If Curt Cignetti Doesn't Win College Football Coach Of The Year, What Are We Even Doing?
It's pretty simple. He wins. Google him.
The Walter Camp Coach of the Year finalists have been revealed, and if we are being honest, this is likely down to two candidates.
With all due respect to Ryan Day — as impressive as this season has been for the Ohio State Buckeyes — what he’s doing with the resources at his disposal in Columbus doesn’t hold a candle to his fellow finalists.
Clark Lea has been fantastic at Vanderbilt, turning a once-downtrodden, bottom-tier SEC afterthought into a team many are legitimately considering a College Football Playoff contender.
But for my money, the Coach of the Year has to be Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti, and it’s not even close.
If you’ve been reading my stuff since the beginning of the college football season, you know exactly how I feel about Coach Cig.
The man is a football savant who has steamrolled opponents at every level he’s coached. In other words, he just wins. Google him.
What he’s been doing at Indiana is nothing short of spectacular, and I thought it wouldn’t get any better than last season in Bloomington.
Eleven wins and a playoff berth were already historic given the state of the program before his arrival, but somehow he one-upped himself.
The Hoosiers are back in the College Football Playoff and just completed their first 12–0 regular season in program history.
For his efforts, Cignetti has already been named Big Ten Coach of the Year, but it would be a travesty if he didn’t win the national award, too.
When you pair this season with the expectations he had to meet — and exceed — from last year, this is a no-brainer.
His win over Oregon in Eugene alone should make him a slam-dunk winner, considering the Ducks have one of the most talented rosters in the country while Indiana ranks near the bottom of Power Four rosters.
Cignetti had to completely rebuild the Hoosiers, including at quarterback. But somehow he found an even better signal-caller than Tanner Roarke in Fernando Mendoza.
Indiana having a Heisman finalist is insane. But that’s the new reality thanks to Cignetti.
If the Hoosiers beat the Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship Game tomorrow, you might as well rename the award after him.
I’ll be waiting to see if the committee makes the right call and gives the award to the most deserving coach — but whether he wins it or not, we all know Curt Cignetti is the rightful choice.