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Michigan State Football: CBS Sports ranks Mark Dantonio 11th-best Power Five coach

By Connor Muldowney

Oct 29, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio walks on the field during the second half of a game against the Michigan Wolverines at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 29, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio walks on the field during the second half of a game against the Michigan Wolverines at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports /
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CBS Sports has ranked Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio the 11th-best Power Five head coach in the country.

Despite a down-year, Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio is receiving national praise. The Spartans finished just 3-9 during the 2016 season, but he is still considered one of the top coaches in college football.

Must Read: MSU Football: Post-spring 2017 offensive depth chart

Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports, released the Top 25 Power Five head coach rankings on Wednesday, as voted on by the CBS Sports staff. They voted Dantonio 11th-best, which is down six spots from last season.

Here’s the explanation:

"You knew Dantonio would suffer in these rankings after a down season in East Lansing. Still, overlook Dantonio and the Spartans heading into 2017 at your own peril. Dantonio’s teams have won at least 11 games in five of the last seven seasons."

It’s clear that Dantonio is still regarded as one of the top coaches in college football despite a lackluster 2016 season. The Spartans are used to winning 10-plus games under the head coach, making 2016 all that much more of an outlier.

Last year, he was ranked fifth overall, which was even considered slightly too low. Many experts have fallen off the Spartans’ bandwagon and it’s only a matter of time before MSU surprises again.

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Other Big Ten coaches to make the list were Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz (20), Penn State’s James Franklin (18), Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald (16), Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh (5) and Ohio State’s Urban Meyer (2). Fornelli went on to say he believed Harbaugh is slightly overrated.

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