Could Paul Chryst wind up as the coach of the year in college football?
The Wisconsin head coach was named Wednesday as one of five finalists for the Dodd Trophy, handed out annually to the guy who did the best coaching job in college football, joined by Western Michigan's P.J. Fleck, Colorado's Mike MacIntyre, Navy's Ken Niumatalolo and Washington's Chris Petersen.
Chryst's Badgers navigated an impossible-looking schedule to win the Big Ten West Division and come close to a Big Ten championship, falling to Penn State in the conference title bout. Wisconsin still earned a spot in a New Year's Six bowl, heading to the Cotton Bowl after finishing eighth in the final College Football Playoff rankings.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
In the preseason, a lot of people looked at the Badgers' schedule and couldn't possibly foresee them winning 10 games. But Wisconsin won a neutral-site game against LSU to open the season and went on the road to beat Michigan State before narrow losses to Michigan and Ohio State, two teams that ended the season ranked in the top six. Wins over Iowa and Nebraska followed as Wisconsin used one of the best defenses in the country to march to a fourth appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game.
If Chryst wins this year's Dodd Trophy, it'll be back-to-back wins for the Big Ten after Iowa's Kirk Ferentz took home the award last season. Chryst would become the second all-time winner from Wisconsin. Barry Alvarez won in 1993.
Though Chryst would be deserving for leading his team to an improbable 10-win season, heads were being scratched Wednesday over the absence of another Big Ten name: Penn State's James Franklin. It was the Nittany Lions who emerged victorious in that Big Ten title bout and completely came out of nowhere this season. Franklin is still dealing with the after effects of the Jerry Sandusky scandal and has one of the youngest teams in the country, but he's led that group to 11 wins, a Rose Bowl berth, the doorstep of the College Football Playoff and a championship in the best conference in the nation.
Chryst and Franklin shared Big Ten Coach of the Year honors prior to the championship game.