Recent rankings prove what CBS really thinks about the Matt Campbell vs. Kirk Ferentz debate

Even though he is no longer the head coach of hated rival Iowa State, Matt Campbell is still proving to be a thorn in Kirk Ferentz's side.

The longtime Cyclones head man bolted for State College to become the new head coach of the Penn State program after spending 10 seasons in Ames. Campbell couldn't solve his Iowa problem in his first five seasons, but since then, he has made life a nightmare for the Iowa program and its fans.

Even though he has moved on to Penn State, he is still topping Kirk Ferentz in head coaching rankings that are all too confident in Campbell's ability to guide the Nittany Lions in his first season in the Big Ten.

CBS Sports ranked Matt Campbell at No. 16 and Kirk Ferentz at No. 20

Even though all these "expert" rankings are subjective, we still don't know what criteria they use to rank head coaches. Is it past success? Is it a season outlook? Players on the roster? Who know's, but one ranking seems to love Matt Campbell more than Kirk Ferentz.

CBS Sports ranked the top 68 head coaches ahead of the 2026 season, with Campbell checking in at No. 16, down six spots from 2025, and Ferentz at No. 20, down just one spot. There is no doubt that Campbell is a solid head coach, but Ferentz's resume, especially in head-to-head matchups, proves he should be, at minimum, ranked ahead of him.

Ferentz has more overall wins (221 to 107), more Bowl wins (11 to 5), and most importantly, has more wins in the Cy-Hawk matchup. Excluding Iowa's vacated win in the series during the 2023 season, Ferentz still holds a 5-3 record over Campbell in head-to-head matchups.

CBS Sports' Tom Fornelli cited Campbell's ranking was due to his ability to "punch up" and play the underdog role while he was the head coach of the Cyclones. Now, as the head coach of Penn State, the pressure ramps up. 11-3 is considered exceptional at Iowa State, but is just another season at Penn State.

Fornelli also mentioned that "one rogue voter" cost Ferentz a higher spot, with most rankings placing him between 14 and 25 overall. A vote for No. 32 overall bumped him down behind some coaches he shouldn't be behind, including Matt Campbell.

Ferentz has a solid case to be ranked in the top 15

We are not pining for Ferentz to be in the top 5, or even in the top 10, but the top 15 should not be out of the question.

Ferentz's body of work speaks for itself, and if the criteria is past success, Ferentz should move ahead of a few coaches who were ranked ahead of him. While he has not yet guided Iowa to a College Football Playoff appearance, the program has been a model of consistency under his leadership.

Ferentz not only has more wins than all five coaches ranked ahead of him, but he has helped over 100 players realize their NFL dreams, including a program-record seven after the 2026 NFL Draft. If the criteria were solely based on recent success or CFP appearances, we'd be having a different conversation.

The Head Hawk will tell you that he doesn't care about preseason rankings, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be ranked higher.

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