Whittingham, Sitake, Anderson Ranked Among Fellow FBS Coaches Prior To 2021 Season

Jun 30, 2021, 12:08 PM | Updated: Dec 8, 2022, 11:55 am

Kyle Whittingham - Kalani Sitake - Blake Anderson...

Head coach Kyle Whittingham of the Utah Utes looks on while his team warms up prior to the start of the Pac-12 Championship game against the Oregon Ducks at Levi's Stadium on December 06, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) and Head Coach Kalani Sitake of the BYU Cougars walks off the field after a close loss to the Boise State Broncos on November 3, 2018 at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho. Boise State won the game 21-16. (Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images) and Head coach Blake Anderson of the Arkansas State Red Wolves looks on prior to the start of the game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

BY KYLE IRELAND, KSL SPORTS

KSL Sports

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Sporting News ranked FBS college football head coaches heading into the 2021 season, including Utah’s Kyle Whittingham, BYU’s Kalani Sitake, and Utah State’s Blake Anderson.

Bill Bender of Sporting News published a story in which he ranked FBS head coaches 1-130.

Whittingham, Sitake, and Anderson were each ranked in the top 100 of Bender’s list.

Kyle Whittingham – Utah Utes

Previous Ranking: 18

2021 Ranking: 19

“The Utes were 3-2 last season, which ended a run of back-to-back Pac-12 South championships,” Bender wrote of the Utes’ head coach. “Whittingham still owns a 17-6 record in conference play the last three years, and the Utes have proven they can work into the Playoff conversation.”

Whittingham was the second-highest ranked head coach from the Pac-12 Conference. Only Oregon’s Mario Cristobal (No. 16) had a higher ranking than the Utah head coach.

Since becoming the Utes’ head coach in 2005, Whittingham has a career record of 134-66, including 11-3 in bowl games.

. @UtahCoachWhitt was awarded the Dodd Trophy.

Here's why: https://t.co/zPg9tStEtH pic.twitter.com/G9uoUjr783

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 27, 2019

Kalani Sitake – BYU Cougars

Previous Ranking: 86

2021 Ranking: 46

After leading the Cougars to an 11-1 record in 2020, Sitake made a giant leap up 40 spots in Sporting News’ rankings.

Sitake was hired as BYU’s head coach in 2016. He owns a career record of 38-26, including 3-1 in bowl games as the head coach of the Cougars.

Kalani Sitake and Tom Holmoe settling into their seats at State of the Program.#BYUFootball #BYUMediaDay #GoCougs #BYU pic.twitter.com/HJ6fWL90lZ

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) June 17, 2021

Blake Anderson – Utah State Aggies

Previous Ranking: 91

2021 Ranking: 96

Heading into his first season running the program in Logan, Anderson is ranked as the seventh best coach in the Mountain West Conference.

Anderson was most recently the head coach at Arkansas State. As a head coach, Anderson owns a career record of 51-37, including 2-4 in bowl games.

Welcome to Logan and @USUFootball, @CHbanderson! 💙 #AggiesAllTheWay https://t.co/RxrlHEdZq9

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 13, 2020

Top 10 FBS Head Coaches

The following individuals were ranked as the top head coaches in college football prior to the 2021 season:

Nick Saban (Alabama)
Dabo Swinney (Clemson)
Lincoln Riley (Oklahoma)
Brian Kelly (Notre Dame)
Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M)
Ryan Day (Ohio State)
Kirby Smart (Georgia)
Dan Mullen (Florida)
Matt Campbell (Iowa State)
Mack Brown (North Carolina)

.@BillBender92 ranked every coach in college football 🏈

Full list: https://t.co/PrOQ6ACXlM pic.twitter.com/LyFjSedpxk

— 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬 (@sportingnews) June 29, 2021