Preseason College Football Rankings 2011: Top 25 FBS Coaches vs. Ranked Teams

There is a wide array of ways to rank coaching success: win/loss record, winning percentage, number of conference/national championships or records against higher-level teams.

Though a “win is a win” and performance against top-ranked teams tells only part of the story, victories and defeats against Top 25 teams at least partially gauge a coach’s ability to perform on the bigger stage.

The following slideshow ranks the top 25 current FBS coaches in terms of success against ranked opponents (by winning percentage).

Other key elements of this specific listing are that the coaches are ranked by winning percentage at their current institution (so, this is not their winning percentage all-time versus ranked teams) and to qualify the coach must have been at his current job for a minimum of three seasons (so coaches like Tommy Tuberville at Texas Tech and Dan Mullen at Mississippi State aren’t part of the conversation).

Two factoids of note discovered while compiling the ranking are (1) only 12 coaches who fit the above criteria are above the .500 mark against ranked teams and (2) a whopping 15 coaches who have been at their current position for three or more seasons have never beaten at Top 25 team.

You might be mildly surprised, really impressed and even shocked when you look through the numbers, and you’ll be aptly rewarded if you click all the way to the end which includes a surprise ending in the No. 1 slot.

25. Mike Stoops, Arizona

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 28.57 percent (8-20)

Years at Current Position: 7

The No. 25 slot is tied up by two Mikes: Stoops at Arizona and Gundy from Oklahoma State.  Mike Stoops’ last win over a Top 25 team came during Week 3 of the 2010 season when the Wildcats knocked off No. 9 Iowa.

25. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 28.57 percent (6-15)

Years at Current Position: 6

Though Gundy’s performance against ranked teams earns him a dubious No. 25 spot nationally he is only 1-8 all-time against Top 10 teams.

Gundy’s last win over a ranked team came in 2010 when the Cowboys pounded No. 22 Baylor 55-28.

24. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 30.76 percent (4-9)

Years at Current Position: 5

Pat Fitzgerald’s 4-9 mark against ranked teams is impressive given that Northwestern is generally the underdog in against the big dogs.

Fitzgerald’s last win over a ranked squad came in 2010 when the Wildcats knocked off No. 13 Iowa 21-17.

23. Bill Snyder, Kansas State

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 31.25 percent (15-33)

Years at Current Position: 19

Bill Snyder’s 31.25 percent mark against ranked teams may seem low until you consider he took over one of the most consistently winless programs in history when he came on board at Kansas State 20 years ago.

22. Bronco Mendenhall, BYU

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 33.33 percent (4-8)

Years at Current Position: 6

Another impressive figure, Mendenhall at BYU in at No. 22 needs to be considered in the light of a team that has played under the shadow of the Mountain West Conference.

Mendenhall’s Cougars last bested a ranked team in 2009 when they beat No. 16 Oregon State 44-20 in the Las Vegas Bowl.

21. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 34.48 percent (10-19)

Years at Current Position: 6

The “Old Ball Coach” is 52-47-1 all-time against ranked teams and a sizzling 21-27-1 during his career against Top 10 teams.

Spurrier’s 10-19 mark at South Carolina is nothing short of impressive and his last win against a ranked opponent came via the Gamecocks' 36-14 victory over No. 24 Florida (in Gainesville) last season.

19. Bret Bielema, Wisconsin

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 37.5 percent (6-10)

Years at Current Position: 5

Bielema’s record against ranked teams at Wisconsin may do nothing but improve as his tenure at Madison continues; the Badgers' last win over a ranked team was last season win they beat No. 13 Iowa on the road.

19. Bobby Petrino, Arkansas

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 37.5 percent (6-10)

Years at Current Position: 3

Bobby Petrino is tied with Bret Bielema at the No. 19 slot and his Razorbacks' last win over a Top 25 squad came in the closer last season when they beat No. 13 Mississippi State in double overtime.

18. Houston Nutt, Ole Miss

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 38.46 percent (5-8)

Years at Current Position: 3

Houston Nutt is 5-8 against ranked teams at Ole Miss and overall, he has a career record of 20-37 against the Top 25.  Nutt’s last win over a Top 25 team came in 2009 in Baton Rouge when they knocked off No. 10 LSU 25-23.

17. Bo Pelini, Nebraska

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 41.66 percent (5-7)

Years at Current Position: 3

Pelini will take his 5-7 record against the Top 25 to the Big Ten where it will be interesting to see whether it will improve or regress.

The Cornhusker’s 31-17 win over No. 7 Mizzou last season marks Pelini’s last victory over a ranked team.

16. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 41.86 percent (18-25)

Years at Current Position: 12

Kirk Ferentz’s 18-25 record against ranked teams is enhanced by his 7-15 mark against the Top 10.

Ferentz’s last victory over a ranked opponent came last season when Iowa manhandled No. 5 Michigan State at home.

15. Jeff Tedford, California

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 43.33 percent (13-17)

Years at Current Position: 9

Jeff Tedford’s 5-7 mark in 2010 somewhat overshadows his impressive 43 percent winning ratio over ranked teams.

