Miami and Indiana turned college football final into one of the toughest tickets in memory

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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Take a long-downtrodden team that happens to have the world's largest alumni base and another playing a home game while in search of its first national title in 25 years and the math is simple.

This is the toughest ticket in town. And, in fact, Monday night's title game between Indiana and Miami will be among the most expensive tickets in college football history.

According to Ticketdata, the lowest “get-in” price at Hard Rock Stadium, not far from the Miami campus, was $3,652 about 24 hours before kickoff. That's 8% off what it had been earlier in the week, but still in position to be the most expensive price since the data started being tracked in 2009.

Why all the hype?

Indiana (15-0) is on an historic run. A program that played in a grand total of 13 bowl games in the 130-some years before coach Curt Cignetti arrived in 2024 is now on the cusp of an undefeated season and a national title.

Cignetti let his players bask in the history for a few days, then the festivities surrounding the CFP final for a few more. Then, it was time for business.

“I think it’s time to sharpen the saw now, throw those warm fuzzies out the door, that sentimentalism,” Cignetti said. “It’s time to go play a game against a great opponent.”

The Hoosiers bring the Heisman Trophy winner into the game, quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who grew up within walking distance of Miami — fondly known as “The U.”

Of all the great stats Mendoza has compiled this season, this might be the best: In two playoff wins over Alabama and Oregon by a combined score of 94-25, he has more touchdown passes (8) than incompletions (5).

Trying to corral him will be Miami pass rushers Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor, who have given offensive linemen fits throughout a 13-2 season that placed the Hurricanes one win away from their first title since 2001.

“I don’t need no outside noise,” Bain said of the hype — about the title game and his prospects as an NFL first-round draft pick. "Just the love from people from Miami.”

The Hoosiers are 8 1/2-point favorites, according to MGM SportsBook, though the betting numbers that tell this story the best are 100-1. Those were the odds on both these teams at different points during a season that produced two unlikely finalists that were products of two unlikely turnarounds.

The secret to the success? No secret, says Miami coach Mario Cristobal.

“Very, very simple. Football is not complicated — blocking, tackling, angles, numbers, leverage,” he said. “People are complicated, and people complicate things surrounding football. The right people with the right intentions working the right way, that's undefeated.”

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