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)

NEW YORK (AP) — Police scuttled an NBA Finals watch party near Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks warned fans to get to Monday’s matchup at least two hours early as part of enhanced security measures with President Donald Trump attending the game.

Trump is a longtime Knicks fan who confirmed Friday that he would attend the first NBA Finals game in New York since 1999. He already has attended a number of major sporting events in his second term, including the 2025 Super Bowl, Daytona 500 and Ryder Cup.

Part of the fallout from Trump’s visit was the cancellation of a Game 3 watch party outside MSG. The New York Police Department said in a statement Sunday the decision was made in coordination with the Secret Service.

“There will be no watch parties outside of Madison Square Garden for Game 3 only,” the statement said. “This was done fully in coordination with the Secret Service because of the presidential visit. We expect watch parties at Madison Square Garden to resume for Game 4.”

Such parties, where thousands of fans pack in to watch the game on a big screen, have been a point of contention for the city’s police department, even without the complication of a presidential visit.

More than two-dozen people were arrested as Friday’s watch party spilled into the streets surrounding the Garden after the Knicks beat the Spurs in San Antonio. One woman was accused of punching a police officer in the face, the NYPD said.

Heading into the NBA Finals, the city had moved to cancel watch parties outside the arena altogether because of rowdy behavior at unofficial gatherings but later reversed itself and granted a permit for Game 1 last Wednesday.

Matt McCool, special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s New York field office, said he understood that with the Knicks on a historic run there would be some disappointment from fans.

“At the same time, our responsibility is to ensure the highest level of public safety,” he said. “After careful coordination and assessment, the Secret Service and the NYPD jointly determined that outdoor watch parties could not be accommodated in the immediate vicinity of Madison Square Garden due to the security requirements associated with an event of this scale and the need to maintain a secure environment for protective operations.”

Team-sanctioned watch parties will go on at Wollman Rink in Central Park and Brooklyn Bowl, the Knicks website said. Both events required advanced registration and were already at capacity as of Sunday afternoon.

Strict rules were put in place for those attending the game. The Knicks warned fans to bring as little as possible to Game 3 and encouraging them to arrive at least two hours before tipoff as part of enhanced security measures.

The Knicks said Saturday that a strict no-bag policy would be in place and there would be “TSA-style screening procedures” for fans when they enter Madison Square Garden for the game that is scheduled to begin just after 8:40 p.m. EDT.

The Knicks said there would be no storage at MSG for prohibited items brought to the arena. A list of them is available at https://www.secretservice.gov/prohibiteditems.

Associated Press writers Michael Sisak and Jake Offenhartz in New York contributed to this report.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

FILE - Actor Elliott Gould, left, joins Donald Trump, center, and Marla Maples at courtside during an NBA basketball game between the Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, in New York, March 6, 1991. (AP Photo/Steve Freeman, File)

FILE - Donald Trump, right, talks to an unidentified man from the stands at Madison Square Garden during the New York Knicks game against the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 11, 2006, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)