Where does Mel Tucker rank among Big Ten coaches?

Tucker surpassed all expectations with the Spartans in 2021, but there's still more for the head coach to prove

Michigan State entered the 2021 football season with a win expectancy of 4.5, but the Spartans surprised all on-lookers with an 11-2 season the ended with a Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl victory.

Finishing with 6.5 wins above expectancy was the best in the Big Ten by a wide margin — a full two games ahead of Michigan's second-best mark of 4.5 above expectancy.

The success of the Spartans' 2021 campaign, combined with rumors of outside interest in head coach Mel Tucker from other programs, motivated the university to give its head coach a massive 10-year, $95 million extension.

Tucker and the Spartans were also the only Big Ten team that beat conference champion Michigan. Given all of that, should Tucker be considered one of the four best coaches in the Big Ten Conference right now?

Not according to a recent article ranking the top coaches in college football that was published by 247Sports earlier this week.

247Sports — which is well-known for its coverage of college football and basketball recruiting, as well as other team coverage — has Michigan's Jim Harbaugh, Ohio State's Ryan Day, Penn State's James Franklin and Iowa's Kirk Ferentz as the top four coaches in the Big Ten, and each ranked in the country's Top 15.

Given the fact that Tucker has only been a head coach for three years — one season with Colorado, two at Michigan State — it's somewhat understandable that the Spartans' head man would be left off 247Sports' list.

The article does offer this caveat before it reveals it's list of Top 15 coaches: "When ranking coaches, a great deal of emphasis is placed on recent finishes, coaching history, 2022’s comparative expectations and recruiting prowess for all nominees. This ranking is in no way indicative of how things may look after the 2022 campaign, but more of a projective analysis."

However, when you compare the Big Ten coaches on the list with what Tucker has done in his short time in East Lansing, there's an argument to be made for Tucker's inclusion.

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was ranked the best in the Big Ten, and No. 6 in the country. Harbaugh led the Wolverines to a Big Ten title and a College Football Playoff appearance for the first time in his seven-year tenure in Ann Arbor in 2021, and he holds a 119-51 overall record as a college head coach at San Diego, Stanford and Michigan.

Tucker is 2-0 head-to-head against Harbaugh.

Ohio State's Ryan Day came in as the No. 8 head coach in the country. Day has compiled a 34-4 record with the Buckeyes, has won the Big Ten twice and earned two bids to the CFP in his three seasons in Columbus. There's certainly an argument for Day to be ranked higher, but he did inherit a program that had already been a national powerhouse under previous head coach Urban Meyer.

Tucker is 0-2 against Day.

Coming in at third in the Big Ten and No. 13 in the country is Penn State's James Franklin. This one might be the biggest head-scratcher of them all. Yes, Franklin has a Big Ten championship under his belt (2016). Yes, he has three 11-win seasons with the Nittany Lions. But, Penn State has also finished a season with seven wins or less four times during Franklin's eight-year tenure, including each of the last two seasons. Franklin, whose combined head coaching record of 91-49 at Vanderbilt and Penn State, does deserve an abundance of credit for what he did with the Commodores — Vandy went to three straight bowl games under Franklin after only four bowl games in their history prior to his arrival. Still, this seems a little high for the Penn State head coach.

Tucker is 1-1 against Franklin.

The final spot in 247Sports' Top 15 head coaches in college football went to Iowa's Kirk Ferentz. The 23-year veteran led the Hawkeyes to shared Big Ten championships in 2002 and 2004, and Iowa has twice won the West division since the conference's expansion in 2014. The Hawkeyes have earned bowl bids in 19 of Ferentz' 23 years at the helm, with a record of 9-9 in those games — the 2020 Music City bowl was cancelled. Ferentz is the longest-tenured head coach in the Power 5, and had won 10 games or more at Iowa six times in his career.

Tucker if 0-1 against Ferentz.

The Big Ten is arguably the deepest conference in the country in terms of head coaching prowess. All of the coaches mentioned above deserve credit for the jobs they have done at their programs. Tucker's standing is certainly hurt by the fact he's only been a head coach for three seasons (with an 18-14 overall record), but given his success in 2021 and the job he and his staff have done on the recruiting trail, it's a safe bet that you'll see Tucker get more recognition on lists like 247Sports' in the near future.