{"id":478224,"date":"2025-12-29T18:30:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T18:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/478224\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T18:30:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T18:30:12","slug":"cbs-sports-ranks-big-ten-football-head-coaches-after-matt-campbell-kyle-whittingham-hires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/478224\/","title":{"rendered":"CBS Sports ranks Big Ten Football head coaches after Matt Campbell, Kyle Whittingham hires"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Big Ten got a facelift during this season\u2019s coaching carousel. Two of the top programs in the conference in Michigan<\/a><\/strong> and Penn State<\/a><\/strong> made major moves, and that\u2019s led to some interesting conjecture<\/a> on the subject.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gone are James Franklin<\/a><\/strong> and Sherrone Moore<\/a><\/strong>. Enter Matt Campbell<\/a><\/strong> and Kyle Whittingham<\/a><\/strong>. Two majorly talented coaches joining the Big Ten. Naturally, Chip Patterson<\/a><\/strong> of CBS Sports<\/a> had to provide us <\/a>with updated rankings<\/a> after the hires were made official.<\/p>\n

How high could our two freshly-minted Big Ten leaders climb? Check out Patterson\u2019s rankings below<\/a>. Of course, Ryan Day<\/a><\/strong> leads the way, but that\u2019s what being the lone coach with a national championship to his name will do for you.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ryan Day\u2019s consistency at Ohio State is unmatched in the Big Ten. His Buckeyes have never finished outside the top 10 under his watch.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last season, the program\u2019s first 12-team College Football Playoff title filled the lone gap on his r\u00e9sum\u00e9. With a staggering 54-5 record in Big Ten play, his dominance inside the league is unquestioned.<\/p>\n

\"\"Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Curt Cignetti told skeptics to look at his track record. His results at Indiana have only strengthened that message.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He delivered the winningest season in program history in Year 1. Then, Cignetti followed that up with a perfect 13-0 campaign and a Big Ten title in Year 2. He\u2019s 24-2 overall in Bloomington.<\/p>\n

Dan Lanning\u2019s rise has continued seamlessly through Oregon\u2019s transition to the Big Ten. The Ducks have suffered just one regular-season loss in two Big Ten seasons, coming against the current No. 1 team in the country Indiana.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s Big Ten title run included statement wins over Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State. At 47-7 overall, Lanning is firmly among the nation\u2019s elite.<\/p>\n

Kyle Whittingham\u2019s r\u00e9sum\u00e9 brings immediate credibility. He\u2019s amassed 177 career wins and three conference titles across two leagues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Back-to-back PAC-12 titles in 2021 and 2022 showcased his ability to thrive in a league filled with elite coaching peers. Those late-era conference battles help frame his place among the Big Ten\u2019s top tier as Michigan enters a new chapter.<\/p>\n

\"\"Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Lincoln Riley\u2019s early head-coaching r\u00e9sum\u00e9 would place him among the very best in the country. Four straight Big 12 titles, three CFP appearances and an 11-win debut season at USC once had his record sitting at 66-13.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since then, Riley is 24-14 and just 11-7 against Big Ten opponents, tempering expectations. A nine-win 2025 season and a top-ranked recruiting class hint at a rebound though.<\/p>\n

Kirk Ferentz remains one of the defining figures in the Big Ten. After inheriting the program from Hayden Fry, he built a culture of consistency that peaked with Big Ten titles in 2002 and 2004.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Iowa has reached bowl eligibility in 23 of the last 25 seasons, an almost unmatched standard of stability. Even late into his tenure, Ferentz has produced four 10-win seasons since 2015.<\/p>\n

Bret Bielema\u2019s Big Ten credibility was established during his championship run at Wisconsin. However, his work at Illinois has been just as impressive in a different context.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Illini had eight-win seasons just twice from 2000-2020, a mark Bielema has already reached three times since 2021. An 18-7 record over the last two years underscores how dramatically he has elevated the program.<\/p>\n

\"\"Matthew O\u2019Haren-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Matt Campbell arrives at Penn State as the most accomplished coach in Iowa State history. He led the Cyclones to their only 11-win season and posted eight-plus wins five times in a decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Penn State however brings a different set of expectations where success is assumed rather than celebrated. Campbell now faces the challenge of proving he can thrive not as an underdog, but as a frontrunner.<\/p>\n

Matt Rhule built his reputation on dramatic turnarounds at Temple and Baylor. Those patterns suggested Nebraska was poised for a major jump in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead, injuries, including to quarterback Dylan Raiola, slowed momentum. The Cornhuskers finished with just seven regular-season wins. Nebraska has yet to post a winning Big Ten record under Rhule, raising questions about when the breakthrough will come.<\/p>\n

Jedd Fisch is widely respected as an offensive mind, but his head-coaching r\u00e9sum\u00e9 remains uneven. His overall record is weighed down by a 1-11 first season at Arizona, though the Wildcats\u2019 rapid rise to 10 wins by Year 3 was remarkable.<\/p>\n

At Washington, Fisch is 15-11 through two seasons and an even 9-9 in Big Ten play. That places him firmly in the middle tier. He\u2019s talented and proven in flashes, but still climbing toward the league\u2019s elite.<\/p>\n

11. Pat Fitzgerald, Michigan State<\/a>\u00a0
12. Luke Fickell, Wisconsin<\/a>\u00a0
13. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota<\/a>\u00a0
14. Greg Schiano, Rutgers<\/a>\u00a0
15. Barry Odom, Purdue<\/a>\u00a0
16. Bob Chesney, UCLA<\/a>\u00a0
17. David Braun, Northwestern<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>
18. Mike Locksley, Maryland<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Big Ten got a facelift during this season\u2019s coaching carousel. Two of the top programs in the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":478225,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[30379,187557,2619,151068,159734,216608,1318,216609,168972,216610,216611,210890,13724,202036,5512,216612,1317,1315,1316,216613,192904,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-478224","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-barry-odom","9":"tag-bob-chesney","10":"tag-bret-bielema-89-prophetstown","11":"tag-curt-cignetti","12":"tag-dan-lanning-04-richmond","13":"tag-david-braun-04-kettle-moraine","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-greg-schiano-85-ramapo","16":"tag-jedd-fisch-94-hanover-park","17":"tag-kirk-ferentz-75-upper-saint-clair","18":"tag-kyle-whittingham-78-provo","19":"tag-lincoln-riley-02-muleshoe","20":"tag-luke-fickell","21":"tag-matt-campbell-98-perry","22":"tag-matt-rhule-94-state-college-area","23":"tag-mike-locksley-88-ballou","24":"tag-ncaa","25":"tag-ncaa-football","26":"tag-ncaafootball","27":"tag-p-j-fleck-98-kaneland-senior","28":"tag-ryan-day-97-manchester-central","29":"tag-sports","30":"tag-united-states","31":"tag-unitedstates","32":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}