Just a few weeks remain in college football's regular-season campaign before we are treated to the first-ever 12-program College Football Playoff. With the new postseason format swiftly approaching, several head coaches have entered the conversation for Coach of the Year honors. We've identified three in particular who deserve their flowers.
Curt Cignetti
The Indiana Hoosiers are putting forth college football's most heartwarming story. Curt Cignetti was appointed after winning Sun Belt Coach of the Year at James Madison last campaign. Cignetti has been a home-run hire for a program starved for relevance and improvement.
After finishing the three previous campaigns a combined 9–27 under Tom Allen, the Hoosiers are currently a perfect 10–0. It already represents their best start in school history and the first-ever 10-win season in program history. Cignetti has already signed a lucrative eight-year extension.
Fresh off victories over Washington and Michigan, the Hoosiers are the nation's fifth-ranked program. With many non-believers still denying their legitimacy, Cignetti and Indiana will face their largest test of the campaign this weekend when they travel to Ohio State for a Big Ten showdown with the No. 2 Buckeyes.
The heavy-hitting Buckeyes are multi-score favorites. If Cignetti and the Hoosiers execute the unthinkable, they should overtake Ohio State as the No. 2-ranked program in the country, further strengthening Cignetti's claim to Coach of the Year.
Dan Lanning
Dan Lanning's No. 1-ranked Oregon Ducks program sits atop the entire nation. Moving to the Big Ten from the Pac-12 has been no issue for the dominant Ducks. Oregon began the season 7–0 for the first time in 10-plus years and currently remains undefeated at 11–0 after surviving a valiant Wisconsin effort on Saturday.
The Ducks have already defeated Ohio State 32–31. College football's best-performing squad recently marched into The Big House and embarrassed Michigan 38–17 in front of an apathetic home crowd. A stacked roster has assumed the personality of their hard-nosed leader.
Lanning has been building his version of the Ducks since inheriting an inconsistent program from Mario Cristobal in 2022. A Big Ten Championship and No. 1 seed entering the College Football Playoff is Lanning's current expectation.
Deion Sanders
College football's most controversial personality, there's no denying what Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes are achieving on the field. A 4–8 record in his debut campaign (2023) marked improvement from the one-win program they were the year before. This season, Sanders' Buffaloes have shown drastic improvement via an 8–2 record, already accumulating their most victories since 2016.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders and wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter followed Sanders from Jackson State to Colorado and they are arguably college football’s two best players. Colorado further asserted their Big 12 dominance over the weekend by beating Utah 49–24. Sanders threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns.
Sanders has the surging Buffaloes flirting with a College Football Playoff berth. That was unthinkable when he assumed the role last season. Sanders' achievements deserve Coach of the Year consideration.
