Oklahoma's Lincoln Riley Makes Midseason Watch List

After guiding the Sooners to a 7-0 record, OU's head coach is on the watch list for the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award.

John E. Hoover | Oct 21, 2021

Oklahoma's Lincoln Riley Makes Midseason Watch List /

Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley is among 16 coaches on the midseason Bobby Dodd Award watch list.

The list was unveiled Thursday by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and the Peach Bowl.

The Dodd Trophy goes to college football’s top coach “while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity — the three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd’s philosophy.”

Riley is the only Big 12 Conference coach on the list.

Others on the midseason watch list are Coastal Carolina’s Jamey Chadwell, Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson, Oregon’s Mario Cristobal, Ohio State’s Ryan Day, NC State’s Dave Doeren, Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell, Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher, Penn State’s James Franklin, MIchigan’s Jim Harbaugh, Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly, Alabama’s Nick Saban, Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Kentucky’s Mark Stoops and Michigan State’s Mel Tucker.

Riley has the Sooners at No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25 after starting 7-0 overall and 4-0 in Big 12 play.

OU, the six-time defending Big 12 champ, takes on Kansas in an 11 a.m. game Saturday in Lawrence.

Published Oct 21, 2021

JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.