CFP National Championship first look: Previewing Miami-Indiana - ESPN

The journey began in August with 136 teams hoping to taste postseason glory. During 15 weeks of twists and turns, the cast was narrowed to 12. In the past month, favorites have fallen, heroes have emerged, and at last, just two teams have found their way to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, where a champion will be crowned.

Miami and Indiana will face off (7:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 19) to determine this season's champion, a matchup few might've anticipated when the year began. So many huge moments have turned on a mystifying scramble or a shoestring tackle or, occasionally, a little luck. But what's clear after watching the Hurricanes and the Hoosiers march through the 2025-26 season is these two teams have earned their place in the title game, and the matchup figures to be one of the best this season has to offer. — David Hale

When: Jan. 19, 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN

What we learned in the semifinal: Carson Beck can carry this team. Few players have endured the level of criticism Beck has in the past two years, for struggles real and perceived, on the field and off. He has managed it with grace, endearing himself to his teammates, and, despite two frustrating midseason failures, he has delivered Miami to the promised land. If there had been any doubts about whether Miami won because of, or in spite of, Beck, the QB offered an emphatic answer in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, driving the Canes 75 yards on 15 plays and capping a game-defining and program-altering scramble into the end zone that carried Miami past Ole Miss. Beck faced 15 third downs in the game. He converted 11 of them, completing 7 of 9 throws and running for 25 yards. «The last two games, you probably hadn't seen him throwing it enough,» receiver Keelan Marion said after the