Athlon Sports ranks 128 college coaches, Dantonio No. 4

Coming off another Big Ten championship and an appearance in the college football playoff, Michigan State's Mark Dantonio ranks No. 4 out of 128 on Athlon Sports' annual college football coach rankings list released Tuesday.

Despite the high ranking, MSU fans in search of offseason bulletin board material needn't look far - Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is ranked No. 3, with Ohio State's Urban Meyer (No. 2) and Alabama's Nick Saban (No. 1) rounding out the top four spots. The Spartans took down U-M in Ann Arbor during Harbaugh's first season at the helm in 2015 and defeated Meyer's Buckeyes in Columbus to secure a spot in the Big Ten title game. Athlon Sports ranked Dantonio No. 6 overall in last year's rankings.

Here's what Athlon had to say about Dantonio:

Dantonio has elevated Michigan State to new heights and the Spartans have emerged as an annual contender for the Big Ten title. Under Dantonio’s watch, Michigan State is 87-33 since 2007 and claimed the conference title for the second time in three seasons in 2015. Additionally, last year’s 12-win campaign resulted in a trip to the College Football Playoff. Dantonio has guided the program to at least 11 victories in five out of the last six seasons and has only one losing record (2009) in his tenure in East Lansing. The Spartans lose a handful of key players from last year’s playoff team, but Dantonio should keep Michigan State among the top 10-15 teams in the nation.

Saban is the only SEC coach represented in the top 10, which included three Big Ten coaches. Here's a look at how the rest of the Big Ten coaches ranked:

1. Urban Meyer, Ohio State (No. 2 overall)

2. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan (No. 3 overall)

3. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State (No. 4 overall)

4. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa (No. 19 overall)

5. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern (No. 24 overall)

6. James Franklin, Penn State (No 31 overall)

7. Mike Riley, Nebraska (No. 41 overall)

8. Kevin Wilson, Indiana (No. 48 overall)

9. Paul Chryst, Wisconsin (No. 49 overall)

10. D.J. Durkin, Maryland (No. 60 overall)

11. Lovie Smith, Illinois (No. 65 overall)

12. Chris Ash, Rutgers (No. 100 overall)

13. Tracy Claeys, Minnesota (No. 101 overall)

14. Darell Hazell, Purdue (No. 102 overall)

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