The offseason for college football is in full swing, as really the only thing to keep an eye out for is commitments and official visits. News outlets are already looking to the next season and putting together their thoughts on teams, players, and head coaches. USA Today recently released its latest Big Ten college football coaches rankings, and it almost seems laughable.
Paul Myerberg has put together his best rankings, but it just seems like maybe he wasn't looking at the whole picture when it came to some of these coaches. Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore was ranked No. 14 in the Big Ten of 18 head coaches.
It should be noted that he was below head coaches like Wisconsin's Luke Fickell, who has struggled ever since joining the Badgers from Cincinnati, Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, who can't figure out what an offense is, and a few other notable names we can dive into later.
Sure, Moore's first season as a head coach wasn't perfect; he didn't win a National Championship, he didn't win a Big Ten title, but he finished above .500 a season after losing almost every big piece from their National Championship team a season before.
Here is USA Today's full ranking of the Big Ten head coaches:
1. Ryan Day (Ohio State)
2. James Franklin (Penn State)
3. Kirk Ferentz (Iowa)
4. Dan Lanning (Oregon)
5. Matt Rhule (Nebraska)
6. Curt Cignetti (Indiana)
7. P.J. Fleck (Minnesota)
8. Bret Bielema (Illinois)
9. Lincoln Riley (USC)
10. Greg Schiano (Rutgers)
11. Luke Fickell (Wisconsin)
12. Jonathan Smith (Michigan State)
13. Barry Odom (Purdue)
14. Sherrone Moore (Michigan)
15. Jedd Fisch (Washignton)
16. Mike Locksley (Maryland)
17. DeShaun Foster (UCLA)
18. Davis Braun (Northwestern)
Sherrone Moore's first season at Michigan had it's downs, but ended on a very high note
In his first season as the head coach at Michigan, Moore went 8-5 with a 5-4 record in the Big Ten with a win over the National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes, and then went on to beat Alabama in their bowl game, so the season ended on a very high note.
Moore has put together one of the best recruiting classes in 2025, landing the No. 1 overall recruit in quarterback Bryce Underwood, who is expected to become a starter at the very least at some point next season. He has shown time and time again he can recruit at a high level, and even after losing so many pieces from their National Championship team in 2023, Moore was able to put together a winning season.
To have Moore ranked below coaches like Fickell and Lincoln Riley, who have yet to have success in their current schools, or even Barry Odom, who has yet to coach a game at Purdue, is absolutely ridiculous, and Moore has earned more respect than that.