#B1GCoachRank: No. 6 Paul Chryst
Ranking coaches in the B1G can be a pretty easy task. It’s easy to place a number beside a guy, failing to give any reasoning behind his placement on a “power rankings,” list.
At Saturday Tradition, though, we don’t want to just give you the rankings. We want to provide you with a detailed description of each head coach and why he’s ranked in his selected spot.
This was a practice that was kicked up from the ground last year and, since there’s still several months until football season gets underway, it’s worth revisiting. So, let’s continue our 2017 #B1GCoachRank:
Coach: No. 6 Paul Chryst (Wisconsin)
Record: 21-6, 13-4 in B1G (Wisconsin), 19-19 (Pitt)
Record vs. top 25: 4-5 (Wisconsin), 3-5 (Pitt)
Where team was when he was hired: In desperate need of Paul Chryst.
The stunning departures of Bret Bielema and Gary Andersen made Wisconsin fans wonder if they could actually get a coach who was willing to stay for the long haul. Chryst, from every angle, appeared and still appears to be that guy. The Madison native and former Wisconsin quarterback was the engineer of some of Wisconsin’s most prolific offenses in school history as an assistant. His hiring, though not splashy, was a no-brainer for a program in search of consistency.
Biggest win: Sept. 3, 2016 vs. No. 5 LSU
It was easy to write off the Badgers heading into the season-opening showdown against LSU last year. The Tigers had Heisman Trophy favorite Leonard Fournette, former Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda and that No. 5 preseason ranking. The Badgers heard about that all offseason.
In front of a sea of red at Lambeau Field, Wisconsin shocked the world. Well, the world outside of Wisconsin.
In one game, Chryst earned his program instant national respect after entering the season unranked. He proved that he didn’t need Aranda to beat a quality opponent. All of the sudden, Wisconsin’s daunting schedule didn’t look like a weekly death trap.
Most embarrassing loss: Nov. 21, 2015 vs. No. 20 Northwestern
In Chryst’s defense, five of his six losses at Wisconsin were against ranked teams. All of them were against 10-win teams, which had a combined record of 68-14. Northwestern wins by default because it was, by every stretch, a very winnable game at Camp Randall Stadium.
In fact, the Badgers probably should’ve won it on Jazz Peavy’s overruled touchdown in the fourth quarter. But Wisconsin shouldn’t have needed a last-ditch effort to win that game. The Badgers were in that position because they turned the ball over a whopping five times.
Chryst’s critics weren’t pointing to Aranda’s defense as the reason Wisconsin lost that game. If they weren’t pointing at Joel Stave, they were pointing at Chryst’s offense, which totaled -26 rushing yards. That never happened at Camp Randall, much less in late November.
On top of all of that, Wisconsin made national headlines after fans pelted cheerleaders and referees with snowballs in the frustrating loss. Not a good look for Chryst’s program (via SB Nation).
Wisconsin fans toss snowballs at refs after controversial loss https://t.co/NPcDI56ssi pic.twitter.com/W7muJKBMvg via @SconSportsTalk
— SB Nation CFB (@SBNationCFB) November 22, 2015
Best recruiting class: 2015
I know, I know, I know. That was mostly Andersen’s group. But Chryst gets credit for keeping that core together and adding a few key recruits of his own. It’s still early, but by the look of it, there are plenty of key contributors in the 2015 class.
- Alex Hornibrook
- Bradrick Shaw
- Olive Sagapolu
- Chris Orr
- Alec Ingold
- Jon Dietzen
- Arrington Farrar
People might forget that Farrar, who was the top-ranked recruit in that class, was actually a former Stanford commit that Chryst’s staff landed on National Signing Day. Hornibrook flipped from Pitt to Wisconsin after Chryst left and Shaw was a late pledge, as well.
In typical Wisconsin fashion, that 2015 group only finished ranked No. 40 nationally. And in typical Wisconsin fashion, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if that group fueled another B1G West crown.
What could get him fired: Announce he’s lactose intolerant…? Actually, that probably wouldn’t do it.
Why he’s at No. 6: There’s an argument that Chryst should be in the top four or even the top three. Some might say he’s been better than Jim Harbaugh since the two started coaching in the B1G. In fact, Ohio State is the only B1G team that won more games than Wisconsin since Chryst arrived in Madison. But Chryst was at No. 6 for a variety of reasons.
Let’s clear up the Chryst vs. Harbaugh thing first. Yes, they were both 21-6 in their first two seasons. Chryst isn’t behind Harbaugh because he lacks a national profile. He’s behind Harbaugh because Harbaugh turned around programs at everywhere he’s been. He gets credit for turning a 1-11 Stanford squad into a BCS bowl team. He also gets credit for making three NFC title games and one Super Bowl in San Francisco.
Before Wisconsin, Chryst’s only head job was at Pitt, where he was 19-19. So that’s why he isn’t considered on Harbaugh’s level nationally.
There’s also still an unknown with Chryst. He inherited an 11-3 squad, so he didn’t have to rebuild a program the way Harbaugh, Mark Dantonio, James Franklin, Pat Fitzgerald, and even Urban Meyer did. So far, most of Chryst’s success can be attributed to players Andersen recruited.
Having said all of that, Chryst has all the makings of a guy who could rise on this list every year. Navigating what I believed was the toughest schedule in America the way he did last year was nothing short of incredible. That’s why he earned B1G Coach of the Year honors.
Let’s just wait until Chryst wins consistently with his players before we declare him one of the elite coaches in all of college football.
#B1GCoachRank
No. 6 Paul Chryst (Wisconsin)
No. 5 TBA
