Florida State's Jimbo Fisher and UCF's George O'Leary are among the eight finalists for the Eddie Robinson coach of the year award.
The other finalists are Art Briles (Baylor), David Cutcliffe (Duke), Mark Dantonio (Michigan
State), Gus Malzahn (Auburn), Gary Pinkel (Missouri) and David Shaw (Stanford).
Members of the Football Writers Association of American vote on the award. The winner will be named on Dec. 16.
Fisher has led No. 1 Florida State (13-0) to the only perfect season in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Seminoles have been college football's most dominant team during the 2013 season. They have won 12 games by at least 27 points and have scored at least 37 points in 13 straight games. They will face Auburn in the 2013 BCS championship game after winning the ACC championship.
O'Leary has guided UCF (11-1) to their first BCS bowl game. The Knights won the first American Athletic Conference title and qualified to earn a spot in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Going into the bowl season, UCF has won a school record eight straight games. The Knights' only loss this season is to South Carolina. O'Leary was an Eddie Robinson finalist in 2005 at UCF and in 1998 at Georgia Tech.
