Greg McElroy Makes His Official Pick For Indiana vs. Miami

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Greg McElroy at least expects a competitive College Football Playoff National Championship Game between Indiana and Miami.

The Hoosiers can complete an undefeated campaign by defeating the No. 10 Hurricanes. Indiana enters Monday as a touchdown favorite despite Miami essentially getting a home game at Hard Rock Stadium.

Previewing the championship contest on his Always College Football podcast, McElroy predicted a 27-20 Hoosiers win to secure the school's first football title.

"Miami is going to hang tough in this game. I absolutely think Miami will make this a competitive ballgame," McElroy said. "But the Hoosiers eventually will pull away with a touchdown with Roman Hemby to seal the first 16-0 season in 12-team playoff history."

Why McElroy likes Indiana

Indiana has dominated the opposition with a 31.5-point average margin of victory, including a 38-3 second-round rout over Alabama and 56-22 semifinal throttling of Oregon. Miami can counter with a hard-hitting run game, but McElroy doesn't think anyone can slow the Hoosiers down.

"Miami is probably the most physical team in the country," he said. "Indiana, as a team, executes better than anyone. I think they are the best team in the country."

McElroy celebrated Indiana's "ruthless" attack on offense and defense, comparing their precise operation to a Swiss watch that moves in "perfect synchronization."

"I've watched the tape. I've crunched the numbers," McElroy said. "I keep coming back to one fundamental truth, and it's that Indiana is the most complete team I've seen in college football in a very, very long time."

While McElroy laid out the blueprint to a Miami upset, the ESPN analyst ultimately expects Indiana to prevail. He declared that Fernando Mendoza is playing more poised than any college quarterback since Joe Burrow led LSU to an undefeated season in 2019.

"They have an offensive line that's going to try to turn this game into a phone booth brawl," McElroy said of the Hurricanes. "I think Carson Beck needs to play clean football early. Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor, they got to put pressure on the quarterback. And that could maybe get Hard Rock Stadium working into a crazy home-field environment.

"But over the course of four quarters, the Indiana machine is just too efficient. And eventually, Bryant Haines' defense is going to bait Carson Beck into a critical second-half mistake."

This story was originally published by The Spun on Jan 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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