Coaching matters in football more than any other sport. Coaching matters even more in college football as you can outscheme your opponents on a weekly basis. We are going to rank the Top 5 coaches in college football from week to week in our Coach of the Year Rankings.

#1 Dan Mullen, Mississippi State Bulldogs

Mullen’s team looks far from unbeatable, but they are still ranked No. 1 and prior to the season few would have predicted that. Mullen will get to prove his genius this coming Saturday as he takes hip top-ranked Bulldogs into Tuscaloosa to match wits with Nick Saban and Alabama. If Mississippi State wins this game, start engraving the award.

#2 Gary Patterson, TCU Horned Frogs

Patterson has taken a former wide receiver and made him into a superstar quarterback, while navigating a pretty tough stretch of Big 12 schedule. Nobody expected TCU to be in contention for the playoff, but that’s exactly where they are and Patterson’s group will be heavy favorites in their remaining games.

#3 Rich Rodriguez, Arizona Wildcats

Rich-Rod has the second-best team in his own state and he’s done one of the best jobs of coaching in the nation. Arizona should finish with no more than three losses and that’s a phenomenal season compared to their talent level. Big things are on the horizon for the U of A assuming Rodriguez doesn’t get a better offer in the offseason.

#4 Jimbo Fisher, FSU Seminoles

I’m not sure if Jimbo can win this award, no matter what happens to the other teams in the nation, even if he runs the table. FSU is expected to win and they do, week after week. Alabama is expected to win as well, but they’ve lost three games during the time FSU has been undefeated.

#5 Todd Graham, Arizona State Sun Devils

The Sun Devils have won some close games this year and are just one terrible day against UCLA away from being a top contender for the playoff. If Todd Graham wins out, which would include a victory in the Pac 12 title game over Oregon, Graham could take home this award (assuming Mississippi State loses).

Again, this isn’t a list of the best coaches in the country, it’s a list of which coaches are doing the best job this season.