Luke Fickell ranks 40th in CBS Sports college football coach rankings ahead of Bill Belichick, Sherrone Moore

CBS Sports ranked every Power 4 college football head coach, and Luke Fickell came in 40th for the Wisconsin Badgers. It's a big drop, but it's still ahead of some notable coaches

Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell is shown during the first quarter of their game against Oregon Saturday, November 16, 2024 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Wisconsin Badgers' lack of success in 2024 is being reflected in how the national college football media views its head coach.

Luke Fickell has taken his own fall from grace in the latest rankings of college football head coaches from CBS Sports.

He lands down at No. 40, a major drop from where he ranked a year ago in the list voted on by the outlet's writers.

The annual @CBSSportsCFB Power Four Coach Rankings are out!

Here are the coaches that finished outside the Top 25https://t.co/NcdvdTmJ7p pic.twitter.com/QNJzjgq6tI

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) May 21, 2025

40. Wisconsin

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

Fickell had a relatively narrow range of votes from the CBS writers, with his highest vote at No. 38 and his lowest at No. 48.

He comes in 12th among Big Ten coaches, ahead of names like Greg Schiano and Sherrone Moore.

Fickell was only one spot behind Washington's Jedd Fisch and eight spots behind Nebraska's Matt Rhule.

Other big names that he ranked better than include Manny Diaz (Duke), Billy Napier (Florida), Hugh Freeze (Auburn), Brent Venables (Oklahoma) and Bill Belichick (North Carolina).

It goes to show that things could be worse for Fickell, and his fall from the Top 20 is reminder of what he's capable of returning to at Wisconsin.

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