Indiana football’s historic season was full of memorable moments.
The Hoosiers captured their first-ever national championship and became the first team since the 1890s to finish 16-0. The Daily Hoosier has compiled our list of the top 10 plays and moments from IU’s march to the title. If you missed any previous posts in this series, check them out at the links below.
No. 8: Mikail Kamara and Isaiah Jones step up on special teams in the national title game
During one of the biggest moments of the CFP National Championship Game, Mikail Kamara just took a chance.
Indiana’s defense just forced a three-and-out inside Miami’s 20-yard line, with around 5 ½ minutes left in the third quarter. The Hoosiers, at the time, led 10-7. By that point in the game, it was apparent what type of game this was: a low-scoring defensive battle, with neither offense finding consistent success. IU gained only 11 yards of offense in the third quarter.
That stop could’ve given Curt Cignetti’s team another opportunity with solid field position. On Miami’s previous possession, the Hurricanes punted from their own 13-yard line and IU took over at its own 43. The Hoosiers went three-and-out that time, but perhaps this would’ve been the time the offense hit something.
But Indiana’s special teams, which had made big plays all season long, stepped up yet again. Kamara felt he nearly got home on Miami’s previous punt, and he made a big decision for this play.
“(The) punt before, we were in defensive safe, and I felt like I was kind of close,” Kamara said after the game. “So the second time, (I thought) I’m just going to shoot my shot.”
Indiana’s defensive end charged in from the right side of the line, went right past Miami’s blocker, and got his left hand on the ball after Hurricane punter Dylan Joyce kicked it. The ball rolled backwards into the end zone, where Isaiah Jones fell on it for a touchdown. The Hoosiers extended their lead to 17-7, and these points proved critical in their 27-21 victory.
Cignetti called it fitting that Jones recovered the ball for the score, as the linebacker had also made so many big plays this year. But this was Kamara’s moment.
“At the end of the day, that kid’s a fantastic football player,” defensive coordinator Bryant Haines said after the game. “He’s a competitor, and he’s part of what makes this defense so unique and so great. We had talked a little bit about how long the punter holds the ball in safe situations. If he sees your defense out there, he’s gonna buy his time. … (Kamara) sized it up, and the second one he went and got. Changed the game for us.”
Kamara entered his final collegiate season with lofty goals, publicly setting his sights on a 20-sack season. He never really reached that level of statistical production, in part because of injuries, facing more double-teams, and myriad other reasons. The redshirt senior still had a good year, but just not the one he envisioned. Going through that taught him a lot.
But this play, on the biggest stage in college football, was as big as any Kamara had made throughout his career. And it’s one of the biggest plays in Indiana football history.
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