Scarlet and Game
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Three best coaches Ohio State Football will face in 2021

By Ryan Stano

COLUMBUS, OH - NOVEMBER 21: Head Coach Tom Allen of the Indiana Hoosiers, left, and Head Coach Ryan Day of the Ohio State Buckeyes bump fists after the Buckeyes defeated the Hoosiers 42-35 at Ohio Stadium on November 21, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - NOVEMBER 21: Head Coach Tom Allen of the Indiana Hoosiers, left, and Head Coach Ryan Day of the Ohio State Buckeyes bump fists after the Buckeyes defeated the Hoosiers 42-35 at Ohio Stadium on November 21, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) /
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The Ohio State Football team almost blew a lead to the Hoosiers a season ago. Ryan Day will have to make sure that doesn’t happen again. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
The Ohio State Football team almost blew a lead to the Hoosiers a season ago. Ryan Day will have to make sure that doesn’t happen again. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports /

Let’s get this out of the way right now; I think Tom Allen is the second-best coach in the Big Ten Conference. That’s right, I said it! I think he’s better than Pat Fitzgerald, Jim Harbaugh, and James Franklin. Allen has the Indiana Hoosiers somewhere they haven’t been in 50 years.

This is the first time since 1968 that the Hoosiers are ranked in the top-25 to start out a season. That’s an insane amount of time between poll appearances. IU definitely deserves it with the talent they have coming back, including Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback.

Allen has done a phenomenal job since taking over for Kevin Wilson. Allen has taken the Hoosiers to three bowl games in just five years being the first coach to do that since Bill Mallory in the 1990s. Not only that, but IU finished 12th in the polls a season ago.

There’s no doubt that Ryan Day will have his team focused before his team’s trip to Bloomington this year. The Buckeyes get a bye before facing them. Not only that, but they almost blew the game a year ago, only winning by 7 points after having a 28-point lead at one point.

I firmly believe that IU is the second-best team in the Big Ten. Unfortunately, they won’t be able to play for a conference title because the Buckeyes are in their division. Either way, Allen has the Hoosiers in a position to be good for quite a while.

The final coach on this list isn’t on the Buckeye’s schedule right now, but I bet the Buckeyes will see his team in the Playoff.

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