8 College Football Coaches Who Did a Lot with a Little This Season
A day ahead of championship week and a couple of weeks ahead of bowl season, here are a list of eight coaches who have their teams competing at a high level, despite a lack of assets.
If coaching matters in any sport, it's football. A coach can be the spark for a team that puts them over the top. Think Jon Gruden in 2002 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Urban Meyer with Ohio State.
Here are the rules for this slideshow:
One, it's from start to finish. No team on this list started in the preseason top 25 in either the coaches or AP poll. All are currently in the College Football Playoff Top 25.
Two, it's about exceeding expectations. Each coach on this list has taken his team to levels that weren't expected when the season began. It's easy to say Meyer or Nick Saban would have their teams at the top of the leaderboard, but no one expected Kirk Ferentz to have his Iowa Hawkeyes at 12-0 with a chance to solidify their spot be in the playoff.
Three, coaches have to make due. The coaches on this list do not necessarily have rosters stacked with NFL talent or rosters that include players directly recruited for their programs, but they have been able to succeed.
Four, the list is not ranked. The coaches are in the order in which they popped into my head.
Ken Niumatalolo: Navy Midshipmen
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Navy is No. 23 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. With a win over then-ranked No. 13 Memphis on his resume and both losses coming against ranked opponents, Ken Niumatalolo is running a good program.
It's one thing to be ranked at 9-2, but it's another doing so against new-aged football wisdom.
In a sport where passing has become the heavily favored form of offense, Niumatalolo and his offense flourish running the ball.
In fact, the term one-dimensional, which is usually applied to teams forced to pass the ball, actually works the opposite because Navy is run-heavy.
The stats show it. Navy ranks second in the country with 330.1 yards rushing per game, but 126th per game in passing with 90.4.
It's interesting to think where Niumatalolo would be if he didn't run the triple option in a college environment that thrives off the read-option and spread offenses, but credit him for running a system that has long been extinct and is still maintaining success.
If Navy can beat Army on Saturday, it'll lock up Navy's first 10-win season since 2009—a year that Navy needed a bowl win to get to 10.
Jim McElwain: Florida Gators
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After the mess former coach Will Muschamp left behind, it seemed as if the Florida Gators would be rebuilding over the next couple of seasons.
They began the season outside the Top 25 and have managed to climb up No. 18, even after their embarrassing loss to Florida State last week 27-2.
But it turned out McElwain had other ideas.
The Gators still struggle on offense the same way they did with Muschamp, ranking 74th in passing with 214.9 yards per game passing and ranking 104th with 137 yards rushing per contest.
But, like Muschamp, the Gators boast a top-notch defense, giving up the fifth-best points per game at 15.5, .8 points less than their SEC Championship Game foe, No. 2 Alabama.
McElwain still has the task of trying to do what Muschamp couldn't, which is put together an offense that can accommodate the defense.
What he has at least showed so far is Florida can still win games.
Matt Rhule: Temple Owls
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Matt Rhule and his No. 22 Temple Owls are the best thing in Philadelphia sports right now. (That is neither a joke nor an exaggeration. Philadelphia sports is brutal right now.)
With a magical start to the season that culminated in College Gameday's broadcasting from Independence Mall ahead of Temple's matchup against Notre Dame in the heart of Philadelphia, Rhule has taken a basketball school and turned it into a legitimate football school.
The run for Temple started last year when it finished 6-6—an improvement from a 2-10 season in 2013.
In 2015, the change became apparent during the season's first week when Temple broke a 39-game winless streak against Penn State and won seven straight before losing to Notre Dame.
Their 10 wins tie a school record that has held for 36 years, according to Mike Kern of Philly.com. Barring a loss in the American Athletic Conference game against No. 19 Houston and a loss in bowl game, Temple will break that record.
Temple doesn't do anything particularly well, but Rhule is a prime example of what good coaching can do for a football team.
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Pat Fitzgerald: Northwestern Wildcats
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Northwestern made the biggest splash in college football the opening week of the season with a win over then No. 21 Stanford (who has worked their way back to No. 7 in the playoff rankings.)
The Wildcats carried that momentum into five straight wins before getting blown out by Michigan (38-0) and Iowa (40-10) in consecutive weeks.
Since then, Fitzgerald's team hasn't lost, including a victory over then-ranked No. 25 Wisconsin, and working their way up to No. 14 in the playoff ranking. (Though they are not a part of championship week, remaining idle until bowl season.)
