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Wisconsin Badgers: Top five coaches in the Big Ten

By Tanner Nestle

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - DECEMBER 30: Head coach Paul Chryst of the Wisconsin Badgers cheers during the 2017 Capital One Orange Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FL - DECEMBER 30: Head coach Paul Chryst of the Wisconsin Badgers cheers during the 2017 Capital One Orange Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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4. Mark Dantonio – Michigan State

EAST LANSING, MI – SEPTEMBER 02: Head coach Mark Dantonio of the Michigan State Spartans looks on while playing the Bowling Green Falcons at Spartan Stadium on September 2, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. Michigan State won the game 35-10. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI – SEPTEMBER 02: Head coach Mark Dantonio of the Michigan State Spartans looks on while playing the Bowling Green Falcons at Spartan Stadium on September 2, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. Michigan State won the game 35-10. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Dantonio isn’t a personal favorite of mine. I won’t go dig up all of my thoughts on Michigan State, but it’s safe to say I have an irrational distaste for the program. This doesn’t change the fact that Dantonio is one of the best coaches in the country. He’s definitely deserving of a spot on this list.

Michigan State has won double-digit games six of the last eight years and is 5-1 in bowl games in that time. The Spartans have had some big-time players come through their doors, like Kirk Cousins and Le’Veon Bell, but have mostly gone under the radar due to the large shadows cast by Ohio State and Michigan.

Michigan State returns 21 starters from last year’s team that went 10-3 and beat Penn State and Michigan. Expectations for Michigan State are somewhere around the College Football Playoff with the combination of returning talent and head coaching experience. There’s no reason to think the Spartans can’t make it that far in 2018.

Dantonio stays on the lower end of this list because he also has been coming up short in recent years. His team went 3-9 in 2016 after starting the season ranked. That was the year following an appearance in the College Football Playoff where they lost to Alabama 38-0 in the semi-final. It feels like forever since Sparty was in the national spotlight.

Dantonio will have plenty of opportunities to prove he is one of the best coaches in the country. His team plays in the Big Ten East, perhaps the toughest division in football.

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