Saturday Blitz
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Ranking college football’s top 25 head coaches for 2022

By Connor Muldowney

Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher and Alabama coach Nick Saban shake hands at midfield after their game at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019.Bama618
Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher and Alabama coach Nick Saban shake hands at midfield after their game at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019.Bama618 /
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Oct 30, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham rects to a play in the third quarter against the UCLA Bruins at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham rects to a play in the third quarter against the UCLA Bruins at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports /

James Franklin is that one coach in college football that everyone has a strong opinion about for whatever reason. He’s either considered a really good coach or severely overrated. I think No. 15 is the perfect spot for the Penn State coach but if he has another disappointing season in 2022, he’ll drop to the 20-25 range. He’s still 67-34 at Penn State and before that, he actually won at Vanderbilt — that’s almost impossible.

Winning football games at Kentucky isn’t easy. Mark Stoops took on the challenge a decade ago and has never looked back, going 59-53 with the Wildcats and he has earned respect in the SEC. He has won 10 games two times in the past four years which is wildly impressive. If only John Calipari respected Kentucky’s football program a little more.

Matt Campbell has been the guy that every fan of a team that has been looking for a new head coach has wanted. He’s one of the hottest commodities in college football because he’s turned Iowa State into a winner. You really need to realize how impressive that is. Campbell is fresh off a disappointing 7-6 season in 2021, but he’s 42-34 at Iowa State which is worthy of a top-15 spot.

If we were ranking Twitter accounts, Lane Kiffin would be No. 1 among all head coaches. He’s just a menace on social media, but he’s also a heck of a football coach. He started his career at Tennessee before bolting to USC and then he was fired after going 28-15. He returned as a head coach at FAU after being a coordinator under Nick Saban at Alabama and he went 26-13 there before taking the Ole Miss job. He’s 15-8 in two seasons, including a rare 10-win regular season with the Rebels in 2021. Love him or hate him, Kiffin is a winner.

Kyle Whittingham may just be the most underrated coach in all of college football and I really don’t think that’s an exaggeration or even a hot take. He has led one of the most consistent programs in the country, going 143-70 at Utah since taking over for Urban Meyer. He has six 10-plus win seasons, a Mountain West title, an undefeated season, a Pac-12 title, a 10-4 bowl record, and a BCS win. And he enters the 2022 season as the Pac-12 title favorite.

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