Week 8 Big 12 Football Coach Rankings: Where's Kansas' Lance Leipold?

Who are this year's Big 12 Coach of the Year contenders? And who's underachieving? We rank every league coach through the first eight weeks.

Oct 5, 2024; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Lance Leipold reacts against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the second half at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Throughout his career, Lance Leipold has grown accustomed to winning, so this has been a challenging year for the coach. His Jayhawks were ranked in the preseason, but are now 2-5 heading into this week's Sunflower Showdown at Kansas State.

Leipold will have a chance to reverse course in the second half of a season that began with a resounding win over visiting Houston last week. Point being, there's still time for him to battle back and climb higher in the Big 12 coaching rankings for 2024.

Ranking Big 12 Coaches Through Week 8

16. Lance Leipold, Kansas [2-5]

Like Lincoln Riley at USC, the inability to win the fourth quarter has killed the Jayhawks this season.

15. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State [3-4]

Cowboys have failed to capitalize on all of their veteran talent, losing their last four games.

14. Kyle Whittingham, Utah [4-3]

It's been a rare off year for Whittingham and the Utes who have poorly handled another year without injury-prone QB Cam Rising.

13. Neal Brown, West Virginia [3-4]

Brown has failed to build off last year's nine-win season and has lost all four games with ranked opponents this year.

12. Brent Brennan, Arizona [3-4]

Cats have lost the momentum Jedd Fisch built in Tucson, dropping four of their last five games.

11. Gus Malzahn, UCF [3-4]

Knights were a fringe Big 12 contender before dropping four straight, including a heartbreaker to Iowa State last week.

10. Willie Fritz, Houston [2-5]

Fritz will deliver for Houston, but it's going to take time, especially on offense.

9. Dave Aranda, Baylor [3-4]

With the meat of the schedule now over, Aranda has a chance to get hot and save his job.

8. Sonny Dykes, TCU [4-3]

Against FBS opponents, Dykes is now 7-10 since appearing in the 2022 National Championship Game.

7. Joey McGuire, Texas Tech [5-2]

Red Raiders will need to rebound after suffering a shocking 59-35 home loss to Baylor last week.

6. Chris Kleiman, Kansas State [6-1]

Wildcats remain in the thick of the Big 12 race, winning three straight after falling to BYU in Week 4.

5. Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State [5-2]

After going 3-9 a year ago, Dillingham has already turned things around in Tempe.

Kenny Dillingham is the youngest head coach at a Power 4 school… can you tell?

The youngster is FIRED UP

pic.twitter.com/NdI494mVRs

— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) October 12, 2024

4. Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati [5-2]

Satterfield is quietly stabilizing a Bearcat program that won just three times in his 2023 debut.

3. Deion Sanders, Colorado [5-2}

Sanders has rallied the Buffs to four wins in the last five games, only losing by three to K-State in that stretch.

2. Matt Campbell, Iowa State [7-0]

Cyclones' perfect start and top 10 ranking includes a win over rival Iowa at Kinnick Stadium.

1. Kalani Sitake, BYU [7-0]

Sitake's Cougars have been one of college football's biggest surprises, highlighted by a 38-9 win over one-loss Kansas State.

BYU TAKES THE LEAD WITH SECONDS LEFT!!!

pic.twitter.com/V9jSqH5EiK

— College Football Report (@CFBRep) October 19, 2024

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