Steve Sarkisian says Trump departure cut Miami headset communication during CFP title game

Did President Donald Trump impact the fourth quarter of the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship?

According to what started as a game of telephone between two former Nick 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 went through it when Trump attended a 2019 Alabama vs. LSU game in Tuscaloosa that the Tigers won 46-41. 

He revealed that when President Trump moves within the stadium, all communication is killed, including the headsets that coaches use to signal plays. Then Sarkisian told a never-before-heard anecdote about last year’s national championship, which 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 were 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’s movement impacted communication during the fourth quarter, but they were mixed on whether it came during the final drive as Sarkisian claimed. CBS Sports spoke with multiple sources in the Miami program who had varied recollections on the exact timing of the communications lapse. Two of the sources said the communication lapse did not happen on the final drive.

All sources were adamant that the lack of communication lasted only couple plays and did not notably impact the outcome of the game. 

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti told ESPN that headset communication went down at around the 6:45 mark of the fourth quarter but quickly returned. 

“We couldn’t hear (on the TD), then it came back,” Cignetti told ESPN. “It came back before kickoff. We both had communication from that point on.”

A source indicated that it impacted a few plays for Indiana’s defense as the Hurricanes had a 41-yard pass to Malachi Toney and then a 22-yard Toney touchdown two plays later to cut Indiana’s lead to 24-21. 

Indiana was able to hold on and win its first national championship when it stopped Miami’s final drive. Down 27-21 with less than two minutes remaining in the game, Miami drove downfield into Indiana territory. On first-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’ title victory. 

Attempts to reach Miami and Indiana for comment were not returned.