Miami and Indiana will meet for the national championship in the CFP final

No. 10 Miami (13-2, CFP No. 10 seed) vs. No. 1 Indiana (15-0, CFP No. 1 seed)

Monday, 7:30 p.m. EST, ESPN

BetMGM college football odds: Indiana by 8 1/2.

Series record: Tied 1-1.

The winner claims the national championship in the second year of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. Indiana, long an also-ran in big-time college football, hired coach Curt Cignetti in 2024 and he has the Hoosiers on the verge of their first title. Miami, a powerhouse in the 1980s and '90s, is going for its sixth, and its first since 2001.

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza vs. Miami defense. Mendoza is the Heisman Trophy winner who is coming back to his hometown to play for the title against a school that was less than a mile away from his childhood home. He'll need to watch out for pass rusher Rueben Bain, a first-round NFL prospect who had 8 1/2 sacks on a team that led the nation in that statistic. Miami cornerback Xavier Lucas will miss the first half after being kicked out of the semifinals for targeting. Mendoza is a master of picking out weak spots. Indiana receivers Omar Cooper and Elijah Sarratt each have 60-plus catches for 800-plus yards.

Indiana: Typical of a roster that almost makes it a point of pride for having no five-star recruits, almost any skill player could be a difference-maker. Maybe that's why Mendoza got so pumped when center Pat Coogan received MVP honors after Indiana's 38-3 thumping of Alabama in the Rose Bowl. Of the OL group Mendoza calls the “Hoggies,” left tackle Carter Smith might have the most NFL potential. If they're holding their own, then any receiver or running back Roman Hemby could go big.

Miami: Running back Mark Fletcher has topped 100 yards in two of the 'Canes three playoff victories. His career-long 56-yard run late in the fourth quarter set up the winning (and only) touchdown in a 10-3 victory over Texas A&M in the first round. Given that Indiana averages more than 42 points a game, Fletcher will have to produce some ground game and ball control for the Hurricanes to stay in it.

These teams split two games in the 1960s and haven't played since Miami won 14-7 in ‘66. ... Miami coach Mario Cristobal was teammates with Mendoza’s dad, Fernando Sr., on the Christopher Columbus High School football team in the 1980s. ... Mendoza Jr., who also went to Columbus, briefly considered Miami when he was looking to transfer from Cal after last season, but chose Indiana instead. The Hurricanes landed Carson Beck from Georgia. ... Indiana led the country in all-time losses with 713 over 130-plus years of football before Cignetti took over prior to last season. Since then, the Hoosiers have only lost twice and Northwestern has surpassed them in the “L” column. ...LB Rolijah Hardy led Indiana in sacks this season with eight. ... The Hoosiers lead the country with a plus-21 turnover margin this season.

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Miami quarterback Carson Beck (11) holds the offensive player of the game trophy after winning the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal game against Mississippi, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) kisses the trophy after the Peach Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal against Oregon, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Miami quarterback Carson Beck scores a touchdown during the second half of the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal game against Mississippi, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Oregon linebacker Nasir Wyatt (32) strips the ball from Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) during the first half of the Peach Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Danny Karnik)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A U.S.-based activist agency said Sunday it has verified at least 3,766 deaths during a wave of protests that swept Iran and led to a bloody crackdown, and fears the number could be significantly higher.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency posted the revised figure, up from the previous toll of 3,308. The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades, and recalls the chaos surrounding the 1979 revolution.

The agency has been accurate throughout the years of demonstrations in Iran, relying on a network of activists inside the country that confirms all reported fatalities. The Associated Press has been unable to independently confirm the toll.

Iranian officials have not given a clear death toll, although on Saturday, the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the protests had left “several thousand” people dead — and blamed the United States for the deaths. It was the first indication from an Iranian leader of the extent of the casualties from the wave of protests that began Dec. 28 over Iran’s ailing economy.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency says 24,348 protesters have been arrested in the crackdown.

Iranian officials have repeatedly accused the United States and Israel of fomenting unrest in the country.

Tension with the United States has been high, with U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly threatening Tehran with military action if his administration found the Islamic Republic was using deadly force against anti-government protesters.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a post Sunday on X, blamed “longstanding enmity and inhumane sanctions” imposed by the U.S. and its allies for any hardships the Iranian people might be facing. “Any aggression against the Supreme Leader of our country is tantamount to all-out war against the Iranian nation,” he wrote.

During the protests, Trump had told demonstrators that “ help is on the way ” and that his administration would “act accordingly” if the killing of demonstrators continued or if Iranian authorities executed detained protesters.

But he later struck a conciliatory tone, saying that Iranian officials had “canceled the hanging of over 800 people” and that “I greatly respect the fact that they canceled.”

A family member of detained Iranian protester Erfan Soltani said Sunday that the 26-year-old is in good physical health and was able to see his family days after his planned execution was postponed.

Somayeh, a 45-year-old close relative of Soltani who is living abroad, told the AP that his family had been told his execution would be set for Wednesday but it was postponed when they reached the prison in Karaj, a city northwest of Tehran.

“I ask everyone to help in securing Erfan’s freedom,” Somayeh, who asked to be identified by first name only for fear of government reprisal, said in a video message.

On Saturday, Khamenei branded Trump a “criminal” for supporting the rallies and blamed the U.S. for the casualties, describing the protesters as “foot soldiers” of the United States.

Trump, in an interview with Politico on Saturday, called for an end to Khamenei’s nearly 40-year reign, calling him as “a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people.”

No protests have been reported for days in Iran, where the streets have returned to an uneasy calm. Instead, some Iranians chanted anti-Khamenei slogans from the windows of their homes on Saturday night, the chants reverberating around neighborhoods in Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan, witnesses said.

Authorities have also blocked access to the internet since Jan. 8. On Saturday, very limited internet services functioned again briefly. Access to some online services such as Google began working again on Sunday, although users said they could access only domestic websites, and email services continued to be blocked.

Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri in New York contributed.

In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)