Ohio State Coach Ryan Day Shares What Impresses Him About Indiana

For the first time history, the nation's No. 1 and No. 2 teams will battle for the Big Ten championship.

Top-ranked Ohio State completed its undefeated season Saturday with a 27-9 win at Michigan, while Indiana cruised to a 56-3 win at Purdue. That sets up a heavyweight matchup Saturday at 8 p.m. ET at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Coach Ryan Day and the Buckeyes are looking to win back-to-back national championships, and in their way is coach Curt Cignetti and the undefeated Hoosiers. Here's what Day said Monday about Indiana going into the matchup.

Indiana Football — Indiana Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti walks the sidelines against Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On the job Curt Cignetti has done at Indiana...

Day: "Well I think the first thing is he's adapted to modern times. He certainly has taken a roster and turned it over quickly and brought in some really talented players. So I think that's the first thing, it's about talent acquisition. And the way that we used to do that was just recruit and develop, and that takes time. He's been aggressive and he's been able to turn over his roster and bring in a lot of talent in a short period of time, which is really well done. You can tell they're good evaluators of talent."

"And then when you watch them play, they're well-coached. They have a plan on how they want to attack you in all three phases, and they're not gonna beat themselves. You combine all those things together, and you're looking at a program that has really made a lot of noise here in the last couple years and certainly have a lot of respect for what coach Cignetti has done."

Indiana Football Fernando Mendoza — Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) throws against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

On Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza...

Day: "Yeah, I've watched Mendoza play in a lot of the crossover games. I've seen just a little bit on TV, when maybe it's a Saturday game and we're playing a night game, they're playing a noon game, watching a little bit on the TV copy, but mostly in the crossover games."

"And one, he looks very intelligent in terms of his ability to identify pre and post-snap scheme. He makes those decisions as well. He's accurate. Probably I call it sneaky athletic, where maybe you don't look at him as a dual threat, but he makes a lot of plays with his feet, can extend. And he looks like a great leader to me when I listen to him speak. So it'll be a really good challenge for our defense and our team."

On the value of a Big Ten title when Ohio State and Indiana are already locked into the College Football Playoff...

Day: "I've said before that I think it's something we need to consider just how it plays into the playoffs and what it means, I do think so. But I think important for us right now is we want to be the one seed going into the playoffs, and that's what we're fighting for. So I do hear what you're saying, but I also think it's important to be the one seed. And so here we are, and that's what we're gonna be playing for here and that's the focus."

"But I do think it's important for us to be thinking about how this game does affect the playoffs and making sure that it's in alignment and it makes sense because I think it's a big deal. And I think winning your conference is a big deal. You think about in the basketball tournament, it's an automatic qualifier, which is great. But it should mean something, and I think it does. But I do think if it's gonna stay the way it does at 12 or if it's gonna expand, we just need to make sure that it's all in alignment. And then, is there a situation where three, four, five and six in the conference also play during this weekend. I know that's something that has been thrown out before that I think makes sense. It's one more game for us to play. When you think about last year, we didn't play in this game and then went on to win the national championship. But then if you win it, you get a bye. So there's a lot to consider, but not really focused on that right now. More focused on winning the game and being the one seed."

On Indiana believing it can win this year's matchup and whether both teams deserve a first-round bye in the playoff regardless of Saturday's result...

Day: "Yeah, I really haven't even been following that, but I did talk about it a little bit yesterday with Ross, just trying to get an idea. I didn't even know who the three was or who the four was quite honestly, because it doesn't really matter to us. I was just so focused on winning that game last week. But when you look at it, yeah, they say that you're not supposed to be penalized for losing the conference championship game. So we have the one and two seed, and so I think, yeah, both would deserve to get a first-round bye. But I also think it matters when you're the one or the three or four because of who you play. So I think it's important to win this game and be the one seed. I think it's gonna help your chance, everything matters, and so we want to win that."

"And going back to what you said about Indiana, yeah, this is a team now that has been winning at a high level for two years, so there will be no moment too big for them. They'll be ready to go."

On Curt Cignetti saying Ryan Day will be remembered as a college football legend, and Day's thoughts on Cignetti since joining the Big Ten...

Day: "Well, that's quite a compliment, and I appreciate him saying that. I'm not too sure what to think of that. I got a lot of football to coach before any of those type of conversations. But I think the one thing about coach Cignetti, one, he grew up in a football family. I have a respect for the way he grew up when I watch my son RJ, he's the son of a coach, and everything that comes with that. He just has a feel for the game, and when you grow up around this profession, you understand what it's supposed to look like. You understand people. You understand situations."

"And that's the way he is, and that's the way he coaches. And you can see that based on how quickly he's turned things about at Indiana, but also he's won wherever he's been. I know some people laugh about some of the comments he makes about "Google him," and all that, but it's true. And he's been around football his whole life, and it just makes sense to him. He's been around winning football, and certainly you see the guys on his staff, they stay with him a long time. That says a lot about your culture when your coaches want to be with you and stick with you. So I got a lot of respect for him as well, and certainly now it's been great to see him as a competitor in the conference in such a short period of time."

Curt Cignetti Indiana Football — Indiana coach Curt Cignetti against Wisconsin at Memorial Stadium. | RIch Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On what has made Cignetti successful at Indiana beyond acquiring talented players...

Day: "Well, I don't want to speak on somebody else's program. But when I have listened to coach Cignetti speak, you can tell that he has a system in place, and in that system he knows what it's supposed to look like. And I think there's a belief in the program and a credibility of his competence as a coach that if you follow the plan, it's going to work. And his confidence really exudes from the system."

"That's what it looks like to me. Now, I don't know that, but it looks to me like the preparation they put in, they seem prepared, and when you're prepared you have confidence. And then his players play like that. So again, that's just an observation. I'm not in there every day, but from afar it's certainly easy to see that they do a great job of playing fast and with confidence. And I think that has a lot to do with how he coaches and how his staff coaches and the systems they have in place."

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