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PrintCollege football’s best spread-covering coach can once again be found in Columbus, Ohio.
For a decade, Jim Tressel was the best ATS coach in the country, posting a 76-47 (61.6%) mark from 2001 through 2010 until he was fired last June.
Now, a year after the Buckeyes went 6-7 ATS under Luke Fickell—the school’s first sub-.500 ATS mark since 2003—they get Urban Meyer, who has covered the spread at a 61.3 percent clip in his 10-year coaching career.
Meyer sat out the 2011 season but returns to the sideline as our No. 1-rated ATS coach. The two-time national champion is 68-43 ATS overall and has covered the spread in seven of eight bowl games.
Here is a look at our top 20 ATS coaches:
1. Urban Meyer, Ohio State
2. Tom O’Brien, NC State
3. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
4. Nick Saban, Alabama
5. Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech
6. Randy Edsall, Maryland*
7. Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech
8. Brady Hoke, Michigan
9. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
10. Bill Snyder, Kansas State
11. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
12. Gary Patterson, TCU
13. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
14. Mike Riley, Oregon State
15. Mike Leach, Washington State
16. Todd Graham, Arizona State
17. Al Golden, Miami
18. Mack Brown, Texas
19. Bret Bielema, Wisconsin
20. Skip Holtz, South Florida
*Edsall, our top-rated ATS coach entering last year, was so bad in his first season at Maryland that we felt compelled to drop him out of the top 5 despite a very strong overall resume.
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COLLEGE COACH ATS RESULTS (since 2ooo)
| COACH | ATS | FAV | DOG | HOME | AWAY | OFF LOSS | BOWL | DOG W'S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Golden | 42-28 | 15-13 | 27-15 | 19-13 | 23-13 | 18-16 | 0-1 | 11 |
| Bill Snyder | 62-49 | 37-37 | 25-12 | 32-25 | 24-17 | 24-14 | 1-5 | 13 |
| Bob Stoops | 83-72 | 73-66 | 10-6 | 39-32 | 27-27 | 16-7 | 5-7 | 8 |
| Brady Hoke | 61-45 | 28-19 | 32-25 | 29-19 | 31-23 | 26-19 | 1-2 | 15 |
| Bret Bielema | 40-33 | 31-24 | 9-9 | 25-14 | 13-17 | 8-7 | 3-3 | 7 |
| Frank Beamer | 85-69 | 71-61 | 13-8 | 39-37 | 36-23 | 14-15 | 5-6 | 10 |
| Gary Patterson | 71-60 | 53-48 | 18-12 | 36-23 | 35-37 | 14-11 | 4-6 | 13 |
| Kirk Ferentz | 69-51 | 42-34 | 27-16 | 38-24 | 24-25 | 24-9 | 6-3 | 21 |
| Mack Brown | 79-70 | 68-59 | 11-11 | 37-35 | 32-20 | 15-11 | 5-6 | 9 |
| Mike Gundy | 48-34 | 36-14 | 12-20 | 24-18 | 21-14 | 16-11 | 3-3 | 8 |
| Mike Leach | 59-49 | 40-30 | 19-19 | 33-21 | 26-28 | 21-12 | 4-6 | 11 |
| Mike Riley | 58-46 | 28-24 | 30-22 | 24-23 | 29-21 | 22-21 | 4-2 | 20 |
| Nick Saban | 71-53 | 56-42 | 14-11 | 36-41 | 26-17 | 10-14 | 7-3 | 11 |
| Paul Johnson | 66-49 | 37-31 | 28-17 | 26-28 | 32-16 | 22-16 | 4-5 | 15 |
| Randy Edsall | 75-56 | 31-21 | 44-35 | 36-25 | 36-30 | 35-26 | 3-2 | 21 |
| Skip Holtz | 49-41 | 20-27 | 29-14 | 20-21 | 24-18 | 18-17 | 3-2 | 20 |
| Steve Spurrier | 61-47 | 42-27 | 19-20 | 35-24 | 24-17 | 19-12 | 2-4 | 11 |
| Todd Graham | 43-32 | 22-23 | 21-9 | 23-12 | 18-18 | 15-13 | 3-2 | 13 |
| Tom O'Brien | 83-59 | 39-34 | 44-23 | 45-21 | 31-31 | 35-15 | 8-1 | 32 |
| Urban Meyer | 68-43 | 56-38 | 12-5 | 38-21 | 30-22 | 12-5 | 7-1 | 9 |
Note: Some numbers in the table might not seem to “add up.” Keep in mind that some games were listed at pick ‘em and others were played on neutral fields. Also, pushes were excluded.
