Alex Hickey: 2022 Saturday Tradition Big Ten offensive coordinator rankings

The Big Ten regular season is over, and bowl season has yet to begin.

Which means it’s the perfect time to rank the events of 2022.

We began with head coaches on Monday. As you might expect, that list begins with Jim Harbaugh. And in case you missed it, you can find the rest of the list here.

Today, we move on to offensive coordinators. And let’s just say the race to the bottom is a great deal more compelling than that at the top. The combination of rock-solid Big Ten defenses and shaky Big Ten quarterbacks will have that effect.

1. Kevin Wilson, Ohio State

Wilson earned the head coaching gig at Tulsa, and it isn’t because of his effervescent and charming personality.

Quarterback CJ Stroud was a Heisman finalist for the second straight year as the Buckeyes were also a top-2 team nationally in scoring and yards per play for the second straight year.

Ryan Day is Ohio State’s offensive play-caller, but Wilson gets credit for the job he does setting the Buckeyes up for success during the week.

2. Sherrone Moore & Matt Weiss, Michigan

Michigan’s co-offensive coordinators have more than made up for Josh Gattis’s offseason departure to Miami.

The Wolverines have been finalists for the Joe Moore Award for best offensive line both seasons that Moore has coached that unit. All 5 Michigan starters were named first or second team all-B1G.

Weiss helped with the maturation of quarterback JJ McCarthy, which paid dividends in Michigan’s 45-23 win over Ohio State.

The fact Michigan’s offense cruised without star running back Blake Corum against Ohio State and Purdue is a testament to the job they’ve done.

3. Mike Yurcich, Penn State

A year ago, Penn State was among the feeblest rushing offenses in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions were 12th in yards per carry (3.2) and 13th in yards per game (108).

Yurcich changed that scene thanks to freshman standouts Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. The Nittany Lions were 4th in the B1G in both yards per carry (4.8) and yards per game (182.1) this season. An offensive line that finished 13th in tackles for loss allowed in 2021 also jumped all the way up to 4th this season.

Penn State fans have reason to be excited about what Yurcich will do with quarterback Drew Allar next season.

4. Dan Enos, Maryland

The Terps were a top-4 Big Ten offense in scoring, passing and total yards despite being dead last in sacks allowed.

Some of that may be on Taulia Tagovailoa’s pocket awareness rather than the offensive line. But either way, Enos did an impressive job keeping this offense moving even though it was frequently behind the chains.

5. Brian Brohm, Purdue

Brian Brohm was not Purdue’s play-caller. But he is the position coach for second team all-B1G quarterback Aidan O’Connell, who led the conference with 290 passing yards per game. O’Connell’s rise from walk-on to one of the Big Ten’s best is credit to the younger Brohm brother’s acumen.

6. Barry Lunney Jr., Illinois

Illinois’ offense was very much a 1-man wrecking crew, but Lunney made sure defenses had a hard time stopping running back Chase Brown even though they knew he was likely getting the ball.

Making quarterback Tommy DeVito dangerous enough to respect was a big element in helping with that. DeVito was the Big Ten’s most accurate passer, completing 69.9% of his throws for 7.2 yards per attempt.

7. Kirk Ciarrocca, Minnesota

Ciarrocca cooked with a similar recipe to Lunney. Defenses knew Mohamed Ibrahim was getting the ball, but the Gophers frequently succeeded utilizing just enough other weapons. Minnesota actually finished 4th in the Big Ten yards per play and 5th in scoring.

The Gophers also had the nation’s 2nd-best third-down offense, converting on an impressive 52.5% of their tries.

8. Bobby Engram, Wisconsin

Engram deserves another shot somewhere after his first go-round as a college offensive coordinator.

The Badgers were a respectable 6th in the conference in yards per play and tied for 3rd with 7 plays of 50 yards or more.

Graham Mertz improved from last season, going from 10 touchdown passes to 19 and 6.9 yards per attempt to 7.5. But he couldn’t avoid interceptions, again, with 10 passes picked off. And that ultimately hurt Wisconsin’s scoring.

Engram may move back to the NFL as a position coach, but I’d be intrigued to see what he can do with a better quarterback and the head coach not getting fired midseason.

9. Jay Johnson, Michigan State

This is the drop-off point. The first 8 names on this list did a respectable job this season. The rest did not.

Quarterback Payton Thorne regressed significantly, passing for 24 yards per game fewer than a year ago even though he averaged 32 attempts per game compared to 29 last season. His touchdowns dipped from 27 to 19, and interceptions went up from 10 to 11.

The difference? Defenses knew they didn’t have to respect Michigan State’s ground game without Kenneth Walker III. The Spartans fell from 175.6 rushing yards per game in 2021 to 113 per game this year.

10. Mark Whipple, Nebraska

The much-ballyhooed hire from Pitt was mostly a bust. The Cornhuskers actually got worse throwing the ball, going from 266 yards per game last season to 220 this year. Unless Trey Palmer was touching the ball — and Whipple does deserve some credit for attempting to utilize him as much as possible — Nebraska wasn’t moving.

The Huskers were hamstrung by Casey Thompson’s injury, to be certain. He averaged 240.7 yards per game. But his 10 interceptions in Nebraska’s first 8 games were just too much.

Most damningly, Nebraska finished dead last with 2.8 yards per carry against Big Ten opponents. Unthinkable.

11. Mike Bajakian, Northwestern

I don’t know what any offensive coordinator could be expected to do closing out the season with a 4th-string quarterback. Especially when the starter wasn’t very good in the first place. The Cats might not have made a bowl game with Kyle Shanahan calling plays.

But when an offense averages 13.8 points per game, including a ghastly 5.5 ppg in November, you’re not going to get a very good grade.

Bajakian’s creativity trying to get the ball to Evan Hull by any means necessary deserves some credit, which is how he’s avoided the cellar.

12. Walt Bell, Indiana

Bell’s souped-up, super-tempo offense doesn’t exactly work when you’re racking up 3-and-outs and 40-second possessions, which frequently seemed to be the case this season.

While Michigan is a finalist for the Joe Moore Award, Indiana’s offensive line could have been a finalist for the Swiss Cheese Award. There were holes everywhere. The Hoosiers finished 125th nationally with 97 TFL allowed. Georgia Tech and Boston College were the only Power 5 programs to fare worse.

Indiana’s offense finally clicked when it handed the keys to running QB Dexter Williams, but unfortunately he suffered a knee injury against Purdue that puts next season in doubt.

13. Brian Ferentz, Iowa

Admit it. You didn’t expect to see Ferentz’s name this high up on the list.

After an awful start, Iowa’s offense did approach something respectable by the end of the season. The Hawkeyes averaged 19.5 points per game in November, which was 8th in the B1G for the final month.

But there can be no more searing indictment on Ferentz’s coordinating than Charlie Jones. Jones, who caught 21 passes as a Hawkeye in 2021, led the nation with 110 receptions in his lone season at Purdue.

14. Sean Gleeson/Nunzio Campanile, Rutgers

Gleeson was the only offensive coordinator fired in the Big Ten this season, and things didn’t get much better under interim OC Campanile.

The Scarlet Knights averaged 253 yards per game in Big Ten play. New Mexico has the only offense in the country that fared worse against its respective conference opponents.

Rutgers quarterbacks combined for a 99.83 passer rating, which is 129th nationally. Only New Mexico and UMass are worse.

Since we’re piling on here, Rutgers also finished 128th nationally in third-down conversions (28.5%) and 127th in first downs (178).

The sooner we forget this offense ever existed, the better.