CFP Championship
#1 Indiana faces #5 Miami tonight for the CFP National Championship. Here’s what we know. When the playoff started, Indiana was my #2 ranked team behind Ohio State. Miami was my #15 ranked team. Miami then went on to beat #10 Texas A&M, #1 Ohio State and #7 Ole Miss. Indiana had a first round bye, but has beaten #9 Alabama and #4 Oregon by a combined score of 94 to 25.
Advantages Indiana
- Indiana has the Heisman Trophy winner
- Indiana is playing their best ball of the season now
- Indiana’s offense is scoring 18.891 points a game more than their FBS opponents allow on average.
- Indiana is holding their FBS opponents to 15.424 points belowi their average this year.
- Indiana has an incredible coach.
Advantages Miami
- Miami is playing their best ball of the season now.
- Miami is playing at home
- Miami’s defense is holding their FBS opponents to 15.134 points below their average this year.
My prediction
Indiana is my #1 ranked team while Miami is ranked #5. Indiana and Miami have evenly matched defenses. Indiana separates itself from Miami with its offense. Their offense is about 12 points a game better than Miami’s. Indiana makes very few mistakes in a game.
For Miami to pull off the upset, Indiana would have to make a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes that Miami would have to take advantage of. We are asking a lot of Miami. I think in the end, Curt Cignetti cements his reputation as the best coach in the game and Indiana rolls to a 34-17 win.
All rankings can be found here: