We’re lower than two months from kicking off faculty soccer’s 2025 season with Kansas State and Iowa State battling in Eire for a Week 0 showdown. The precursor to a loaded Week 1 slate that includes a number of video games highlighted by nationally ranked groups, together with Texas-Ohio State, LSU-Clemson and Miami-Notre Dame, robust scheduling early will present an early glimpse of the nation’s greatest squads. 

The outcomes of these contests will add to the profession marks of taking part coaches in opposition to High 25 competitors with a couple of of these data being significantly extra spectacular than others. 

Who’s prepared to tear the Band-Assist off and look below the hood on the nation’s prime coaches in opposition to high quality opponents? 

Rating the highest 25 Energy 4 faculty soccer coaches getting into the 2025 season

Tom Fornelli

We’re taking a deep dive to find out each Energy 4 head coach’s profession report in opposition to High 25 opponents, a barometer on teaching acumen and who’s getting probably the most out of their respective expertise — which varies to a major diploma.

Knowledge assortment, sorting numbers

Profession teaching data in opposition to ranked opponents for this train have been decided by the opponent’s placement within the AP High 25 ballot on the time of sport. Each head-coaching cease is included inside a profession. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mirror postseason rankings or how respective groups completed in a given yr. And for a couple of coaches whose wins over ranked competitors could have been vacated later, we have counted these victories anyway within the win column — since they have been received on the sphere.

Six head coaches throughout the Energy 4 ranks have not but overwhelmed a nationally ranked opponent — Jeff Lebby at Mississippi State, Northwestern’s David Braun, Virginia Tech’s Brent Pry, UCLA’s Deshaun Foster, Oregon State’s Trent Bray and Curt Cignetti at Indiana. Two others — North Carolina’s Invoice Belichick and Stanford’s Frank Reich — will coach in opposition to their first ranked groups this season as first-year faculty head coaches.

Solely 10 Energy 4 coaches presently maintain a .500 or higher profession successful share in opposition to ranked groups. We’ll embody Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman in that bunch. On the elite impartial program, Freeman has the fourth-best successful share amongst faculty soccer’s lively coaches at 14-6 general (.700) and several other of these victories got here final season in the course of the Combating Irish’s run to the nationwide title sport.

That mentioned, not all schedules and high quality victories are created equal. Consider which groups these coaches have performed and the groups they’ve overwhelmed in sure conferences earlier than passing judgment on resume. The “what have you ever accomplished for me currently” mantra issues, too.

SEC loaded with high quality winners

Whereas Kalen DeBoer deserves his share of ribbing after Alabama’s fall from grace throughout his first season, the Crimson Tide managed to do its homework on this system’s rent post-Nick Saban. No coach has a greater successful share in opposition to prime competitors than DeBoer, which is what it takes to win large within the nation’s best league. DeBoer went 10-1 in opposition to ranked groups over two seasons at Washington, the lone loss coming to Michigan within the nationwide championship sport.

Kirby Good’s 37 whole wins over ranked competitors for the reason that begin of the 2016 season is probably the most in faculty soccer over that stretch, topping Dabo Swinney’s 28 at Clemson. The truth is, two of these wins from Good have come in opposition to Swinney (2021, 2024).

There are some SEC coaches trending in the other way getting into the 2025 season at their packages. Hugh Freeze is 1-8 in opposition to ranked groups at Auburn over his first two years whereas 4 of Shane Beamer’s seven wins over ranked groups at South Carolina got here down the stretch in 2024.

Steve Sarkisian at Texas is the one coach in America to steer his program to consecutive playoff semifinal appearances. The Longhorns are 10-5 in opposition to the highest 25 the final two seasons, after posting simply two victories over ranked groups throughout Sarkisian’s first two years on campus.

Previous to wins over LSU and Ole Miss final November, Billy Napier had struggled in opposition to prime 25 competitors over his early tenure at Florida and beforehand with Louisiana.

Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea has two profession wins over ranked groups after beating then-No. 1 Alabama for the primary time in program historical past final fall and upsetting Twenty fourth-ranked Kentucky in the course of the 2022 marketing campaign.

SEC coaches vs. High 25 (profession)

Ryan Day, Dan Lanning lead Large Ten

Day, Lanning and Lincoln Riley are the one league coaches with successful data of their respective careers in opposition to prime 25 competitors. Riley acquired most of his throughout his stint at Oklahoma whereas Day captured six ranked wins final season in directing the Buckeyes to a nationwide championship. Lanning beat three ranked groups final fall earlier than shedding to Ohio State within the Rose Bowl quarterfinal.

