Steve Sarkisian says Trump's departure disrupted Miami's headsets in CFP title game; sources differ on timing

Sources confirmed Miami briefly lost communication during the game, but disputed whether it happened on the final drive. All said it lasted only a play or two and did not decide Indiana's win

Sep 24, 2026 at 4:54 pm ET • 1 min read

Did President Donald Trump impact the final drive of the 2026 College Football Playoff national championship?

According to what started as a game of telephone between two former Saban acolytes: yes.

Ahead of President Trump's expected appearance at Saturday's No. 1 Texas at No. 14 Tennessee game, Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian was asked about the impact of having the President in attendance. Sarkisian himself went through it when Trump attended a 2019 Alabama-LSU game in Tuscaloosa that the Tigers won 46-41. 

He brought up that when President Trump is being moved within the stadium, all communication is killed, including the headsets that coaches use to signal in plays. And then Sarkisian told a never-before-heard anecdote about last year's national championship that Indiana won 27-21 over Miami.

"A good friend of mine is Mario Cristobal," Sarkisian told the Longhorn Network on Thursday. Cristobal also worked under Nick Saban at Alabama during the 2010s. "Last year when they are playing Indiana in the national championship, they had that drive at the end of the game they had no communications because he was leaving early before the game ended. You get no warning, it just cuts out. You have to be prepared for that."

Multiple Miami football sources say Trump did have an impact on communication during the fourth quarter, but there were mixed memories on whether it came during the final drive as Sarkisian claimed. CBS Sports spoke with three sources in the Miami program who had varied recollections of the exact timing of the communications lapse. 

All sources were adamant that the lack of communication lasted only a play or two and did not notably impact the outcome of the game. 

Down 27-21 with less than two minutes remaining in the game, Miami drove down field into Indiana's territory. On 1st-and-10 from Indiana's 41-yard line, Miami quarterback Carson Beck attempted a deep pass that Indiana defensive back Jamari Sharpe intercepted to preserve the Hoosiers' national championship victory. 

Attempts to return Miami and Indiana for comment were not immediately returned.