Tedford’s last big win came in 2008 when Cal beat No. 14 Stanford 34-28.

14. Kyle Whittingham, Utah

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 46.15 percent (6-7)

Years at Current Position: 6

Kyle Whittingham’s mark against Top 25 teams is among the most impressive achievements on this list.  It's one thing to get it done at a big BCS AQ school that can recruit aggressively, but it’s another thing entirely to have accomplished it at Utah.

Utah’s last win over a Top 25 team came last season when they knocked off No. 15 Pitt in the opener.

13. Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 48.14 percent (39-42)

Years at Current Position: 24

Frank Beamer’s 39-42 mark against ranked teams is second only to Joe Paterno in terms of coaches with the longest tenure at their institution; their last win over a Top 25 team came in last year’s ACC title game when they knocked off No. 20 Florida State.

11. Ken Niumatalolo, Navy

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 50 percent (2-2)

Years at Current Position: 3

The first coach at or above the .500 mark is Ken Niumatalolo, who is tied with the legendary Joe Paterno at 50 percent.

Navy’s last win over a ranked team came in 2009 when they bested No. 19 Notre Dame (they beat the unranked Irish again in 2010).

11. Joe Paterno, Penn State

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 50 percent (73-73)

Years at Current Position: 41

The legendary Joe Pa is a sparkling 73-73 against ranked teams all time…enough said.

10. Mark Richt, Georgia

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 56 percent (28-22)

Years at Current Position: 10

Mark Richt is one of only 10 coaches over the .500 mark against ranked teams at his current job; though the Bulldogs dropped three games to Top 25 squads in 2010, they beat No. 7 Georgia Tech 30-24 to close out the 2009 season.

9. Mack Brown, Texas

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 57.69 percent (30-22)

Years at Current Position: 13

Mack Brown has been nothing short of stellar at Texas but he’s still below .500 in his all-time career against Top 25 teams, where his record is 39-46-1; the Longhorns' 20-13 victory over No. 5 Nebraska last season is Brown’s last win over a ranked team.

7. Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 60 percent (6-4)

Years at Current Position: 3

Paul Johnson may be the most overlooked coach in the ACC (unless you count Tom O’Brien from NC State, who is tied with Johnson at No. 7 on this list).

Johnson’s last win over a ranked team came in the 2009 closer when they beat No. 25 Clemson 39-34.

7. Tom O’Brien, NC State

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 60 percent (6-4)

Years at Current Position: 4

Tom O’Brien’s 6-4 mark against ranked teams has come quietly and steadily; his last big win came in 2010 when the Wolfpack knocked off No. 16 Florida State 28-24.

6. Gary Patterson, TCU

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 61.11 percent (11-7)

Years at Current Position: 10

It’s no surprise that Patterson is so high on this list but that doesn’t retract from the fact that what he’s accomplished at TCU is flat impressive.

Patterson’s last triumph over a ranked squad came memorably in last year’s Rose Bowl when TCU beat No. 4 Wisconsin.

5. Les Miles, LSU

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 63.88 percent (23-13)

Years at Current Position: 6

Les Miles is among the five best active coaches in terms of winning percentage against ranked opponents, a mark that is nothing but enhanced by the fact that he’s 9-8 at LSU when facing Top 10 opponents.

Miles' last win over a ranked team came last season when LSU visited No. 14 Florida and left town with a 33-29 victory.

4. Nick Saban, Alabama

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 66.66 percent (16-8)

Years at Current Position: 4

Nick Saban’s record against Top 25 teams while at Alabama is just narrowly better than that of Miles during his tenure at LSU but Saban’s 9-4 mark against Top 10 teams is far and away superior.

Saban’s last win over a ranked team came in last season’s Capital One Bowl when the Crimson Tide spanked Michigan State 49-7.

3. Chris Petersen, Boise State

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 70 percent (7-3)

Years at Current Position: 5

Seeing Chris Petersen’s name at No. 3 begins to put into perspective what’s he’s managed to accomplish at Boise State.

Discussion over whether the Broncos “belong” at the next level and whether their blue turf is an “unfair competitive advantage” should be temporarily halted to pay proper respects to a great coach.

Boise State’s last win over a ranked opponent came in last season’s Las Vegas Bowl when they bested No. 20 Utah 26-3.

2. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 70.68 percent (41-17)

Years at Current Position: 12

Stoops’ tenure at Oklahoma is nothing short of stellar and his place on this list is even more impressive when you realize that he’s the guy who ranks the highest with the most tenure at his current job.

The Sooners last win over a ranked opponent came when they devastated No. 25 UConn in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.

1. Kevin Sumlin, Houston

Winning Percentage against Top 25 Teams at Current Position: 100 percent (3-0)

Years at Current Position: 3

Coming in at a shocking No. 1 we have Houston’s Kevin Sumlin, who has never suffered a loss to a Top 25 team.

Sure, he’s only been in three games against ranked opponents but guys like June Jones at SMU (0-4), David Cutcliffe at Duke (0-6) and Frank Solich at Ohio (0-4) have similar exposure with zero results.

Sumlin’s last win over a ranked team came in 2009 when his Cougars walloped No. 5 Oklahoma State 45-35.