Football has become analytics driven. Metrics, stats, trends and whatever else PFF has come with are often used when talking about the game.
I love deep dives and absurd stats, and specifically how they impact betting trends. Who wouldn’t want to know that LSU is 12-3 against the spread the night of a Harvest Moon when mercury is in retrograde?
But the one metric that matters most has never changed. Winning.
Brad Crawford from 247Sports came out with a list of every Power Four head coach’s record against Top 25 teams as well as Marcus Freeman from Notre Dame. Only 11 of the 68 Power Four coaches are .500 or better. Just eight have a winning record, and one of those is first year Syracuse head coach Fran Brown who is 3-1.
Three coaches from the SEC made the list – Kirby Smart (37-15), Kalen Deboer (15-3), and Josh Heupel (12-12). LSU’s Brian Kelly was close with a career record of 35-37, but he’s just 4-8 at LSU. Every other coach in the league was under .400.
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Ryan Day, Dan Lanning, and Lincoln Riley were the only representatives from the Big Ten. Dabo Swinney and Brown were the only members from the ACC. The Big 12 had zero coaches with more wins than losses in Top 25 games.
James Franklin has struggled against elite teams, so his 17-26 record wasn’t completely shocking. However, even the most tenured and respected coaches like Kyle Wittingham of Utah (22-37) or Kirk Ferentz of Iowa (30-56) have struggled.
CRAZY STAT OF THE DAY….🤯🤯🤯
Yesterday @BCrawford247 did a deep dive on P4 Head Coaching records vs AP Top 25 teams. Did you know…
Of the 68 Total P4 CFB Head Coaches only 8 have winning records against AP Top 25 teams.
One of those was Fran Brown with only 4 games too. pic.twitter.com/61JZfSbQuW
— Chris Marler (@Vern_Funquist) July 2, 2025
Regardless, the expectations of most programs and fanbases are not going to change. Winning, and winning at the highest level, are the standards of success. It just so happens that very few coaches are delivering on those expectations, and it’s unsure if the people who set the bar and/or pay their checks are even noticing.
Check out more of our SEC coverage here
