Jun 11, 2026 6:01 PM
Updated Jun 11, 2026 9:26 PM

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day lands in the top five of this ranking of college football coaches, but is he high enough or too low?

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is one of the best coaches in college football and that isn't debatable. What is debatable is where he falls on that list compared to some of the other great coaches in America. 

On this top list, the Buckeyes' head signal caller is in the right company. He is surrounded by guys like Marcus Freeman, Dan Lanning, Curt Cignetti, and Kirby Smart.

Day has a leg up on nearly every single coach in America, and on this list, he has beaten a lot of these guys multiple times. 

Lanning and Freeman can't seem to get over the hump against the Buckeyes, as Day and his crew really own those two programs over recent history. 

For Smart and Cignetti, they are the only two in the Top-25 that have given Day's Buckeyes a tough time. Everyone remembers the last time that Ohio State and Georgia matched up and Cignetti got back at Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game last year.

Day slots in at third overall on this list, and it is a fair ranking for him right now. The resume that he is building is both impressive and is only getting better. He already has the highest winning percentage in the history of college football, which is, obviously, a great place to be. 

He has an 82-12 record, good for a .872 winning percentage in just ten years as the head coach at Ohio State.

He took the program over straight from Urban Meyer, and it never even missed a beat. He has one National Championship to his name to go along with three other devastating College Football Playoff losses.

As he looks towards the 2026-27 season, he is going to have a great opportunity to at least get back at Cignetti as the Buckeyes have the Hoosiers on their schedule this year.

To get back at Smart, it would require a little bit of scheduling luck to catch those guys in the postseason. To get there, Day is going to have to put on his best coaching effort to date. This year's Buckeyes schedule is absolutely loaded, and it is going to require Ohio State to be at its best week in and week out.

A run in the 2026 season will easily catapult Day to the top spot among coaches across America.

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