Miami and Indiana turned college football final into one of the toughest tickets in memory

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Take a long-downtrodden team that happens to have the world's largest alumni base and another playing a home game while in search of its first national title in 25 years and the math is simple.

This is the toughest ticket in town. And, in fact, Monday night's title game between Indiana and Miami will be among the most expensive tickets in college football history.

According to Ticketdata, the lowest “get-in” price at Hard Rock Stadium, not far from the Miami campus, was $3,652 about 24 hours before kickoff. That's 8% off what it had been earlier in the week, but still in position to be the most expensive price since the data started being tracked in 2009.

Why all the hype?

Indiana (15-0) is on an historic run. A program that played in a grand total of 13 bowl games in the 130-some years before coach Curt Cignetti arrived in 2024 is now on the cusp of an undefeated season and a national title.

Cignetti let his players bask in the history for a few days, then the festivities surrounding the CFP final for a few more. Then, it was time for business.

“I think it’s time to sharpen the saw now, throw those warm fuzzies out the door, that sentimentalism,” Cignetti said. “It’s time to go play a game against a great opponent.”

The Hoosiers bring the Heisman Trophy winner into the game, quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who grew up within walking distance of Miami — fondly known as “The U.”

Of all the great stats Mendoza has compiled this season, this might be the best: In two playoff wins over Alabama and Oregon by a combined score of 94-25, he has more touchdown passes (8) than incompletions (5).

Trying to corral him will be Miami pass rushers Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor, who have given offensive linemen fits throughout a 13-2 season that placed the Hurricanes one win away from their first title since 2001.

“I don’t need no outside noise,” Bain said of the hype — about the title game and his prospects as an NFL first-round draft pick. "Just the love from people from Miami.”

The Hoosiers are 8 1/2-point favorites, according to MGM SportsBook, though the betting numbers that tell this story the best are 100-1. Those were the odds on both these teams at different points during a season that produced two unlikely finalists that were products of two unlikely turnarounds.

The secret to the success? No secret, says Miami coach Mario Cristobal.

“Very, very simple. Football is not complicated — blocking, tackling, angles, numbers, leverage,” he said. “People are complicated, and people complicate things surrounding football. The right people with the right intentions working the right way, that's undefeated.”

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Miami running back Mark Fletcher Jr. speaks during media day ahead of the College Football Playoff national championship game between Miami and Indiana, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Indiana running back Roman Hemby (1) carries during the first half of the Peach Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal against Oregon, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

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)

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

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Rescuers recovered more bodies from a massive fire at a shopping plaza in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, pushing the death toll to at least 15 with about 65 reported missing,

Firefighters extinguished the blaze at the multistory Gul Plaza late Sunday nearly 24 hours after it erupted, allowing rescue teams to enter the building. Authorities feared that the death toll could further rise.

Sindh provincial Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah told a news conference in Karachi that rescue teams were searching for survivors and the dead. He said those killed in the fire included a firefighter. He said the government would provide 10 million rupees ($36,000) in compensation to the family of each person killed.

The fire broke spread quickly through shops storing cosmetics, garments and plastic goods, said Dr. Abid Jalal Sheikh, the city’s chief rescue officer.

Some of the relatives of the missing waited outside the burned-out plaza Monday, hoping for news.

Qaiser Ali said his daughter, daughter-in-law and sister went shopping Saturday and were inside the building when the fire broke out. He said he had spoken to all three by mobile phone until Sunday, when they went silent.

“I don’t know what has happened to them or whether they are alive,” Ali told The Associated Press. “We are praying that all those missing come out safely.”

Mohammad Abrar said he managed to escape the fire but his brother, Saifur Rehman, who owns a shop in the plaza, was left behind. He said he feared for his safety.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Police said an investigation was underway.

Karachi, the capital of Sindh province, has a history of deadly fires, often blamed on poor safety standards and illegal construction. In November 2023, a fire at a shopping mall in the city killed 10 people and injured 22 others.

A massive fire at a garments factory in Karachi in 2012 killed 260 people.

Rescue workers and firefighters work with heavy machinery to search through the rubble of a burnt building of a multistory shopping plaza following a massive fire in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Farooq)

Firefighters search through the rubble of a burnt building of a multistory shopping plaza following a massive fire in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)

Family members of missing persons comfort each other as they wait near the site of a burnt building of a multistory shopping plaza following a massive fire in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)

Family members of missing persons wait near the site of a burnt building of a multistory shopping plaza following a massive fire in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)

Rescue workers and firefighters work with heavy machinery to search through the rubble of a burnt building of a multistory shopping plaza following a massive fire in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)

Firefighters examine a collapsed portion of a multi-story shopping mall following a massive fire that broke out overnight, in Karachi, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Farooq)

Firefighters try to control a massive fire that was broke out in a multi-story shopping mall in overnight, in Karachi, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Farooq)