The Miami Hurricanes vs. Indiana Hoosiers title clash has fans dropping five figures just to get a seat. But that’s no shock, as Indiana’s fanbase is passionate enough even to rattle Fernando Mendoza. Miami, meanwhile, has been breathing this sport forever. It sent one veteran reporter on a full-on nostalgia trip to salute the program’s legacy.
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“When I grew up, we only had the Hurricanes and the Dolphins, and that’s what you watched, and that’s why Miami still to this day is a football town, said ESPN’s Andrea Adelson on the College Football Live segment.
And Mario Cristobal telling stories about getting free tickets to Miami games when he was a little kid, before Miami was even good and saying, ‘I want to be one of those dogs that’s out there playing on that field.’”
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When the ticket demand for the natty exceeds that for Taylor Swift tickets … you know it’s a big night for Miami and South Florida. Thanks CFB Live for having me on! Pic.twitter.com/9B3GtxpRbh
— Andrea Adelson (@aadelsonESPN) January 16, 2026
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That’s what football means to Miami. The drought is loud since the Dolphins haven’t won a playoff game since December 30, 2000. Miami’s last Natty came January 3, 2002 – the fifth and most recent. In 2024, the Hurricanes went 10-3, passed the eye test, flirted with their first-ever CFP bid, then got snubbed despite the résumé.
On one hand, there is Miami, where football runs through the blood of the fandom. They will face the Indiana Hoosiers, who have been loud enough to stir their own quarterback.
Oregon prides itself on being a nightmare environment for visitors, so when Dante Moore says his team prepares for noise, he means it. The Ducks quarterback got a taste of that chaos at home on October 11, when Indiana fans traveled in force for the Hoosiers’ 30-20 win.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium felt less like a neutral site and more like Bloomington South, with an estimated 90 percent of the 75,604 in attendance rocking red.
“I thought it was just red seats, but it was Indiana fans,” Moore said. “They had a ton of fans here. Of course, I’m just glad for the fans of Oregon that were able to make it – I’m glad they came.”
Not just Moore; even Mendoza was overwhelmed, but in a good way.
“Oregon had to go to a silent count,” said the Hoosiers quarterback.
With the Natty knocking at the door, how high did the ticket prices rise?
Miami Hurricanes vs Indiana Hoosiers tickets set a record
CFP executive director Rich Clark even joked about the Natty prices beating Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.
“It’s more expensive than Taylor Swift? We have arrived,” Clark said, as reported by AP writer Tim Reynolds.
According to TickPick, resale tickets for Swift’s sold-out Eras Tour last year hovered between $2,000 and $2,700, with floor seats climbing to around $4,700.
A single ticket for the Miami vs Indiana matchup sold for $26,000. The cheapest seats went for just over $3,000, while the average resale price landed at $5,000.
According to SeatGeek, this marks the most significant price surge ever for a college football title game. For comparison, the average resale cost was $3,445 in 2024 and under $2,500 in 2023. Back in 2022 and 2023, tickets were barely breaking $1,000.
Beyond the Natty chase, Miami and Indiana are aiming to become just the fifth team in the AP Poll era to go 5-0 or better against Top-10 foes in a single season. Harsh truth: one will spend big, cheer hard, and still leave with a loss.
Written by
Edited by
Jacob Gijy