on their schedule. Again, we go back to Miami at the lines. It’s the best on both sides Indiana has seen all year. Mark Fletcher Jr. is a power running back who can give Indiana fits.
Now to the other side… why Miami isn’t going to be able to knock off Indiana.
- Indiana plays as close to flawless as we’ve seen in a long time. They simply don’t make mistakes. Your penalties and mistakes are magnified against the Hoosiers. The Miami team that beat a top 5 Ole Miss was too sloppy in that game to beat Indiana. They need to be the team that removed Ohio State from the playoffs.
- Fernando Mendoza – As well as Carson Beck is playing, Indiana has an advantage at the QB position. That’s the most important position on the field. No team has been able to overcome that all year.
- Curt Cignetti – Cignetti is the ultimate coaching strategist in college football now. If you have a weakness, he’ll find it. Miami is facing the best-coached team they’ve played all year.
The Canes will have to play extremely well, as Indiana will give nothing.
I think Miami is going to lean on its power running game, which will negate Indiana’s superior quickness. It will be a low-possession game that gets to the 4th quarter, Miami wins 20-17.
