Head Coach Rankings: Bowl Season Top 30
30. Hugh Freeze, Liberty
LendingTree Bowl
Liberty 56, Eastern Michigan 20
Really, was that so hard? That was supposed to be the Liberty team we expected to see all season long, and it showed up for the bowl game. The offense came out jacked, put up 43 in the first half, was up 49-10, and we even stronger than the final score.
29. Paul Chryst, Wisconsin
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
Wisconsin 20, Arizona State 13
It wasn’t anything amazing, and it was hardly as dominant as it should’ve been, but it was a decent win with Wisconsin going Wisconsin. The defense allowed just 219 yards, the offense had the ball for over 32 minutes, and there was a chance at the end to make the score look worse. It was a business-like W.
28. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
Valero Alamo Bowl
Oklahoma 47, Oregon 32
It was a cameo appearance, but Stoops had his Oklahoma team ready to roll early on – helped by having Caleb Williams still around and a slew of players fired up to play for the legend – and it all worked out beautifully. It wasn’t a given that OU would be in this considering all the turmoil, but it put this away fast.
27. Craig Bohl, Wyoming
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Wyoming 52, Kent State 38
Forget about how the Cowboys lost a slew of parts right after the win. The job was to rip through the bad Kent State defense, and the Wyoming offense did just that for a full 60 minutes.
26. Chris Klieman, Kansas State
Mercari Texas Bowl
Kansas State 42, LSU 20
Kansas State caught the break of getting an LSU team missing half of its guys, but give Klieman and the staff credit – there wasn’t even a hint of a letdown or overconfidence. It was a perfectly executed first half on the way to the win.
25. Shawn Elliott, Georgia State
Camellia Bowl
Georgia State 51, Ball State 20
The offense was balanced and sharp, the defense stuffed the run with ease, and it was 48-13 going into the fourth quarter. Yeah, the team was prepared and ready to close out a good season with emphasis.
24. Tyson Helton, WKU
RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl
WKU 59, Appalachian State 38
That’s exactly how the offense is supposed to work. Bailey Zappe threw for a bazillion yards – 422 with six touchdowns – the offense put up 52 points in the first three quarters, and it turned into a blowout win over a very, very good Appalachian State team.
23. Brady Hoke, San Diego State
Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl
San Diego State 38, UTSA 24
That was a fantastic – and dangerous – UTSA team with the right makeup to give San Diego State problems. Instead, the Aztecs went a bit against type, settled in, and got the passing game going all while the defense clamped down. A 14-point win over that bunch is strong.
22. Dana Holgorsen, Houston
TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl
Houston 17, Auburn 13
Auburn might have had a bit of a rough year and it was missing a few parts, but it was still a Power Five program going against a Group of Five team. It was ugly, but Holgorsen’s defense played great, the offense outgained the Tigers, and the team was cool late to get the win.
21. Kyle Whittingham, Utah
Rose Bowl Game
Ohio State 48, Utah 45
Okay, so the defensive gameplan didn’t work against the best offense in college football, but Utah never looked or played it didn’t belong in the big moment. Ohio State might have been missing some guys, but Utah was missing its starting quarterback late and still tied it up. It took a late drive by a team loaded with all that NFL talent to put the Utes away.
Bowl Season Coaching Rankings
1-10 | 11-20 | 21-30 | 31-40 | 41-50 | 51-60 | 61-70 | 71-76