National Championship Notebook Miami 2026
by GEORGE SOMERVILLE
While it has been a long season, it has been an exciting one filled with plenty of thrills and spills. Which brings us to today. Nothing sums up this College Football season better than a National Championship final which features the Indiana Hoosiers and the hometown Miami Hurricanes.
I am in Miami for the game which has produced, quite literally the hottest ticket in the country.
Here are some of the stories I’ve heard and picked up over the days that I have been in the Magic City ahead of tonights big game.
National Championship Stories
Hurricanes fuelled by cafecito
Miami things ☕️
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) January 8, 2026
The Canes took shots of cafecito before the semis 😂 pic.twitter.com/q4DYsJEiis
In Miami it’s impossible to miss the Cuban culture which beats through the city like Salsa. Latin and Cuban flare is everywhere. Ive been faced with more Spanish speakers than English speakers in certain parts of the city. It is an awesome city.
Hurricanes Head Coach Mario Cristobal is a proud 2nd generation Cuban-American who talks emotionally and passionately about his parents who travelled to the US for a better life.
So it’s no great surprise that Cuban culture has infiltrated the Canes locker room. And we found out this week that some of the Hurricanes positional groups like to partake and for all intents and purpose are fuelled by the Cuban phenomenon which is cafecito – a Cuban shot of sweet espresso coffee.
Hurricane Coffee
Now I’m not a coffee guy but Im led to believe that this strong,sweet coffee is rocket fuel – it is equal parts sugar and Cuban coffee taken in a shot.
It has infiltrated the team so much that the team has its self titled “coffee co-ordinator” to make sure that everyone, Head Coach and all get their shot of the black stuff when they need it.
Coffee Coordinator and Assistant special teams coach, Ferras Isa has been handing out these shots to Special Team’s players, kickers, punters and long snappers since the Playoff streak started against Texas A&M. While the streak continues Isa takes his Moka Pot on the road to make the brew on road trips and there will be a coffee machine on the sideline in Hard Rock Stadium during the game.
everyone knows Fernando
On the first day that I arrived in Miami I was told that Miami is a close knit football community. Everyone knows everyone else.
And nowhere has that been more obvious this week than with Fernando Mendoza. Everyone from Miami knows Fernando or more importantly the Mendoza family. The Mendoza’s are from Miami and Fernando Mendoza was born less than a mile away from Hard Rock Stadium and is a Miami native.
If Mendoza was to put his “name number” on the back of his jersey he would be Mendoza V and comes from a long line of Mendoza’s from Miami. And it is a long line – so much so that everyone knows the Mendoza’s. ESPN’s Ryan McGee wrote an excellent piece this week about the Mendoza family reunions. McGee quotes that at last count there were 2,836 direct descendants of the Mendoza family.
Mendoza senior – Hoosier Fernando’s father was a team mate of Mario Cristobal in Miami High School football.
See, everyone knows everyone.
The Mendoza’s had a family reunion in Miami this week. Awkward given that 99% of the family want the Hurricanes to win and the 1% stands in their way.
Cristobal not wild on Micael Irvin's kisses
"I was so attracted to that brotherhood, like I wanted to be one of those dogs. Those guys were dogs."
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) January 18, 2026
Mario Cristobal on wanting to be a part of the @CanesFootball brotherhood growing up 🙌 pic.twitter.com/fJT2q4NYxB
If you have watched Miami this season or any other season you can’t have missed Michael Irvin dancing around the sidelines like a crazy man.
Irvin famously kissed Head Coach Cristobal following Miami’s first round Playoff win against Texas A&M.
“Man, I’m never going to live that kiss down” said Cristobal on Sunday ahead of Monday’s Championship game.
However Cristobal talked passionately about the Hurricanes brotherhood.
“Once you’re a part of that brotherhood you are forever different. And unless you are a Miami Hurricane that’s hard to understand”.
“But I’d rather not be kissed by Michael Irvin” said Cristobal.
Irvin was part of the famous Miami Hurricanes National Championship winning team in 1987 where he broke school records as a wide receiver.
secret service agent Cristobal
Mario Cristobal’s family work in the federal government positions (teachers, construction workers) or in law enforcement. So a young Mario saw himself following the family career path of moving into law enforcement. In fact Cristobal signed up to join the Secret Service.
However Cristobal was at Miami University had had been bitten by the football bug. While Cristobal calls himself a “nobody football player” he took a position as a GA on the Hurricanes as his first step in the coaching ladder.
Cristobal got as far as interviewing for the Service while at the U however found himself at a crossroads. Was it going to be the Secret Service or a life coaching football?
“I love football, I loved playing football and I wasn’t willing to let that opportunity go by” Cristobal told the press corp during Sunday’s press conference.
The rest they say is history. Later today, on Monday President Donald Trump will attend the National Championship game in Miami. In a different universe Mario Cristobal could have been one of those Secret Service Agents protecting the President. As it turns out Cristobal will be the Head Coach of one of the teams the President will watch.
No Nonsense Cignetti
Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti is the talk of the nation. Cignetti is a wizard, a genius and a creator of debatably the best college football team of all time (not saying it is, it is debated!).
All of this during the highly disruptive and controversial period of NIL and transfer portal. And maybe that’s why Cignetti is a genius. We will find out later today.
But Cignetti is a character and that is good for college football at this time. Cignetti is one of the rare breed who call it like it is – there isn’t much Coach speak from Cignetti. On Sunday Cignetti talked about how he looked up to legendary Hoosiers basketball coach, Bob Knight. A young Cignetti loved Knight’s press conferences, his face pulling and of course the throwing of chairs across a room.
Should the Indiana Hoosier’s football team win a National Championship this evening, Cignetti calls the comparison to Knight “purely coincidence”.
But the Comparisons are there. I watched Cignetti on Sunday at the Head Coaches press conference when Cristobal was speaking. Cignetti was looking around the room, seemingly fixated on a spot on the ceiling for periods of time. I don’t believe in any way he was being disrespectful to the Miami Head Coach. No this is just Cignetti. A character.
At one point ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg asked both Coaches what winning a National Championship mean to each school. Now bear in mind that Indiana football hasn’t won a conference championship let alone a National won, Cignetti was straight to the point. “We would be National Champions” said the Hoosiers Head Coach.
GEORGE SOMERVILLE
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WRITER
GEORGE IS A LONG STANDING FANATIC OF LIFE AND FOOTBALL IN THE DEEP SOUTH AND WRITES HIS WEEKLY COLUMN CALLED “IT’S ONLY SEC” FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. HE IS ALSO CO-HOST AND ONE THIRD OF THE COLLEGE CHAPS PODCAST, THE UK’S FIRST PODCAST DEDICATED TO THE COLLEGE GAME.