Miami's magical run came up short, but Hurricanes belonged on college football's biggest stage

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Mario Cristobal stood alone, his eyes scanning for Miami players, heads down and feet dragging toward the locker room as a shower of red-and-white confetti littered the night sky and settled onto the field. He hugged and consoled those who approached him near the 19-yard line along the Hurricanes' sideline. This was not how it was supposed to end. This was supposed to be Miami's coronation. A generation had waited for this moment. Instead, the Hurricanes watched upstart Indiana celebrate a pitch-perfect season with a 27-21 victory and a national championship on Miami's home field at Hard Rock Stadium. It was not until Cristobal sat next to his players roughly 30...