Communication during the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship Game between Miami and Indiana was cut off during Malachai Toney’s 22-yard touchdown.
The lack of headset communication was due to President Trump’s exit, according to Texas Longhorns Head Coach Steve Sarkisian.
“Last year, when they were playing Indiana in the national championship, [Miami] had that drive at the end of the game,” Sarkisian said to On Texas Football on Thursday. “They had no communications because [President Trump] was leaving early before the game ended. You get no warning. It just cuts out, you have to be prepared for that.”
Sarkisian’s comments come as the White House confirmed to The Athletic on Wednesday that President Trump will be attending Saturday’s matchup between No. 1 Texas and No. 14 Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn.
Sarkisian worked with Miami Hurricanes Head Coach Mario Cristobal under Nick Saban at Alabama. The Longhorn coach referred to Cristobal as a “good friend.”
The Miami Hurricane reached out to the University for comment but has not received a response.
That same evening, Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti spoke to Indiana sports podcast Kirkwood & Dunn. He said that communication was not knocked during the final drive of the game and called Sarkisian’s report “a bunch of b—.”
“What’s floating around on social media is that the communication device went down on Miami’s last drive of the game on offense,” Cignetti said.“I had to dispel that. The communication devices came back right after the touchdown and we had no problem on either side.”
Cignetti tells ESPN’s Pete Thamel that the headsets went down with roughly 6:45 left in the fourth quarter and it impacted a few plays for Indiana’s defense — including a 41-yard pass to Toney and his 22-yard touchdown that cut Indiana’s lead to 24-21.
We couldn’t hear [on the TD] then it came back,” Cignetti said. “It came back before kickoff. We both had communication from that point on.”
Sources from inside Miami’s football program told CBS Sports a similar story. While different sources said the communication disruption came at various times, each source claimed the lack of communication lasted a couple of plays and did not have a significant impact on the game.
But, what remains consistent across all sources is that the President’s departure caused communication devices to be cut for a small period of time.
Teams use headsets to communicate between coaches on the sideline and assistants that work from the press box, usually located in the upper-level of a stadium. Communication also feeds into the quarterback’s helmet and one member of the defense, most likely a linebacker.
Without headset communication, teams are forced to go “old-school,” yelling out plays in code from the sideline and giving it out to players.
The communication interruption ultimately did not impact the Hoosiers stopping Miami on the final drive of the game, the play that led Indiana to claiming its first national championship.
Down 27-21 with less than two minutes left, Miami was driving down the field and found its way to the Indiana 41-yard line.
On first down, Miami quarterback Carson Beck launched the ball down the field, looking for receiver Keelan Marrion. Instead, the ball found Indiana’s Jamari Sharpe at the Hoosiers’ 14-yard line, going down to the ground and clinching the game.
