Where Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman appears in 2025 Sporting News CFB coaches rankings

The Sporting News ranked Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman the fourth-best college football head coach in the country this week. That’s up from the No. 22 spot he held at this time last year.

Here’s a look at the Sporting News’ full set of rankings. Last year’s rankings are in parenthesis.

136. Ryan Beard, Missouri State (NR)
135. Ryan Carty, Delaware (NR)
134. Max Carney, Kent State (NR)
133. Joe Harasyimak, UMass (NR)
132. Zach Kitely, FAU (NR)
131. Tre Lamb, Tulsa (NR)
130. Mike Uremovich, Ball State (NR)
129. Tony Gibson, Marshall (NR)
128. Scott Abell, Rice (NR)
127. Matt Drinkall, Central Michigan (NR)

126. Dowel Loggains, Appalachian State (NR)
125. Eddie George, Bowling Green (NR)
124. Jason Eck, New Mexico, (NR)
123. Jerry Mack, Kennesaw State (NR)
122. Scotty Walden, UTEP (133)
121. Jay Sawvel, Wyoming (128)
120. Joe Moorhead, Akron (126)
119. Sean Lewis, San Diego State (106)
118. Jeff Choate, Nevada (134)
117. Dell McGee, Georgia State (125)

116. Tony Sanchez, New Mexico State (124)
115. Charles Kelly, Jacksonville State (NR)
114. Derek Mason, Middle Tennessee State (98)
113. Brian Smith, Ohio (NR)
112. Phil Longo, Sam Houston (NR)
111. Trent Dilfer, UAB (121)
110. Willie Simmons, FIU (110)
109. Sonny Cumbie, Louisiana Tech (108)
108. Gerad Parker, Troy (127)
107. Blake Harrell, ECU (NR)

106. Timmy Chang, Hawaii (104)
105. Ricky Rahne, Old Dominion (103)
104. Lance Taylor, Western Michigan (122)
103. Tim Beck, Coastal Carolina (96)
102. Bryant Vincent, UL-Monroe (120)
101. Eric Morris, North Texas (116) 
100. K.C. Keeler, Temple (118)
99. Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan (91)
98. Major Applewhite, South Alabama (109)
97. Bob Chesney, James Madison (123)

96. Butch Jones, Arkansas State (102)
95. Jay Norvell, Colorado State (95)
94. Thomas Hammock, Northern Illinois (94)
93. Trent Bray, Oregon State (80)
92. Alex Golesh, South Florida (92)
91. Michael Desormeaux, Louisiana (107)
90. Clay Helton, Georgia Southern (90)
89. Pete Lembo, Buffalo (111)
88. G.J. Kinne, Texas State (100)
87. Tim Albin, Charlotte (86)

86. Ken Niumatalolo, San Jose State (89)
85. Brian Newberry, Navy (114)
84. Ryan Silverfield, Memphis (84)
83. Charles Huff, Southern Miss (88)
82. Chuck Martin, Miami (83)
81. Jeff Traylor, UTSA (61)
80. Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky (75)
79. Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State (72)
78. Jim Mora, Jr., UConn, (97)
77. Tony Elliott, Virginia (72)
2025 Notre Dame opponent: Newberry

76. Jeff Monken, Army (85)
75. Brent Brennan, Arizona (69)
74. Bronco Mendenhall, Utah State (62)
73. Barry Odom, Purdue (82)
72. Jimmy Rogers, Washington State (NR)
71. Matt Entz, Fresno State (NR) 
70. Dan Mullen, UNLV (NR) 
69. Troy Calhoun, Air Force (52) 
68. Scott Frost, UCF (NR) 
67. Jason Candle, Toledo (66) 
2025 Notre Dame opponent: Odom

66. Jon Sumrall, Tulane (60) 
65. Frank Reich, Stanford (NR)
64. Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati (64)
63. Jake Dickert, Wake Forest (56) 
62. Brent Pry, Virginia Tech (57) 
61. Justin Wilcox, Cal (63) 
60. Clark Lea, Vanderbilt (79) 
59. David Braun, Northwestern (45) 
58. DeShaun Foster, UCLA (71) 
57. Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia (78)
2025 Notre Dame opponent: Reich

56. Willie Fritz, Houston (51) 
55. Mike Locksley, Maryland (30) 
54. Jonathan Smith, Michigan State (31) 
53. Hugh Freeze, Auburn (32) 
52. Greg Schiano, Rutgers (54) 
51. Dave Aranda, Baylor (43) 
50. Manny Diaz, Duke (67)
49. Sam Pittman, Arkansas (42)
48. Brent Key, Georgia Tech (48)
47. Jamey Chadwell, Liberty (36)
2025 Notre Dame opponent: Pittman

46. Jedd Fisch, Washington (36)
45. Mark Stoops, Kentucky (20)
44. Billy Napier, Florida (50)
43. Joey McGuire, Texas Tech (38)
42. Fran Brown, Syracuse (74)
41. Brent Venables, Oklahoma (27)
40. Shane Beamer, South Carolina (41)
39. Deion Sanders, Colorado (59)
38. Lance Leipold, Kansas (25)
37. Pat Narduzzi, Pitt (28)
2025 Notre Dame opponents: Brown, Narduzzi

36. Matt Rhule, Nebraska (40)
35. Dave Doeren, NC State (24)
34. Sherrone Moore, Michigan (35)
33. Spencer Danielson, Boise State (81)
32. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota (29)
31. Kalani Sitake, BYU (53)
30. Bill O’Brien, Boston College (49)
29. Luke Fickell, Wisconsin (15)
28. Mike Norvell, Florida State (8)
27. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State (13)
26. Mike Elko, Texas A&M (33)
2025 Notre Dame opponents: Doeren, Danielson, O’Brien, Elko

25. Bret Bielma, Illinois (46)
24. Mario Cristobal, Miami (24)
23. Rhett Lashlee, SMU (58)
22. Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State (70)
21. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri (23)
2025 Notre Dame opponent: Cristobal

20. Chris Klieman, Kansas State (17)
19. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa (19)
18. Bill Belichick, North Carolina (n/a)
17. Curt Cignetti, Indiana (55)
16. Matt Campbell, Iowa State (44)

15. Jeff Brohm, Louisville (18)
14. Sonny Dykes, TCU (16)
13. Kyle Whittingham, Utah (7)
12. Lincoln Riley, USC (9)
11. Josh Heupel, Tennessee (11)
2025 Notre Dame opponent: Riley

10. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss (10)
9. Brian Kelly, LSU (5)
8. James Franklin, Penn State (14)
7. Dan Lanning, Oregon (12)
6. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama (3)

5. Steve Sarkisian, Texas (6)
4. Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame (22)
3. Dabo Swinney, Clemson (2)
2. Ryan Day, Ohio State (4)
1. Kirby Smart, Georgia (1)