Later this evening, a new FBS national champion will be crowned between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Miami Hurricanes. Programs that differ in status, history, and path, yet present unique challenges to what they do schematically. Indiana enters as a touchdown-plus favorite with Miami trailing in the war of attrition, but these Hurricanes have proven to be a tough out.
Our team at PFSN has done a tremendous job of previewing this game in depth, so using PFSN’s Impact Scores, let’s put some of the prominent performers under a microscope. Here are PFSN’s highest-graded players at each position in tonight’s National Championship.
Quarterback: Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
PFSN CFB QB Impact Score: 93.3
Did you honestly expect another name here? Mendoza has been the maestro of one of the most dominant seasons in the College Football Playoff era.
He’s a combination of both efficient and aggressive, an element that is borne out statistically, reflected in the nation’s second-best PFSN CFB QB Impact Score, and the primary benefactor behind the first Heisman Trophy in program history.
Much of Mendoza’s game has been properly dissected as he projects as the number one overall pick in this spring’s NFL Draft. His ability to distribute the ball to Indiana’s variety of NFL-caliber pass-catchers will set the tone for Indiana offensively.
Running Back: Mark Fletcher, Miami
PFSN CFB RB Impact Score: 81.0
Fletcher has been something of a revelation for this Miami offense during the Canes’ playoff run, tallying rushing totals of 90 yards, 172 yards, and 130 yards in his last three games, respectively.
The last two outings for Fletcher were the two highest single-game totals of his Miami career up to this point. He’s topped 1,000 yards for the first time in his career while finding the end zone on 10 of his carries, good for an 81.0 PFSN CFB RB Impact Score.
That is the 35th-best mark in the FBS this season.
While Indiana’s stable of backs has the advantage as a whole, Fletcher is an excellent complementary piece to an offense that believes in sitting on the ball (they present an interesting matchup against an Indiana that is capable of doing the same). Fletcher recently announced his decision to return to Miami for his senior season over pursuing a run at the NFL.
Wide Receiver: Malachi Toney, Miami
PFSN CFB WR Impact Score: 86.0
The top receiver in this game, as it relates to PFSN’s CFB WR Impact Score, is the dynamite true freshman whose nine receiving touchdowns pace the entire Atlantic Coast Conference. Despite Indiana boasting players like Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr., whom the NFL will favorably, Toney’s 86.0 CFB WR Impact Score is the top mark between these groups of wideouts.
Toney’s 99 receptions for 1,089 yards lead all FBS freshmen with his receiving yardage-total, making him the first Hurricane freshman — and seventh overall — to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards, an impressive feat considering the lengthy list of talented wideouts that Coral Gables has featured.
Revisiting that dynamite descriptor: Toney has added 113 yards and a score on the ground and 273 yards on punt returns, and even gone 4-7 as a passer for 82 yards and two touchdowns. He’s an exciting young player with early signs of Sunday potential.
Tight End: Riley Nowakowski, Indiana
PFSN CFB TE Impact Score: 80.6
The redshirt senior is a seasoned vet as a sixth-year player who began his career at Wisconsin before, in all honesty, becoming one of the most underappreciated aspects of Indiana’s dominant run. Nowakowski set career highs in receptions, yards, and receiving touchdowns in 2025 en route to second-team All-Big 10 honors and an invitation to the East-West Shrine Game.
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For as reliable as he is as a pass catcher, Nowakowski’s impact is equally evident when Indiana wants to run the ball. His 63.1 PFSN Blocking Score is the fifth-best mark amongst FBS tight ends and a huge driver behind an 80.6 CFB TE Impact Score that sits just outside the top-20.
Nowakowski has recorded a reception in 13 of Indiana’s 15 games this season and multiple in all but one of the last 10. Expect the ball to head his way a handful of times tonight.
Offensive Line: Carter Smith, Indiana
PFSN CFB Player OL Impact Score: 92.8
Indiana breaks the tie amongst the list of top performers with left tackle Carter Smith, though it’s actually Miami with the higher-graded unit as a whole via the PFSN CFB Team OL Impact Score.
Nevertheless, Smith’s 92.8 CFB Player OL Impact Score sets the pace amongst all offensive linemen between these two teams and ranks as the seventh-best mark throughout the FBS, independent of position specification.
