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The 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship is headed to Indiana. Top-seeded Indiana won its first ever football championship on Monday, outlasting the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes 27-21 in a game that started murky but ended in a thriller. Things started relatively slow for both sides, as Indiana took just a 10-0 lead into halftime with Miami’s offense getting nothing going on the ground or over the top. But, as usual in low-scoring college first halves, the script flipped in the final two quarters. Miami woke up to put the pressure on the Hoosiers, but Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza stepped up and Hurricanes QB1 Carson Beck couldn’t. Beck had the chance to deliver a game-winning drive, but forced a deep pass that was picked off. Indiana held on 27-21, winning the program’s first ever football title in its debut appearance while Miami’s wait since 2001 persists, despite being at home in Hard Rock Stadium. Let’s analyze the game further with winners and losers: MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL COVERAGE College Football Dec 19, 2025 Who has the most College Football Playoff appearances, championships? NCAA Football Dec 9, 2024 These schools have the most Heisman Trophy winners in college football history College Football Dec 6, 2025 Indiana had the most losses in college football history. Now it's a championship contender. WINNER: Fernando Mendoza, Indiana The Heisman winner and potential No. 1 pick had all the eyes on him tonight. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but he displayed the grit and poise needed at the next level. Mendoza threw for 186 yards on 16 of 27 completions, while also rushing for the key 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. He’ll still need to polish his game more to truly thrive in the NFL, especially if the Las Vegas Raiders believe he’s the QB1 that can elevate their trajectory. But for now, he can bask in the moment. LOSER: Carson Beck, Miami On the other hand, it was a slightly different story for Miami’s QB1. Carson Beck, 23, could’ve had his moment to change the narrative on his college career — and boost his potential draft odds in the process. He overcame a slow start and displayed much better command in the second half, finishing with 232 passing yards and a touchdown on 19 of 32 completions. But the lone pick might just summarize his five-year collegiate run best — a competitive college option but not at the level required to win the majors. WINNER: Mark Fletcher Jr., Miami Most eyes were on Mendoza’s legitimacy to go No. 1, but Miami had an opportunity to show off some of its skill players as well. Malachi Toney, a rising 18-year-old wideout, seized his moments and will be one to watch for the future. Junior running back Mark Fletcher Jr. also stood out, and he could even be NFL ready if he declared. Fletcher Jr. reflected Miami’s stagnant offense in the first half but helped open it up in the second, ending the game with 112 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. He enjoyed a career-best 57-yard run, also the second-longest touchdown in a BCS final. LOSER: Third-down efficiency Indiana’s defense ranked among the top in several defensive statistics this season, and getting off the field on third downs was a major reason why. The Hoosiers at one point limited Miami to being 0-for-6 on third downs. Miami finished with a 3-for-11 rate, while Indiana went 6-for-15. Miami’s defense delivered an underrated performance, but Mendoza helped chip at the margins where Beck couldn’t. Had the Hurricanes improved their rate in the first half, apart from the doinked field-goal try, this could’ve been a different ball game. WINNER: Curt Cignetti, Indiana In an era where there’s a power vacuum at the college football summit, Indiana might have something brewing. The Hoosiers are far from a football powerhouse, but they’ve flipped from being terrible to national champs in two years under Curt Cignetti. The 64-year-old is revered by his players and has built a sturdy culture beyond Mendoza,…

Families danced, sang to old school classics, and shouted in excitement during the City of Dallas’ Martin Luther King Day Celebration on Monday. After the kickoff ceremony, dance performances followed on a shutdown MLK Blvd, setting the stage for the 2026 City of Dallas MLK Parade. The event was hosted and produced by the nonprofit H.E.L.P. (Hope Encourage Love Protect). The theme of this year’s event was “Marching in Unity with Purpose.” Organizers told NBC 5 that as the gathering grows each year, its mission remains the same: Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, his legacy and bringing communities together. According to H.E.L.P, there were over 200 entries for the parade. Those entries included floats, dance teams, cultural organizations, first responders, youth groups, civic partners, historically black sororities and fraternities and others. “In the current climate, I would say we have experienced a lot of sadness, heartbreak… a lot of anxiety,” Gregory Harrington with H.E.L.P said. “So, if we can have one day, where you can put all your troubles away…and you can just come out and enjoy your next-door neighbor, the person down the street, somebody you don’t know… this is why we do it…bringing us together and working in unity. Because that is the ideology of Mr. Martin Luther King.” The parade showcased efforts to honor Dr. King’s dream of a more harmonious society. “We like to celebrate all people,” Harrington said. “We believe we do this for all, not just for one culture.”

