In the world of sports, team honors matter the most. You ask any player, whether they’d have a Heisman or a national championship. They’d choose the second (most would like to have both, actually). When it comes to coaches, any HC doing well, and they are in conversation to be the Coach of the Year. Who are the contenders this year? You have Dan Lanning’s Oregon Ducks at 10-0 and Curt Cignetti’s Indiana Hoosiers at 10-0. Among the two, the “Google Me” head coach is the favorite.

But, there is another name doing the rounds. How can you not talk about the Colorado Buffaloes and their turnaround after Deion Sanders’ dismal first year in Boulder? Media personalities like Stephen A Smith and Paul Finebaum would have you believe that the award is of Coach Prime’s to lose. Can we have a sensible take on this issue? Someone who doesn’t shout, scream and exaggerate for a living? Well, who better to go to than the college football man himself: Joel Klatt. On November 15, Klatt appeared on the Big Ten Football show and made his choice very clear.

The Fox Sports analyst was asked a simple question: who has had a better this year? Colorado or Indiana? Before delving deeper into the answer, Klatt started by stating the obvious, “I’m being short-sided. Curt Cignetti and Deion Sanders should be the top two candidates for coach of the year. I think we would all agree on that, so to try to say which is a better story is really difficult.” There, you have the build-up. Surely, he has a preference, right?

“I think in the first year with Indiana, the way that this has gone, the JMU infusion from Curt Cignetti and his players at Indiana, it’s a remarkable story.” There, you have it. But, for Klatt, it isn’t just about this season. We have to take into account the histories of both these programs.

“In particular because they [Indiana] don’t have a history of success. By the way, their history in football isn’t even close to Colorado’s history. Remember, Colorado has Thorp Award winners, and they’ve got Butkus winners, a Heisman Trophy winner and a national championship and this was a Premiere program from about 1988 to 96, won the Big 12 in 2001, played a lot of big games, obviously in the early 2000s. Indiana didn’t have that. So the scope of the story, I think, is bigger at Indiana.”

Obviously, Klatt doesn’t have anything against the Buffs. Why would he? He is among the very few media personalities who could say that they actually played for the Buffs, a three-year starter in the early 2000s. So, coming from him, considering how well he knows the history of the program, it’s huge. Cignetti might as well take the award home.

Curt Cignetti receives heartwarming love from fans

Curt Cignetti was seen as surprised. Yes! He well knows he is doing great this season but it looked like he did not expect the overwhelming love he received. On Thursday, he arrived at Hoosiers Hank’s restaurant for his weekly radio show; for a change, the location near the College Park Mall was filled with Indiana fans.

They were looking very excited, and as soon as he entered, he received a standing ovation. We are sure he is going to remember the moment for a long time. Cignetti immediately acknowledged the love and said, “I’ll tell you what. The Hoosiers Hank’s showing reminds me of our stadium from the first game from the start of the season to the middle of the season to the end of the season.” 

The show did not end there; he engaged with the crowd, signed twoles and also took photos with the fans. He also sang “Happy Birthday” to a fan who celebrated her 21st birthday. Currently, the team is enjoying their bye week, and the atmosphere for them is relaxed. Let’s see if Week 13 brings any new challenges for them.