It's Northwestern's first 10-win season since 2012, but during that season, the Wildcats needed a bowl win to get there.
Like Florida, Northwestern doesn't have a prolific offense, especially in the passing game, ranking 119th in passing with 139.3 yards per game and is tied for 39th rushing with 193.3 yards per game.
But, for a school that isn't a traditional powerhouse, Fitzgerald has a nice thing going in Illinois.
Larry Fedora: North Carolina Tar Heels
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Something about seeing Tar Heel blue on a football field is so aesthetically pleasing.
Fedora's team started the season with a terrible, self-inflicted loss to South Carolina to open up the season.
Since then, they've rattled off 11 straight wins, a school record and the No. 10 spot in the latest College Playoff Ranking.
And Fedora is doing it without a ton of next-level talent.
Of the players eligible for the NFL draft, North Carolina doesn't have a prospect listed until 327, Quinshad Davis, per CBSSports.com rankings.
But, what they may lack in NFL talent, North Carolina does have weapons. Their starting offensive line averages a height of 6'4" and weighs 303 pounds and has played over 20 games together, per Chip Patterson of CBSSports.com. That includes second-round prospect guard Landon Turner, according to
Senior Marquise Williams is a dual-threat quarterback, and the Tar Heels have Davis, who is the program's all-time leading receiver on the outside. More, they have sophomore running back Elijah Hood, who has four straight 100-yard games going into this week and has scored 16 touchdowns.
Defensively, North Carolina has a defense that is giving up 20.8 points per game—18th in the country, so the Tar Heels can stop teams.
With an ACC title showdown against No. 1 Clemson on Saturday night, this other traditional basketball school can make a huge mark on the football world.
Houston Cougars: Tom Herman
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When Herman was poached from the 2014 Ohio State National Championship team—where he served as offensive coordinator—it was with the hope he'd take Houston to the next level.
But, no one could see that happening in year one.
In fact, No. 19 Houston's season was so surprising that the school announced locked up Herman through the 2020 season on Friday, per Sam Khan Jr. of ESPN.com, to stop bigger schools from luring him away, at least for now.
Despite a slip-up against Connecticut, Houston started the season 10-0, including a win over then No. 21 Memphis (noticing a theme here?).
The Cougars have the 15th-best total offense in the FBS I-A, averaging 499 yards per game, split at 259.2 yards passing and 240.1 yards rushing.
Houston will face No. 22 Temple in the AAC Championship Game on Saturday, which can put it at 12 wins on the season, with a potential to win 13—a number that would match its total from 2011.
Herman is obviously building something in Houston, and now with even further job security and a bit of a raise, Houston could be a viable program going forward.
Jim Harbaugh: Michigan Wolverines
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We all knew Jim Harbaugh was going to turn around Michigan.
Did we know it was going to be that fast? No we didn't.
Though it's obvious Harbaugh's Michigan Wolverines weren't ready to compete with Ohio State this year;an another recruiting class and another year of his program will jettison them into the conversation sooner rather than later.
After an opening-week loss to Utah, which would go on to be ranked as high as No. 2 in the country, and the most gut-wrenching loss you'll ever see against Michigan State, Michigan is 11 points away from being 10-1 and deep in the playoff conversation.
In one year, after Brady Hoke fell short during his tenure, Harbaugh has Michigan ranked 11th in points given up at 17.2, including three straight shutouts during the season.
Michigan will land the top recruits based on its history and the lure of Harbaugh. But for him to have this level of success year one with guyswho aren't all his, he really is a great coach.
Kirk Ferentz: Iowa Hawkeyes
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One of the college football season's biggest storylines is Iowa's magic run of 12-0.
At No. 4 in the playoff poll, the Hawkeyes face No. 5 Michigan State Saturday night on Fox to claim one of the college football's best conferences—the Big Ten.
The scrutiny against Iowa has echoed the same criticisms that faced teams in the past like Boise State. Iowa did not face Michigan, Ohio State or Michigan State at any point the season.
But the thing about the playoff system is its running by a committee. There is none of the BCS computer nonsense, meaning an undefeated team in a Power Five conference, regardless of schedule, should get enough respect to prove it belongs.
If being undefeated were so easy, then Iowa wouldn't be one of two teams in the Top 25 without a loss. For all the detractors, your arguments against Iowa are valid, but the beauty of the playoff is that Iowa has a chance to make it by playing themselves—no more speculation or debate.
And Kirk Ferentz deserves a lot of the credit for it.
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