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thecollegefootballguy · 4 years

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2020 Big Ten Coaching Power Rankings

Hello folks, it’s time to bust out the power rankings once again. I’ll be rating coaches against their peers conference by conference. Remember, with power rankings I weigh both recent and overall career success. I’ve adjusted my metrics a bit since last time so there might be more movement here than usual.

Let’s see where each man stands.

Check out last year’s rankings here.

The Big Ten is solidly in 2nd place behind the SEC in the Power 5 pecking order. Behind Ohio State is a healthy stable to powerful programs that can compete for NY6 bowls. Aside from a few exceptions, there are only a small handful of underachieving squads.

Unfortunately the league has lost its #1 coach two years in a row, Mark Dantonio announced his retirement in the offseason, following Urban Meyer the year before. It’s a big blow for the league to lose such valuable head men, but they do seem well positioned to rebound. There really are a lot of talented head coaches in this league as this list attests.

Chris Ash also got fired. But that really doesn’t matter if we’re being honest.

14. Mel Tucker

Overall Record: 5-7

Movement: N/A

Welcome back to the Big Ten, Mel Tucker. Tucker was Colorado’s coach last season following stints as DC in the SEC and NFL. I don’t really understand why Michigan State was so hot to poach him, his one great moment in Boulder was to barely upset an overrated Nebraska team before going 5-7, the record that got predecessor Mike MacIntyre fired. We’ll see how it goes, he only had the one year with a bad program after all.

13. Mike Locksley

Record at Maryland: 4-14

Movement: Up 1 spot

Well there was a flash of promise at the beginning of the season before Maryland turned back into a pumpkin when league play started. There’s still some optimism in College Park around Locksley, so let’s see what happens as he gets all of his ducks in a row.

12. Lovie Smith

Record at Illinois: 15-34

Movement: Down 1 spot

I feel real bad knocking Lovie down a spot, especially after Illinois clawed their way to bowl eligibility for the first time since 2014, but it’s a tough crowd. The Illini managed to lose to Eastern Michigan and an atrocious Northwestern squad, but they stunned #6 Wisconsin in Champaign to give Smith the signature win of his tenure so far. Keep at it, Lovie!

11. Tom Allen

Record at Indiana: 18-20

Movement: Down 1 spot

Again, I feel awful dropping another coach that had a breakthrough season. Tom Allen’s Indiana squad quietly went 8-5 in the Big Ten East, a huge success by Hoosier standards. Allen has done a fantastic job in his three seasons in Bloomington and I can’t wait to see if he can raise the bar even higher.

10. Greg Schiano

Record at Rutgers: 68-67

Movement: N/A

Welcome back to Piscataway, Greg Schiano. The architect of the Scarlet Knights’ rise to competence in the 2000′s, Schiano is here to revive the program yet again. He’s essentially starting from scratch, Rutgers has been pretty awful almost from the moment he left in 2011. Godspeed.

9. Scott Frost

Record at Nebraska: 9-15 Overall Record: 28-22

Movement: Same

There were very high hopes that Nebraska would break through in 2019 and it didn’t happen. The Cornhuskers once again failed to bowl after dropping 5 of their final 6 games. Scott Frost knew his work was cut out for him when he came home to Lincoln, but the fans got a cold dose of reality last year. It wasn’t quite the second year he saw at UCF. We’ll see what happens moving forward.

8. Jeff Brohm

Record at Purdue: 17-21 Overall Record: 47-31

Movement: Down 1 spot

The initial promise of Purdue’s 7-6 campaign in 2017 is feeling a little remote after last season’s 4-8 run. The Boilermakers scraped and scrapped but came up short more often than not. I think the administration and fans are still behind him, it’s not easy building a bottom-feeder back to relevance. Hopefully it just takes a bit more time.

7. Pat Fitzgerald

Record at Northwestern: 99-79

Movement: Down 3 spots

It was not a banner year in Evanston. Northwestern’s 3-9 record was their worst ever in Pat Fitzgerald’s 14 year tenure, and this came on the heels of the Wildcats’ division championship in 2018. Well, he’s a great coach and he knows what it takes to rebound. Time will tell how long it takes, but he’s in the weaker West Division, so this may be a one year blip.

