Overview
- No. 1 Ohio State faces No. 2 Indiana in Saturday's Big Ten Championship, with the winner claiming the conference title and the No. 1 College Football Playoff seed.
- Walter Camp named Ryan Day, Curt Cignetti and Vanderbilt's Clark Lea as Coach of the Year finalists, with the award voted on by FBS head coaches and sports communicators and revealed Wednesday.
- Cignetti’s 12-0 Hoosiers reflect a continuity-first blueprint that brought six assistants from James Madison and elevated long-tenured coordinators Bryant Haines and Mike Shanahan.
- Indiana moved to keep its staff intact as interest grew elsewhere, with reports of Haines fielding calls from Ohio State and Penn State and USC attempting to hire strength coach Derek Owings.
- Heisman candidate quarterback Fernando Mendoza points to first-year position coach Chandler Whitmer’s guidance, while players and peers laud retained line coach Bob Bostad’s impact.