Happy National Championship Monday, Colorado fans!
It might come as a small surprise to you to hear that our 3-9 Buffaloes aren’t playing today, which is a real shame. We’ll get ‘em next year!
That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t cozy up tomorrow night and watch some football, though. We’re in for a real treat, as the #1 Indiana Hoosiers will take on the #10 Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami at 5:30 p.m. local time here in Colorado.
It’s impossible to craft a better narrative headed into
tonight’s game than we already have now. In the span of two seasons, Curt Cignetti has turned a program that was renowned as one of the nation’s bottom dwellers into an absolute buzzsaw, outscoring opponents 94-25 in the CFP en route to the title game. The Hoosiers are led by their Heisman-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who grew up just down the street from the University of Miami and dreamed of being a Hurricane as a kid.
Meanwhile, for the Hurricanes, it’s been a bumpier ride. With Carson Beck as their signal caller, the U has finally broken through, despite two tough losses to Louisville and SMU earlier this season. After beating Texas A&M in perhaps the ugliest rock fight of the season in the opening round of the playoffs, they bottled up #2 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl and outlasted Trinidad Chambliss and #6 Ole Miss in the semi-finals. Now, they look to win their first title since 2001 in their own home stadium. Absolute Cinema.
Last week, SB Nation Reacts polled college football fans from across the country to see who they are pulling for this evening. As you’d might expect, the results are pretty one-sided.
It seems that most of America will be bleeding Crimson tonight, with Indiana getting an astounding 83% of the vote.
As Colorado fans, we don’t really have a horse in this race. The Buffs have no history with either Indiana or Miami. There’s no potential media shares for the Big 12 on the table either, so it’s really just a pick ‘em. It’s hard to not root for Cignetti, Mendoza and Indiana, though. It’s just an incredible story.
On the betting side, most fans think the Hoosiers will once again dominate. FanDuel initially had Indiana as 8.5-point favorites, and 77% of fans are taking IU to cover. That line has now shifted to Indiana -7.5.
It isn’t easy to bet against Indiana in this spot, but the spread of -8.5 in the National Championship is a lot of points. The Hurricanes are no pushovers either, with immense talent lining their entire roster. This could really go either way.
Enjoy the game tonight, Colorado fans! We’ll be back here at Ralphie Report for more Football recruiting news and basketball content as the Buffs prepare to take on the Kansas Jayhawks at home on Tuesday.
