Ohio State football: Ryan Day on midseason watchlist for major award

The Ohio State football team is undefeated and ranked second in the country. They haven’t come close to being beaten by anyone that they’ve played so far and look to continue that this week against Iowa. A lot of credit has gone to the players, as it should.

Some credit also needs to go to Ryan Day. Day is the guy who recruited these guys to the program and put them in positions to succeed. Without him, this season isn’t nearly as successful. Now, he is on the midseason watchlist for a major coaching award.

That award is the Bobby Dodd Coach of the year. Day is one of 20 coaches that has been put on the list. Other coaches on the list include Lane Kiffin, Dino Babers, Jim Harbaugh, Dabo Swinney, and Kirby Smart, all of whom lead programs that are currently undefeated.

Will Ryan Day’s success with the Ohio State football program finally be recognized?

Day has not won this award before. In fact, he’s never even won the Big Ten Coach of the Year award outright. He shared the award with P.J. Fleck of Minnesota back in 2019. This is despite the fact that Day has only lost two regular season games in three years.

These types of awards typically go to guys who lead programs that aren’t traditionally a juggernaut. In fact, the last coach to win this award and take his team to the CFP was Brian Kelly back in 2018 for Notre Dame. Pat Fitzgerald won it in 2020 by making the Big Ten Championship.

I doubt that Day will ultimately win this award. I’d be surprised if they want to give it to the guy that leads Ohio State. Typically, you should win a lot of games when you lead the Ohio State football program. Coaches don’t get enough credit for doing it though.

We’ll see who ultimately ends up winning the trophy at the end of the year. Hopefully, Day gets a fair shot at it if his team keeps on winning.