Ohio State’s Ryan Day and Indiana’s Curt Cignetti will lead their respective teams against each other in Saturday’s Big Ten championship game that will crown the conference winner and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.
But they are also battling for the Walter Camp Coach of the Year award.
Walter Camp announced its three finalists for the award Thursday, and the pair of Big Ten coaches was joined by Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea:
The award is chosen by the 136 Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports communicators and will be revealed on Wednesday.
None of the three selections are surprising.
Day turned around the entire narrative of his tenure at Ohio State last season when he bounced back from a shocking loss to rival Michigan and ripped off four consecutive wins by double digits over Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame in the CFP to win the national championship.
He picked up right where he left off this season with a perfect 12-0 record that included wins over Texas, Michigan, Penn State, Washington and Illinois. The Buckeyes have been ranked No. 1 in every CFP release this season and are the favorites to take home a second straight national championship.
But Cignetti’s Hoosiers stand in their way as the No. 2 team and upcoming opponent in the Big Ten title game.
Cignetti won the Walter Camp Coach of the Year last season by leading a historically downtrodden Indiana program to the CFP and has been even better this season with a 12-0 record and Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback in Fernando Mendoza.
His road win over Oregon remains arguably the most impressive victory of the entire season for any coach, although he can add an even better one to his resume with a win over Day’s Buckeyes on Saturday.
As for Lea, he made history at Vanderbilt by leading the team to its first ever double-digit win season. The 10-2 Commodores defeated Tennessee, Missouri, LSU and South Carolina and were factors in the CFP race for much of the season.
That effort resulted in a new contract extension with the SEC school, so he will have the chance to build on his success for years to come.