What to KnowAfter just a field goal in the first quarter, Indiana scored the game’s first touchdown with about six minutes left in the second through tight end Riley Nowakowski powering the rock home.Miami running back Mark Fletcher Jr. suffered in the first half, but powered through for a 57-yard scoring run immediately in the second to make it 10-7.With the third quarter becoming a dogfight, a blocked punt landing in the end zone for Indiana increased the gap to 17-7. But Fletcher Jr. responded with his second score on the next drive.Hoosiers QB1 Fernando Mendoza made a memorable fourth-down touchdown run from 12 yards out, proving why he won the Heisman Trophy.Fifth-year quarterback Carson Beck, who left Georgia after four seasons, threw a costly pick on the Hurricanes’ final drive.Miami played underdog in front of a home crowd, as Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Dolphins, was the venue for the showdown.Indiana had never won the national championship. The 2026 appearance was also the program’s first in the final.Miami has won five national championships, but none since 2001. Along with the 2001 victory, the Hurricanes hoisted the trophy in 1983, 1987, 1989 and 1991. The 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship Game was played between the top-seeded Indiana Hoosiers and the No. 10-seeded Miami Hurricanes. Follow along for live updates.

As communities across the country on Monday host parades, panels and service projects for the 40th federal observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the political climate for some is more fraught with tensions than festive with reflection on the slain Black American civil rights icon’s legacy. In the year since Donald Trump’s second inauguration fell on King Day, the Republican president has gone scorched earth against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and targeted mostly Black-led cities for federal law enforcement operations, among other policies that many King admirers have criticized. One year ago, Trump’s executive orders, “Ending Illegal Discrimination And Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” and “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” accelerated a rollback of civil rights and racial justice initiatives in federal agencies, corporations and universities. Last month, the National Park Service announced it will no longer offer free admission to parks on King Day and Juneteenth, but instead on Flag Day and Trump’s birthday. The fatal shooting this month of an unarmed Minneapolis woman in her car by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents sent there to target the city’s Somali immigrant population, as well as Trump recently decrying civil rights as discrimination against white people, have only intensified fears of a regression from the social progress King and many others advocated for. Still, the concerns have not chilled many King holiday events planned this year. Some conservative admirers of King say the holiday should be a reminder of the civil rights icon’s plea that all people be judged by their character and not their skin color. Some Black advocacy groups, however, are vowing a day of resistance and rallies nationwide. ‘We’ve always strived to be a more perfect union’ In a recent interview with the New York Times, Trump said he felt the Civil Rights Movement and the reforms it helped usher in were harmful to white people, who “were very badly treated.” Politicians and advocates say Trump’s comments are what are harmful, because they dismiss the hard work of King and others that helped not just Black Americans but other groups, including women and the LGBTQ+ community. “I think the Civil Rights Movement was one of the things that made our country so unique, that we haven’t always been perfect, but we’ve always strived to be this more perfect union, and that’s what I think the Civil Rights Movement represents,” Gov. Wes Moore, Maryland’s first Black governor and only the nation’s third elected Black governor, said this week in an interview with The Associated Press. Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, one of the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights coalitions, said the Trump administration’s priorities make clear it is actively trying to erase the movement. “From health care access and affordable housing to good paying jobs and union representation,” Wiley said, “things Dr. King made part of his clarion call for a beloved community are still at stake and is even more so because (the administration) has dismantled the very terms of government and the norms of our culture.” The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The conservative Heritage Foundation think tank is encouraging the holiday’s focus to stay solely on King himself. Brenda Hafera, a foundation research fellow, urged people to visit the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta or reread his “I have a dream” speech delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington nearly 63 years ago. But using the holiday as a platform to rally and speak about “anti-racism” and “critical race theory” actually rejects King’s ambition for the country, Hafera argued. “I think efforts should be conducted in the spirit of what Martin Luther King actually believed and what he preached. And his vision was a colorblind society, right,”…