Nov 18, 2023; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Updated College Coaches Ranking: Oregon Ducks' Dan Lanning Above Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman

Originally posted on Oregon Ducks on SI
By Kyle Clements | Last updated May 25, 2025 6:12 PM ET

CBS Sports released a ranking of the top 25 college football coaches in the Power Four conference going into the 2025 season. Among the top 25 are Ohio State coach Ryan Day, who now has a national championship to his name, former Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham, who is now building something special as coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils, and Oregon coach Dan Lanning.

Lanning is ranked No. 5 on the 2025 college football coaches' list. He is listed above prestigious coaches like James Franklin for Penn State and Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman. Lanning picked up the biggest win of his head coaching career as the Ducks beat Ohio State in Autzen Stadium during the regular season.

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Lanning won the Big Ten in his first season in the conference, defeating Franklin and Penn State in the Big Ten Championship. He led the Ducks to a 13-0 record in the regular season and a Rose Bowl game appearance. While Lanning hasn’t won a national championship, he has done an excellent job of simply defeating teams the Ducks are expected to beat.

There haven’t been any major shockers for Lanning and the Ducks as opposed to Marcus Freeman, whose Fighting Irish dropped a game to Northern Illinois in South Bend this past season. Lanning has also shown he is able to defeat Day and the Buckeyes, something that Franklin has not been able to do.

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The top 25 list includes seven Big Ten coaches. Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, who carved himself out a role as the media’s and America’s darling this past season, is ranked No. 21, a respectable ranking for a coach who has single-handedly turned around the Hoosier’s perception for the rest of the college football landscape. Cignetti led the Hoosier's to the College Football Playoff, falling to Notre Dame in the first round.

Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham checks in on the list at No.18. It’s no surprise that Dillingham, who coached former Ducks quarterback Bo Nix in Nix’s first season with the Ducks, is having success in Tempe. Dillingham led Arizona State to a 3-9 record in his first season as the coach of the Sun Devils, before turning things around and shocking the college football world by taking Arizona State to the College Football Playoff and boasting an 11-3 record with a Big 12 title as well.

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Ohio State coach Ryan Day checks into No. 2 on the list of top 2025 college football coaches going into 2025, one spot behind Georgia's Kirby Smart.

While not having the latest national championship winning coach at No. 1 may seem odd, Day has still yet to beat Michigan. The Buckeyes coach has also shown a vulnerability at managing the clock, as seen in Ohio State's loss to Oregon in the regular season matchup at Autzen Stadium.