: [POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION Jan. 8, 2026: This story incorrectly refers to Indiana University as the University of Indiana.]
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The college football semifinals kick off tonight, and the winners will advance to the championship game later this month. And incredible as it might have been for more than a century of college football, all eyes are on the University of Indiana. That's because before the season began, no school had lost more games in the history of Division I than the Hoosiers. Now they're two wins away from their first-ever national title. NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan is here to give us a preview. Good morning.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Hey. Good morning.
MARTIN: So is this Indiana's year?
SULLIVAN: Well, certainly, they have top-tier credentials. They're the only undefeated team left at this level of college football. They have amazing vibes. If you watch them, you'll see quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who just won the Heisman Trophy. He also could be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft this spring. He's just, like, always smiling every time he's on the sideline. He's the most positive guy ever. And then they have this excellent coach in Curt Cignetti. He's without a doubt the hottest coach in the sport right now. Yeah, they definitely have the capability to win it all. They destroyed Alabama in the quarterfinal, so, yeah, they could definitely do it.
MARTIN: So tomorrow night, they will face five-seed Oregon. How good are they?
SULLIVAN: Yeah. I mean, there's only four teams left. They're all pretty good. The Ducks are really great. Their only loss this season was, of course, to Indiana. They are led by 20-year-old quarterback Dante Moore, who could also be a top overall pick in the NFL draft if he chooses to go. And then the other similarity there, Michel, is that Oregon has also never won a national championship.
MARTIN: You know, yeah. How about that? The fact that neither of these teams has ever won a title, but now they're...
SULLIVAN: Yeah.
MARTIN: ...Both in the semifinals.
SULLIVAN: Yeah. So we got - one of these teams is guaranteed to reach the championship game. And then also of note - the other two teams, Ole Miss and Miami. Both of these teams, of course, have won national titles before, but it's been a long time for Ole Miss. Their last one was back in the 1960s. And then Miami - their heyday was in the 1980s through the early 2000s, but it's been almost 25 years now since they won their last championship. So this is a semifinals we've got no Ohio State, no Alabama, no Georgia. It's a bunch of fresh faces.
MARTIN: Yeah, so none of those perennial powerhouses. What do you make of that?
SULLIVAN: You know, this era of college football has changed things. Just 10 years ago, you used to have kind of more of a smaller number of teams, like Alabama, who could hoard all of the best players. Kids would go. They'd stay. They'd wait on the bench for their turn to play. But now, because all these rules are different, you have players who can transfer to a new school each year. They're getting paid. They take the best offers and just jump ship. That has evened the playing field among power conference teams. So you have Indiana, Oregon more able to compete. This week, a reporter asked Oregon coach Dan Lanning about this exact thing. And basically, he was like, look, it's chaos, yes, but teams that can handle it can climb.
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DAN LANNING: We understand that college football right now is about change. There's going to be a lot of change. The teams that can do the best at adapting and handling what's thrown at you - we don't make the rules. We just have to adapt to them, and our guys handle that. They're tough kids.
MARTIN: So you mentioned the Ole Miss versus Miami game. Give us a quick preview there.
SULLIVAN: Yeah. Well, Ole Miss is on a really cool run right now, actually. So they were coached this season by this drama magnet named Lane Kiffin, who bailed a few weeks ago...
MARTIN: To put it mildly.
SULLIVAN: ...For a job at rival Louisiana State. He offered to stay to coach the team through the playoffs, but the school refused. Instead, they promoted defensive coordinator to head coach, who has since led Ole Miss through wins in the first round, a wild quarterfinal game against Georgia. But Miami, meanwhile, has also looked excellent. They upset the defending champion, Ohio State, on New Year's Eve. They definitely have the capability of winning this whole shebang, too. I think that one's wide open.
MARTIN: OK. So, Becky, a tough question for you - what's your snack during these games?
(LAUGHTER)
SULLIVAN: Good - great question.
MARTIN: Popcorn? Wings? Like, what's the...
SULLIVAN: Yeah.
MARTIN: What's the move?
SULLIVAN: Well, it depends on the setting. But, you know, I can't turn either of those down.
MARTIN: All right. That's NPR's Becky Sullivan. Becky, thank you.
SULLIVAN: You're welcome.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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