Week 8 Big Ten Football Coach Rankings: Where Does Illinois' Bret Bielema Stand?

Through eight weeks, who are the Big Ten Coach of the Year candidates, and who's underachieving?

Rich Cirminiello | Oct 23, 2024

Oct 12, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema celebrates a 50-49 win over the Purdue Boilermakers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images / Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

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Illinois Fighting Illini

Bret Bielema's fourth season at Illinois has so far been his best one with the program. The Illini are 6-1 and up to No. 20 in the latest AP poll heading into this weekend's enormous opportunity at No. 1 Oregon.

Picked in the preseason to finish 13th in the Big Ten, Illinois has exceeded expectations by already beating three ranked teams.

For Bielema, this season is gradually erasing memories of his five seasons at Arkansas and building a bridge to the Wisconsin days, when conference titles and Rose Bowls were the norm.

Bielema is doing his best coaching job in over a decade, but how does it compare to the other 17 Big Ten coaches through eight weeks of the season?

Ranking Big Ten Coaches Through Week 8

18. Lincoln Riley, USC (3-4)

The Trojans have lost four of their last five games, blowing fourth-quarter leads in each of them.

Maryland beats USC and Eric Collins is losing his mind! pic.twitter.com/lmuAJijIKO
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) October 19, 2024

17. Ryan Walters, Purdue (1-6)

Purdue has regressed in Year 2 under Walters and has been competitive in just one FBS game this fall.

16. Sherrone Moore, Michigan (4-3)

The defending national champs are likely to finish the regular season at .500.

15. Jedd Fisch, Washington (4-3)

Sure, Fisch inherited a lot of turnover, but the Huskies lost to rival Washington State and are in serious jeopardy of not becoming bowl-eligible.

14. Greg Schiano, Rutgers (4-3)

A once-promising season has been replaced by three straight losses, the last two at home.

13. DeShaun Foster, UCLA (2-5)

The Bruins have competed in the face of a tough schedule, and last week's win at Rutgers could be a turning point.

12. PJ Fleck, Minnesota (4-3)

Back-to-back wins over the league's L.A. teams have the Gophers optimistic coming out of the break.

11. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa (4-3)

The Hawkeyes' season hit an unexpected detour with last week's loss to Michigan State.

10. Mike Locksley, Maryland (4-3)

Locksley gets a boost with last week's stunning fourth-quarter comeback that kept USC reeling.

9. David Braun, Northwestern (3-4)

The up-and-down Wildcats' best win was over Maryland, 37-10, in College Park.

8. Ryan Day, Ohio State (5-1)

Day lost his one big test so far, to Dan Lanning and Oregon, 32-31, at Autzen Stadium.

7. Jonathan Smith, Michigan State (4-3)

The Spartans have matched last year's win total in Smith's first year in East Lansing.

6. Luke Fickell, Wisconsin (5-2)

The Badgers have caught fire heading into Saturday's key showdown with unbeaten Penn State.

5. James Franklin, Penn State (6-0)

The Nittany Lions have taken care of business, with upcoming games against Wisconsin and Ohio State set to determine their ceiling.

4. Matt Rhule, Nebraska (5-2)

The Huskers got a black eye last week in Bloomington, but Rhule has his team one win away from its first bowl since 2026.

3. Dan Lanning, Oregon (7-0)

Lanning has Ducks top-ranked for the first time since 2012, with notable wins over Ohio State and Boise State.

2. Bret Bielema, Illinois (6-1)

Bielema will go from Big Ten Coach of the Year candidate to National Coach of the Year candidate if the Illini can stun Oregon this weekend.

ILLINOIS TAKES DOWN MICHIGAN!

The fans storm the field as @IlliniFootball secures a 6-1 start to the season. pic.twitter.com/29Y2tHS41C
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 19, 2024

1. Curt Cignetti, Indiana (7-0)

Cignetti has written the blueprint for what's possible from a first-year coach in the portal era.