6. P.J. Fleck

Record at Minneosta: 23-15 Overall Record: 53-37 Division Championships: 1 (2019)

Movement: Up 2 spots

Row the boat! Minnesota had a breakthrough 10 win campaign in 2019, their best record since 2003. The Gophers were one of the feel good stories of the college football season with their win over Penn State propelling them into the top ten of the AP poll and a share of the Big Ten West title. The losses to Iowa and Wisconsin to close the season brought them back to reality, but things are really looking up for Minnesota.

5. Jim Harbaugh

Record at Michigan: 47-18 Overall Record: 105-45

Movement: Up 1 spot

Once again, Michigan showed flashes of brilliance, but were unable to stand up to the top powers they faced. Jim Harbaugh remains winless against Ohio State, a source of endless frustration for Wolverine fans, but the blowout win over Notre Dame was a nice treat.

4. Paul Chryst

Record at Wisconsin: 52-16 Overall Record: 71-35 Division Championships: 3 (2016, 2017, 2019)

Movement: Up 1 spot

Paul Chryst runs a well oiled machine in Madison. The Badgers have won the Big Ten West for the third time in four years and once again found their way back to the Rose Bowl. The only real blemish was the Illinois loss, which was a pretty embarrassing black eye. The Badgers can take heart that they played Ohio State closer than any team save Clemson and they really played well against Oregon and just as easily could have won in Pasadena. I have a feeling they’ll be going for their fourth division in five seasons title next year.

3. James Franklin

Record at Penn State: 56-23 Overall Record: 80-38 Division Championships: 1 (2016) Conference Championships: 1 (2016)

Movement: Same

James Franklin is doing at least as good a job in Happy Valley as Chryst is doing out at Wisconsin, he just doesn’t have as many division titles because, you know, Ohio State. The Nittany Lions are clearly one of the top programs in the Big Ten. Under Franklin, they’ve attended NY6 bowls three times in the past four years coupled with just as many top ten finishes. The upset loss to Minnesota was the only thing keeping PSU from a 12-1 record and a likely top five ranking.

2. Ryan Day

Record at Ohio State: 16-1 Division Championships: 1 (2019) Conference Championships: 1 (2019)

Movement: Up 11 spots

Folks, this could be trouble. Ryan Day’s first season in Columbus was a massive success. The 13-1 Buckeyes were one of the top three programs in the nation, and completely dismantled everybody they played all year before *barely* losing to Clemson in the Playoff semifinal. If Day even equals Meyer’s level of success we could be staring and decades of dominance at the top of the Big Ten. If he surpasses Meyer...my god just imagine. Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself because it has been just one season, but Ohio State seems poised for some long term success unless the NFL comes knocking.

1. Kirk Ferentz

Record at Iowa: 162-104 Overall Record: 174-125 Division Championships: 1 (2015) Conference Championships: 2 (2002, 2004)

Movement: Up 1 spot

Kirk Ferentz remains the Big Ten’s elder statesman, and with the retirement of Mark Dantonio, he’s easily the most accomplished coach in the league. Take a victory lap, Kirk, you deserve it. This isn’t just a lifetime achievement award, Iowa was as solid as ever last season, posting a stout 10-3 record. Those three losses were all by a touchdown or less to Michigan, Penn State, and Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes remain a force to be reckoned with, even for the Big Ten’s best programs, and it’s all thanks to Ferentz.

#college football #Michigan State Spartans #Maryland Terrapins #Illinois Fighting Illini #Indiana Hoosiers #Rutgers Scarlet Knights #Nebraska Cornhuskers #Purdue Boilermakers #Northwestern Wildcats #Minnesota Golden Gophers #Michigan Wolverines #Wisconsin Badgers #Penn State Nittany Lions #Ohio State Buckeyes #Iowa Hawkeyes

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