COLUMBUS – Big Ten East Division champion Ohio State has taken two of the conference’s top honors. Defensive end Chase Young has been selected as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and head coach Ryan Day was chosen Coach of the Year by the media.
Big Ten Championship Game
(1) Ohio State (12-0, 9-0) vs. (12) Wisconsin (10-2, 7-2)
Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Ind.
Sat., Dec. 7 (8:00 p.m./Fox)
Ohio State boasts the nation’s No. 1 defense, with Young leading the way. The junior has a school-record 16½ sacks, the most by a Big Ten player in 21 years, and has 30½ in his three seasons.
Although he failed to record any tackles during the Buckeyes’ 56-27 win over Michigan in their regular season finale, Day says No. 2 makes an impact simply by being on the field.
“His presence matters. Although sometimes maybe it doesn’t mean he’s getting sacks or [tackles-for-loss], when two or three guys get the attention of him, that opens up things for other guys,” Day said.
He was also named the conference’s Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year and was joined by linebacker Malik Harrison, safety Jordan Fuller and cornerback Jeff Okudah on the All-Conference first team.
Day is the third Ohio State coach to win the conference’s Coach of the Year honors, joining Woody Hayes – who won the award twice, in 1973 and 1975 – and Earle Bruce, who was the last Buckeye coach to win it, in 1979.
Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck was picked by the coaches.
The Buckeyes go into championship weekend as the top team in the College Football Playoff selection committee’s rankings, followed by LSU, Clemson and Georgia.
Utah was fifth, Oklahoma sixth and Baylor seventh in the committee’s second-to-last top 25.
The final rankings that set the pairings for the national semifinals come out Sunday after each FBS conference plays a championship game this weekend.