Miami Gets To Play a National Championship Game at Home -- Has That Happened Before Since 1980?

2025-2026: MIAMI HURRICANES: Miami will be the first team to play a national championship game (that goes back to 1998) at their home field. As you will see, we've had schools play virtual home games in the College Football Playoff national championship and the BCS title game. If we go back to 1980, there have been times a team who won a national championship played in a title game where one of the teams in that bowl were at home. All those instances were the Miami Hurricanes in the Orange Bowl. 

2017-2018: GEORGIA BULLDOGS*: This is technically is a stretch because this game was in Atlanta and not in Athens, Georgia. So going further, I will add an asterisk on these kinds of games. It should be noted that Georgia lost this game to Alabama in one of the wildest games we've seen. This was the game Nick Saban benched Jalen Hurts at halftime and brought in Tua Tagovailoa who led the Tide to a win in overtime. 

2019-2020: LSU TIGERS*: The Tigers were elite all season and dominated Clemson in New Orleans. Again, this wasn't technically a home game but New Orleans is pretty much an LSU town. 

2011-2012: LSU TIGERS*: LSU is back in New Orleans, but this time they lost to Alabama, 21-0. 

2007-2008 LSU TIGERS*: Again, LSU. New Orleans. This one was a win by Les Miles and the Tigers over Ohio State, 38-24.

2005-2006: USC TROJANS*: Now, this wasn't played at USC's Los Angeles Coliseum but their rival UCLA's Rose Bowl. Still, we're in the Los Angeles area. But it was Texas and Vince Young winning one of the greatest title games we've ever witnessed. 

2003-2004: LSU TIGERS*: The Tigers beat Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl to bring Nick Saban his first national championship. 

1994-1995: MIAMI HURRICANES: Now, this was before the BCS or College Football Playoff where we didn't have an actual national championship game. The polls were taken after the bowls to determine the national champion. This year had No. 1 Nebraska vs No. 3 Miami in Miami's Orange Bowl. The Huskers would win the game, 24-17, for a national championship. 

1990-1991: MIAMI HURRICANES: The Canes would win this one over No. 11 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl for Dennis Erickson his second national championship. 

1987-1988: MIAMI HURRICANES: No. 2 Miami slipped by No. 1 Oklahoma, 20-14, to win the national championship in Miami's Orange Bowl. 

1983-1984: MIAMI HURRICANES: No. 5 Miami stuffed No. 1 Nebraska's two point conversion to beat the Huskers in the Orange Bowl. With other stuff that happened earlier in the day, the Canes climbed all the way up in the bowls to win the program's first national championship.