So far, college football has been a rollercoaster. Most of the preseason predictions haven’t turned out to be true. Especially concerning the QBs. Cade Klubnik, DJ Lagway and Arch Manning. Remember these names? They were at the top of the Heisman lists before the season began. When it comes to head coaches, however, some top names continue to impress. Not just with their records so far, but also how well-coached their teams are in heavyweight matchups.

On the October 1 episode of ‘The Triple Option’ podcast, Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram, and Rob Stone discussed the season so far. Gradually, the conversation transitioned to rankings. Mark Ingram asked Urban Meyer, “The best three coaching performances so far this season?”. Meyer, after taking a brief pause, gave his list.

“Yeah, I think that’s a different question. Performances—you’d have to have to be [Alex] Golesh from South Florida, but who’s doing the best job? I put Dan Lanning, Ryan Day, and Lane Kiffin with Bielema nipping at the toes of Lane Kiffin. Again, it’s landing day in Kiffin, and then I’d put Brett Bielema right below it,” said Urban Meyer.

Does Meyer’s list make sense? Well, let’s go one by one. Ryan Day’s name is hardly a surprise. Not just because he’s leading the Buckeyes. But, defending champions, undefeated so far, and No. 1 in the country. A clean slate, no hiccups, and even beat No. 1 Texas to start the season. However, Day is also on that list because he’s maintaining Ohio State’s grip at the top position despite there being a roster and coaching staff turnover at the program.

Similarly, Lane Kiffin is leading the discussion after their impressive offensive performance against a stacked LSU defense in Week 5. Not with Jaxson Dart as his QB (who is starting for the New York Giants now). Not with Austin Simmons. But with Trinidad Chambliss, a name no one had heard of three weeks ago. That’s just one part of Kiffin’s genius. Another part is how he’s producing the goods at Rebels despite returning just 4 starters this year. There lies the real challenge, and he has aced it so far.

Last, but not least, we have Dan Lanning. Oregon, going into the Week 5 game at Penn State, hadn’t faced any difficult opponents. There was all the noise around whether they’ll falter against ranked teams. Are they a one-season wonder at the top of the Big 10? But he’s not James Franklin. Lanning took his team to a noisy Beaver Stadium for a whiteout game and won 30-24.

Bret Bielema’s team shows resilience after Indiana setback

Illinois has been exceptional so far despite a 63-10 blowout loss against Indiana. That game must have forced the team to make some major changes since Luke Altmyer managed to pass for just 146 yards. The change happened when Illinois hosted Lincoln Riley’s USC Trojans in Week 5. Altmyer exceeded all expectations and put in a 328-yard passing performance. In a close finish, Illinois won 34-32. They are now 4-1 on the season.

“I thought our guys from last Saturday to where we are today have just responded internally, externally, and showed me a lot about who they were. The part that really gave me satisfaction throughout the course of this week is that I know my roster better than anybody in this country. I know who they are, what they represent. I knew how they would respond… thought we did a good job of handling some things that happened during the game with some adversity,” said Bielema after the USC game. The verdict?

All four teams that Urban Meyer mentioned really deserve the spotlight. Dan Lanning, Ryan Day, and Lane Kiffin are doing great jobs as head coaches, making them solid contenders for the national title. With teams like Clemson and Notre Dame taking a step back, we might finally see Ole Miss make it to the playoffs this year. As for Bret Bielema, he’s got Ohio State and Washington on the schedule. If he can pull off a win against even one of them, we could see his team in the playoffs, too.