Where Dan Lanning ranks in On3 Big Ten head coach rankings
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We’re in the middle of the offseason, so the majority of college football news you’re going to find has to do with lists and rankings, especially now that the Brendan Sorsby drama at Texas Tech appears to be over.
At the end of last month, we looked at CBS Sports’ list of head coach rankings in college football, hoping to see where the Oregon Ducks‘ head man, Dan Lanning, sat. The result was great, with Lanning landing at No. 5 in the nation, just behind Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman.
So how does Lanngin fare when you shrink the pool and look at just the Big Ten Conference? On3’s Ari Wasserman has an answer for us.
According to Wasserman, Lanning is the No. 3 head coach in the conference, behind defending national champion Curt Cignetti and Indiana, and former defending national champion Ryan Day at Ohio State.
“After being blown out in the College Football Playoff two consecutive years, Oregon and Lanning are the brunt of many jokes,” Wasserman writes. “People view the Ducks as a very good team, but not one that will ever be good enough to break through in the CFP. That’s wrong. And dangerous. Though Oregon has not been the best team in the country at any point during Lanning’s leadership, it has steadily been a force in talent acquisition and retention. Lanning is 48-8 overall, and his teams will consistently make the CFP. Oregon may not have won a national title under his leadership, but it seems only a matter of time before it breaks through. Heck, it could be in 2026.”
Here’s a look at the full rankings:
- Curt Cignetti — Indiana Hoosiers
- Ryan Day — Ohio State Buckeyes
- Dan Lanning — Oregon Ducks
- Kyle Whittingham — Michigan Wolverines
- Kirk Ferentz — Iowa Hawkeyes
- Lincoln Riley — USC Trojans
- Bret Bielema — Illinois Fighting Illini
- Jedd Fisch — Washington Huskies
- Matt Campbell — Penn State Nittany Lions
- Matt Rhule — Nebraska Cornhuskers
- PJ Fleck — Minnesota Golden Gophers
- Pat Fitzgerald — Michigan State Spartans
- Bob Chesney — UCLA Bruins
- Luke Fickell — Wisconsin Badgers
- David Braun — Northwestern Wildcats
- Greg Schiano — Rutgers Scarlet Knights
- Bary Odom — Purdue Boilermakers
- Mike Locksley — Maryland Terrapins
What’s interesting is that over the past two seasons, the new No. 1 coach has become the latest one to win the national championship. If the Big Ten can hold onto that title belt once again in 2026, don’t be surrpised if the winning coach takes the top spot, or retains it, once again.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Dan Lanning near top of On3’s Big Ten head coach rankings
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