No Mercy: Maybe Ryan Day vs. Curt Cignetti is the next great coach rivalry in college football

Curt Cignetti isn't afraid to talk trash — like when he said "Purdue sucks... but so do Michigan and Ohio State" at an Indiana basketball game in 2023.

Ryan Day isn't afraid to score a late touchdown in a blowout, like he did on Saturday. His Buckeyes were up 31-15 with under a minute left, and instead of taking a knee, the Ohio State coach elected to mash in another touchdown and make the final score a little more lopsided.

Indiana fans didn't love the move, of course. But in college football, talking trash doesn't go without response. Hoosiers fans loved when their coach said "Ohio State sucks," but didn't love when Ryan Day scored when he didn't need to.

No one's the "bad guy" here. Curt Cignetti hyped up Indiana fans when he talked trash, and Ryan Day hyped up Ohio State fans by showing he plays until the final whistle no matter the score. This is what a real in-conference rivalry looks like! With Cignetti's refusal to back down in the face of any opponent, the Cignetti versus Day matchup could turn into a fun one for years.

Yeah, that's pretty much right. Except a cake-baking contest probably gets pretty contentious, too.

Ohio State dominates Indiana in first meeting between Day and Cignetti

Neither of these coaches has said anything directly derogatory about the other; but Day scoring that last-second touchdown sent a clear message, and if we know anything about Cignetti, that's not a play he's going to forget. And he shouldn't!

Was it "classless?" No, I don't think so. Fans asking the other team not to score in the final seconds of a game that's already decided is more embarrassing than the team actually doing it. But the first edition of Curt Cignetti versus Ryan Day included plenty of storylines that will be fun to monitor as this series continues through the years.