The College Football season will reach its climax on Monday as the Miami Hurricanes take on the Indiana Hoosiers in the championship game.
Miami has upset all the odds to reach this stage and have a season record of 13-2 ahead of the final, while Indiana has been sensational all season, and come into this game with a perfect 15-0 record, making them the favorites to be crowned national champions.
But games aren’t won on paper, and we’ll break down the match up to provide you with our best free NCAAF betting picks to try and earn you some extra cash while you enjoy the action on the field.
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The Hurricanes have had an excellent season by their own standards, but also by the standards of the rest of the nation, and they have fully earned their spot in this final.
Miami opened their campaign with five consecutive wins, defeat No.6 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish 27-24 on the opening day, before defeating the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (45-3), South Florida Bulls (49-12), Florida Gators (26-7), and Florida State Seminoles (28-22).
The team then fell to two defeats in three games, with a 42-7 win over the Stanford Cardinal sandwiched between losses against the Louisville Cardinals (21-24), and SMU Mustangs (20-26 OT).
Miami then finished out the regular season with four straight wins over Syracuse Orange (38-10), NC State Wolfpack (41-7), Virginia Tech Hokies (34-17), and Pittsburgh Panthers (38-7).
That set up a first-round playoff clash with the Texas A&M Aggies, but a top defensive display saw them claim a 10-3 victory on the road, where they then faced off against the number two-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. The team once again put together a top performance and claimed a surprise 24-14 win, which then set up a match against the Ole Miss Rebels.
The Hurricanes once again shocked football fans, outscoring the number six-ranked team to claim a 31-27 victory and progress to their first final since 2002.
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Indiana had an excellent campaign in 2024 and have built on that in 2025 with the best season in their history.
The Hoosiers opened their season against the Old Dominion Monarches with a 27-14 win, before three blowout victories over the Kennesaw State Owles (56-9), Indiana State Sycamores (73-0) and Illinois Fighting Illini (63-10 followed consecutively.
A 20-15 win followed over the Iowa Hawkeyes, before the Hoosiers claimed a win over the Oregon Ducks to move to 6-0. That win over Oregon was the first time in their history that Indiana had claimed a win over a top-five-ranked opponent on the road.
A big 38-13 win followed over the Michigan State Spartans, before thrashing the UCLA Bruins (58-6) and Maryland Terrapins (55-10) in their next two games. The Hoosiers closed out the season with three impressive wins over the Penn State Nittany Lions (27-24), Wisconsin Badgers (31-7) and Purdue Boilermakers (56-3) to make a statement with an undefeated record and move into the playoffs.
They claimed the Big 10 Championship for the first time since 1967 with an impressive 13-10 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes, before taking on the Alabama Crimson Tide in their playoff quarter-final and claiming a dominant 38-3 victory to claim the number one ranking.
Indiana then took on Oregon in a rematch from the sixth game of the season in the Peach Bowl, and thrashed their opponents with a sensational performance to win 56-22. They now have the chance to win their first championship ever, and are appearing in their first-ever national championship final.
When the NCAAF season began back in August, nobody expected that the national championship game would have either of these teams involved, nevermind both of them.
But the Hoosiers have been exceptional throughout the season and they would be worthy winners of the championship, which is why they’re the pick to make ahead of this game.
So far this season no team has scored more points than Indiana, who have racked up 639 points scored in their 15 games, for an average of 42.6 points per game. Compare that to the Miami Hurricanes, who have scored 474 points in their 15 games, for an average of 31.6 points per game, and it shows you the difference in offensive quality between them.
Defensively, there is a considerable gap too. The Hoosiers have allowed just 166 points against them, for an average of 11.1 points per game, while Miami have allowed 210 points against them, for an average of 14 points per game, and that makes it difficult to see how the Hurricanes can claim a win.
Despite the game being played in their home stadium, there is expected to be more Indiana fans in the stands as they are the designated home side, so that advantage is out of the window for the underdogs too.
At -350 there is good value for Indiana to claim the win on the moneyline, and it’s the safest bet of the night too.
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About the Author
Daniel is a football writer who has a great thirst for the Premier League and other major European leagues. A lover of the beautiful game and a firm believer that the eye test is better than statistics. Also an avid MMA fan.
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