It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
With the regular season coming to a close and bowl games already underway, it also means that the Coaches Poll was released to the public.
Of course, not all coaches fill out the weekly rankings — with many having their assistants do it — however, it still offers a glimpse of what programs/athletic departments think about other schools around the country.
Boca Raton Bowl: No. 13 BYU Crushes UCF — Here’s All The Best Reactions
As always, there was a lot of surprises and fun things in the coaches poll, including Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney ranking the Ohio State 11th, their lowest ranking among the 61 coaches who voted in the poll.
With last week’s win over San Diego State, BYU moved up one spot to No. 15 in the Coaches Poll. Unlike the AP Poll, which is made public every week, the Coaches Poll is only made public at the end of the regular season.
Here’s a look at how BYU got to No. 15 and which coaches/athletic departments respect BYU, and which ones do not. Below is a look at each of the individual ballots for the Coaches Poll.
LSU head Coach Ed Orgeron had BYU at No. 9, six spots higher than its current ranking. Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo had BYU 10th, while Paul Chryst (Wisconsin), Justin Fuente (Virginia Tech) and Frank Solich (Ohio) had BYU at No. 11. Other notable coaches include Dabo Swinney (Clemson), Bryan Harsin (Boise State), Jamey Chadwell (Coastal Carolina) and Luke Fickell, (Cincinnati) who ranked BYU 13th.
Of course, some of these coaches played against BYU this year while others have connections to the program. For example, Orgeron is very familiar with several BYU coaches as Jeff Grimes and Eric Mateos worked under him at LSU.
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham ranked BYU 18th. Despite the Pac-12 conference playing the least amount of games out of any conference, the former BYU linebacker ranked five Pac-12 schools in the Top 25. Whittingham put Utah at No. 24 and was the only coach to ranked the Utes. Of course, Whittingham has no incentive to rank BYU very high as he is competing with the Cougars for a number of recruits. This just goes to show how ridiculous the Coaches Poll is.
Other coaches who gave BYU no respect include Sonny Dykes (SMU), James Franklin (Penn State), Hugh Freeze (Liberty) and Dan Mullen (Florida) who all ranked BYU 19th. Former Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn put BYU at No. 20 and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart had BYU the lowest at No. 21.
Boca Raton Bowl: No. 13 BYU Crushes UCF — Here’s All The Best Reactions
BYU Coaches Poll — Full Breakdown
No. 9: Ed Orgeron (LSU)
No. 10: Ken Niumatalolo (Navy)
No. 11: Paul Chryst (Wisconsin), Justin Fuente (Virginia Tech), Frank Solich (Ohio)
No. 12: Dino Babers (Syracuse), Mike Houston (East Carolina), Scot Loeffler (Bowling Green)
No. 13: Dabo Swinney (Clemson), Bryan Harsin (Boise State), Jamey Chadwell (Coastal Carolina), Luke Fickell, (Cincinnati), Neal Brown (West Virginia), Steve Campbell (South Alabama), Butch Davis, (Florida International), Seth Littrell (North Texas), Jake Spavital (Texas State)
No. 14: Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M), Jonathan Smith (Oregon State), Willie Fritz (Tulane), Will Healy (Charlotte), Skip Holtz (Louisiana Tech), Lance Leipold (Buffalo), Chad Lunsford (Georgia Southern), Rick Stockstill (Middle Tennessee)
No. 15: Jeff Monken (Army), Scott Satterfield (Louisville), Craig Bohl (Wyoming), Dana Dimel (Texas-El Paso), Todd Graham (Hawaii)
No. 16: Gary Patterson (TCU), Tom Herman (Texas), Matt Wells (Texas Tech), Scott Frost (Nebraska), Troy Calhoun (Air Force), Jason Candle (Toledo), Geoff Collins (Georgia Tech), Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern), Chris Klieman (Kansas State), Tim Lester (Western Michigan), Mel Tucker (Michigan State)
No. 17: Nick Saban (Alabama), Manny Diaz (Miami), Brian Kelly (Notre Dame), Clay Helton (USC), Tyson Helton (Western Kentucky), Billy Napier (Louisiana-Lafayette), Jeremy Pruitt, (Tennessee), David Cutcliffe (Duke),
No. 18: Kyle Whittingham (Utah), Matt Campbell (Iowa State), Jeff Hafley (Boston College), Mike Locksley (Maryland), Jeff Scott (South Florida)
No. 19: Dan Mullen (Florida), James Franklin (Penn State), Hugh Freeze (Liberty), Sonny Dykes (SMU)
No. 20: Gus Malzahn (Auburn)
No. 21: Kirby Smart (Georgia)
