Every year, CBS Sports publishes a ranking of all the Power 4 coaches. Wisconsin's head coach, Luke Fickell, is included in the first article of the series, which ranks coaches from 68 to 26. These rankings only include Power 4 coaches, so there are only 68 coaches available to choose from.
Wisconsin's Luke Fickell fell the most in the rankings from last season to this season. He fell 23 spots total and now ranks among the bottom 30. Yet, with some of the coaches he ranks ahead of, you could seriously debate whether he's still ranked too high. Coaches like Florida's Billy Napier, Syracuse's Fran Brown (who went 10-3 last year), and even Bill Belichick (which, sure, he hasn't done anything in college yet, but still...).
Luke Fickell comes in at No. 40 in CBS Sports Power-4 Coach Rankings
Here's what CBS Sports had to say about Luke Fickell and why he's ranked where he is:
"The Wisconsin coach takes the honor nobody wants this year. Fickell was ranked 17th last year and fell to 40th. That 23-spot tumble is the largest of any coach remaining at a Power Four school. Simply put, the first two years in Madison haven't gone as hoped, as he's 13-13 overall. If we include his lone season at Ohio State, Fickell is 19-20 as a Power Four coach, including 11-15 in the Big Ten. He can still rebound in a major way if Wisconsin has a good season, but it's tough to justify placing him higher than this right now."Tom Fornelli, CBS Sports
The stats don't lie on Fickell he's done anything but prove he can coach at a high level in a Power-4 conference. And one thing this article doesn't seem to realize is how big of a challenge he has this next season. He's going up against the toughest Big Ten schedule. There's a legitimate chance that he only scrapes together four to five wins this season. You can hope not, but it's an absolute gauntlet of a schedule.
Is Fickell ranked too high? Too low? Or just right?