Sherrone Moore’s first season at Michigan did not go as deliberate, however the Wolverines did grow to be the one workforce this decade to beat USC, Ohio State and Alabama throughout the identical marketing campaign.

James Franklin posted a career-best 13 victories in 2024, pushing the Nittany Lions to the playoff semifinal in opposition to Notre Dame. Penn State beat three ranked groups alongside the way in which and in addition misplaced to 3 (Ohio State, Oregon and the Combating Irish). Franklin has misplaced eight straight to the Buckeyes.

Indiana solely misplaced twice final fall throughout Cignetti’s first marketing campaign, however every of these got here in opposition to ranked competitors.

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule’s final win over a ranked workforce got here in his ultimate sport at Temple in 2016. Since, Rhule is winless in 17 tries at Baylor and with the Huskers in opposition to the nation’s greatest.

Kirk Ferentz has probably the most wins versus prime 25 opponents within the Large Ten with 30, a lot of that as a consequence of being the league’s longest-tenured coach.

Large Ten coaches vs. High 25 (profession)

Dabo Swinney carries ACC’s torch

Considered one of solely three lively coaches with at the least one nationwide championship to his credit score, Swinney is reliable in opposition to elite competitors. Lots of his prime victories have come within the Faculty Soccer Playoff throughout his illustrious Clemson profession, which incorporates quite a few ACC championships and two playoff titles. The Tigers went 1-3 final season in opposition to ranked groups, the lone win coming in opposition to SMU within the ACC title sport to clinch a CFP berth.

Brent Key has achieved extra with much less at Georgia Tech, together with nationally ranked wins over Florida State and Miami in 2024. The Seminoles flatlined after getting punched within the mouth by the Yellow Jackets within the opener whereas the Hurricanes’ stubbed their toe in Atlanta. 

Three of the highlights throughout Syracuse’s 10-win season final fall below first-year coach Fran Brown have been the Orange’s ranked wins over Georgia Tech, UNLV and Miami. That ultimate victory over the Hurricanes crushed Miami’s playoff aspirations.

Regardless of being the ACC’s second-longest tenured coach and holding this system report for wins, Dave Doeren has struggled to beat the good groups on the schedule with the Wolfpack. During the last two seasons, NC State is 0-5 in opposition to ranked competitors.

Pry hasn’t overwhelmed a prime 25 opponent but (0-5) and will face as many as 4 this season, together with South Carolina within the opener.

Three of Mike Norvell’s eight profession victories in opposition to ranked competitors got here throughout Florida State’s 13-1 marketing campaign in 2023. The Seminoles turned the primary and solely unbeaten energy convention champion to be excluded from the playoff in the course of the four-team period.

ACC coaches vs. High 25 (profession)

No elite dominance in Large 12

Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy was over .500 for his profession in opposition to ranked groups previous to final season’s demise in Stillwater when the Cowboys went winless in 4 tries in opposition to ranked groups. Nonetheless, 47 profession victories over prime 25 competitors dwarfs the subsequent closest coach within the convention.

Sonny Dykes beat six ranked groups at TCU in 2022 in the course of the Horned Frogs’ spirited run to the nationwide title sport, eclipsing his earlier profession whole (5) of prime 25 wins in a single season.

Since successful the Large 12 Championship in 2021 with a 12-2 report and fifth-place end within the ultimate AP ballot, Dave Aranda has misplaced 10 straight in opposition to ranked competitors at Baylor. That is a part of the explanation his 2025 season is so pivotal with quarterback Sawyer Robertson and the Bears.

Rodriguez registered 10 wins in 24 tries in opposition to ranked groups throughout his first stint at West Virginia from 2001-07 when he loved three consecutive top-10 finishes with high-powered offenses main the way in which. The standard wins have lacked since over stints at Michigan and Arizona, which preceded success with Jacksonville State.

Willie Fritz misplaced his first 12 video games in opposition to ranked groups at Tulane earlier than successful three straight — together with a victory over USC within the Cotton Bowl — to cap the very best marketing campaign in program historical past in 2022. He went 1-3 in opposition to prime 25 competitors in his first season at Houston final fall.

Deion Sanders has one win in eight tries at Colorado in opposition to prime 25 opponents. A pair nationally ranked losses final fall — regardless of being led by Heisman winner Travis Hunter and all-league quarterback Shedeur Sanders — value the Buffaloes a spot within the playoff.

Scott Frost returns this season to UCF, the place his three profession wins over ranked groups all got here throughout that memorable unbeaten 2017 season with the Knights. Over 5 failed years at Nebraska, nevertheless, Frost was winless in opposition to prime 25 opponents, resulting in his ousting. 

Large 12 coaches vs. High 25 (profession)