Iowa State’s Jimmy Rogers Receives Interesting Ranking Amongst Peers

Every year, Sporting News comes out with an important ranking that Iowa State Cyclones fans will keep an eye on. The annual article reveals their belief about who the best coaches in college football truly are.

But it’s not just the top coaches that they rank, but every single one at the FBS level. The list is always full of controversy, intrigue, and, overall, a fun article to check out during the offseason.

This year, they released their official head coaching rankings from 1-138. Curt Cignetti of the Indiana Hoosiers got the top spot after leading them to a national championship and a generational turnaround.

Kirby Smart, the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs, got the number two spot, leaning on his pair of national championships won in recent years. Third place went to Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day, who is just a year removed from his first national championship.

Jimmy Rogers receives surprisingly low ranking

Iowa State football head coach Jimmy Rogers talks to media. — Iowa State football head coach Jimmy Rogers talks to media during NFL football pro-day at Bergstrom Football Complex on March 24, 2026, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

At the bottom, we see Joe Harasyimak, the head coach of the UMass Minutemen, followed by Alonzo Carter of the Sacramento State Hornets, a spot higher.

So, where does Cyclones head coach Jimmy Rogers fit into all of this? The number is pretty interesting.

Rogers is rated as the 65th-best head coach in college football. He ranks near the bottom of Power-4 coaches, just above Stanford Cardinal head coach Tavita Pritchard, Collin Klein of the Kansas State Wildcats, Tosh Lupoi of the Cal Golden Bears, Will Stein of the Kentucky Wildcats, and Morgan Scalley of the Utah Utes. While it’s not super disrespectful to Rogers, he certainly deserves to be higher on the list.

Rogers has proven himself at multiple teams. It all started with the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, where he won the national championship at the FCS level, before also reaching a semifinal the year after.

Jimmy Rogers has succeeded at every stop of his career

Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers speaks during a timeout. — Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers speaks during a timeout in the first half in the Iowa State and Iowa men’s basketball Cy-Hawk series at Hilton coliseum on Dec. 11, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Then, he took his talents to the Washington State Cougars, where they went 7-6, although their bowl win was coached by an interim, as Rogers had already taken the Iowa State job.

Rogers has done a great job in his collegiate career. He has won at multiple places and steadied the ship at programs that have needed it. Now with the Cyclones, he hopes to steady the ship in year one before attempting to conquer the college football world next season.

Sporting News didn’t give him a bad ranking, just a cautious one, because it’s hard to determine the future of Rogers. But many people connected to the program, such as fans, coaches, and players, do believe in Rogers, and definitely expect him to jump up in next year’s head coaching rankings.

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