Smith protects Mendoza’s blindside at the left tackle spot, serving as the linchpin for a line that ranks top-20 in yards per play, rushing yards, rushing yards per attempt, and rushing touchdowns.
There will be some NFL Draft analysts who champion Smith as an interior player in the NFL; regardless, he looks firmly like a top-100 pick.
EDGE: Rueben Bain Jr., Miami
PFSN CFB EDGE Impact Score: 82.7
This selection is akin to the Mendoza nod at quarterback. Despite mostly being held at bay against Ole Miss, Bain, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, was a force in Miami’s first two playoff games by accumulating four sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss to bring his season totals to 8.5 and 13, respectively.
His PFSN CFB EDGE Impact Score of 82.7 is good for 15th amongst other FBS edge players.
If you’ve followed the College Football Playoffs, then you are very familiar with number four from Miami. The get-off, the tenacity, the crafty hands, he has a packing of pass-rush impact that has made its presence felt all season. Expect Bain to be a first-round pick in April.
Defensive Tackle: Ahmad Moten Sr., Miami
PFSN CFB DT Impact Score: 83.7
Another disruptor along that talented Miami front is the 6’3″, 325-pound anchor in the middle, Ahmad Moten Sr. He is more than just a bigger body occupying space with 4.5 sacks and eight TFLs thus far, all career highs. His 83.7 PFSN CFB DT Impact Score also sits at 11th amongst FBS defensive tackles. He’s expected to be full-go despite battling an ankle issue.
Moten has capitalized on his redshirt junior season to become a true force for clogging lanes and spilling ball carriers to their talented edge duo. He offers reliable pass-rush potential relative to normal expectations for interior players in conjunction with what he does well against the run.
He is a legitimate NFL Draft prospect with potential somewhere in the late Day 2-Early Day 3 range.
Linebacker: Rolijah Hardy, Indiana
PFSN CFB LB Impact Score: 83.5
Similar to his offensive equivalent in offensive teammate Nowakowski, as it relates to notoriety, is the 6’1″, 230-pound sophomore. This has been a breakout campaign for Hardy, who ought to eclipse 100 tackles tonight and finish with no fewer than 23 plays behind the line of scrimmage, earning an 83.5 PFSN CFB LB Impact Score thus far (11th overall).
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I’m calling my shot with Hardy here: he is going to be a top-75 pick someday. His height will draw some detractors, and I’ll be paying close attention to how he tests, but he doesn’t miss many tackles, he pursues the ball at all depths of the field, and he’s densely built for between-the-tackles duties. An entertaining player to keep your eye on tonight.
Cornerback: D’Angelo Ponds, Indiana
PFSN CFB CB Impact Score: 87.6
Another shorter member of this Hoosiers back-seven is the 5’9″ Ponds, who tips the scale at a listed 173 pounds. Ponds is one of the prominent players who followed head coach Curt Cignetti from James Madison to Indiana, with multiple interceptions to his name in every season he’s played.
He has also not been charged with a penalty in 2025, aiding in the establishment of an 87.6 PFSN CFB CB Impact Score, which ranks 24th amongst FBS corners.
If you’re unfamiliar with Ponds, do not be fooled by his size. There are few defenders at this level of college football who are better at punching above their weight class when it’s time to serve a role on the ball carrier.
He’s decisive, he’s tough, and he flat out just doesn’t miss many tackles whatsoever. Incorporating what he does in coverage with the element of speed at his disposal creates the caliber of NFL Draft prospect that he’s become.
Safety: Louis Moore, Indiana
PFSN CFB Safety Impact Score: 90.2
We conclude this preview with further proof that this Indiana back seven is the strength of this defense. The 5’11”, 200-pound Moore is another seasoned veteran with the genesis of his career in 2020 at Navarro Community College in Texas.
This is actually the second of two stints in Bloomington, the first of which spanned the 2022 and 2023 seasons before transferring to Ole Miss for the 2024 campaign. He’s now back with the Hoosiers for their championship run, where he’s posted the 10th-best PFSN CFB Safety Impact Score amongst FBS safeties (90.2).
It’s worth noting that fellow safety Amare Ferrell is only seven spots behind Moore to cement, yet again, the talent saturated in the back part of Indiana’s defense. Moore has recorded a whopping six interceptions this season while ranking third on the team in tackles, signaling the dual-threat capabilities that bolster this attack defense.
