ESPN tabs Mark Stoops as one of college football's top overachieving head coaches

On3 imageby:Zack Geoghegan08/16/22

ZGeogheganKSR

Mark Stoops has done more in a decade at the University of Kentucky than any previous head coach over the last 70 years — and he only appears to be getting better. For the first time in program history, the ‘Cats will enter the 2022 season with a top 25 ranking from both the Associated Press and Coaches Poll.

Stoops, now 55, has taken the Kentucky football program to heights never imagined — a pair of 10-win seasons over a span of four years hadn’t happened in Lexington since Bear Bryant was in charge. As a result, Stoops has been garnering plenty of love and attention from the national media over the last couple of years.

On Tuesday over at ESPN, the worldwide leader ranked college football’s top 40 head coaches, where Stoops was named the fourth-best “overachiever” by senior writer Adam Rittenberg.

Rittenberg divided his rankings into four categories: National Contenders, Next Up, Overachievers, and Fast Starts. Each category ranked a head coach 1-10. Stoops is considered the fourth-best overachiever, behind the likes of Mike Leach (Mississippi State), Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern), and Matt Campbell (Iowa State), respectively.

Here’s what ESPN wrote about Stoops and his unprecedented success at Kentucky:

Stoops doesn’t like Kentucky being called a basketball school, even by UK’s own basketball coach, but he has redefined what the program can achieve on the football field. He has guided Kentucky to its most consistently successful stretch since Bear Bryant in the early 1950s. The Wildcats have made a team-record six consecutive bowl appearances, winning the past four, also a team record. They recorded 10 victories with AP top-20 finishes in both 2018 and 2021.

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN

If I might stick my (clearly unbiased) nose into these rankings, I would ask Mr. Rittenberg to reevaluate his decision. Fitzgerald has been at Northwestern since 2006 and holds a losing record in Big Ten Conference play (64-68). His program finished the 2021 season with a 3-9 record. Northwestern traditionally hasn’t found much success, so Fitzgerald taking the school to 10 bowl games during his tenure is impressive, but not nearly as impressive as going to six straight bowl games while also playing in the SEC.

I can understand why Leach is ranked No. 1, considering he’s done more with less at two different programs now (Texas Tech and Washington State). That being said, his two seasons with Mississippi State have resulted in an 11-13 overall record and a 7-11 mark in the SEC. He should need to overachieve with the Bulldogs before being tabbed as the top overachiever in all of college football.

As for Matt Campbell, he has failed to post a 10-win season at Iowa State since taking over as head coach in 2016. Iowa State found decent success with two of its previous head coaches, as well. Campbell did well at Toldeo prior to joining the Cyclones, but to say he’s done more with less than Stoops feels like a stretch when comparing postseason success and the conference they play in.

You can check out the full rankings (ESPN+) by clicking the link here. What are your thoughts?

Discuss This Article

Comments have moved.

Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.

KSBoard

2024-03-27