Indiana erases forgettable history with unforgettable title - ESPN

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The distance between the frozen 50-yard line at Memorial Stadium, home to the Hoosiers of Bloomington, Indiana, to the center of the field of Miami's Hard Rock Stadium, where those Hoosiers did snow angels in red and white confetti celebrating a College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday night, is 1,166 miles.

But it's a hell of a lot of further than that.

It is also 715 losses, which was the most recorded by any team in the 156 years of college football. Was. It was an all-time bowl record of 3-8. Was. It was zero double-digit win seasons since 1887. Was. It was the promise of so many coaches hired — nine from 1982 to 2023 — brought to town with so much energy, from Lee Corso and Cam Cameron to Gerry DiNardo to Kevin Wilson to Tom Allen. All flirted with winning, all teased the fan base with signs of success, but all ultimately left town as just another letdown with another folder full of losing records.

Was no outright Big Ten titles since 1945. Was no appearances in the Big Ten championship game. Zero weeks atop the AP Top 25 poll. No Heisman winners. No Rose Bowl wins. No national titles.

Was. Was. Was. Was.

All that came before — more accurately, all that never came before — was swept away in a wave of was Monday night. So many years. So many games. So many moments of acceptance that, well, hell, Indiana is just never going to be good at football. Gone. Erased by way of a thrilling 27-21 victory over a resurgent college football blue blood, the Miami Hurricanes, and in Miami's home stadium. The kid who won that Heisman won the game not with the arm that earned his accolades, but with a bulldozer 12-yard touchdown run. And a team that made its living breathlessly outscoring teams