Three-point stance: Top coaches, Pitt-Penn State, SEC drop-off

Today’s edition ranks the top 10 college football head coaches as recruiters, examines the Pitt-Penn State "rivalry" and comments on the drop-off after Alabama in the SEC.

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Last week I did my list of the top 5 head coaches in college football which, of course, freaked out a bunch of people. So I figured this week I’d list my top 10 head coaches by recruiting ability, something that is even more up my alley.

1. Urban Meyer, Ohio State – Meyer is the best recruiter as a head coach I have ever covered, hands down. He could sell ice cubes to an Eskimo.

2. Nick Saban, Alabama – No. 1 class after No. 1 class, it’s hard to put Saban No. 2 on this list. He’s a no-nonsense closer who always seems to get his prospect.

3. Dabo Swinney, Clemson – Swinney has elevated Clemson's recruiting from great to elite in his time and now the Tigers are a threat to land every five-star around it seems. His “aw shucks” attitude plays well with recruits and families.

4. Jimbo Fisher, Florida State – The talent level at Florida State has always been elite but under Fisher, the Seminoles have branched out a bit and are now pulling in top talent from a broader map. The guy can close them out.

5. Butch Jones, Tennessee – A great talent evaluator at his previous stops, Jones has proven he can recruit with the best of them on the national stage and win some huge battles, especially out of state.

6. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan – The eccentric ways of Harbaugh may not play well to some, but he gets the job done and is always coming up with creative ways to attract attention. It showed at Stanford, but now he’s taken it to a new level at his alma mater.

7. Brian Kelly, Notre Dame – With higher academic restrictions than most, Kelly has a tough job but does very well head-to-head for elite prospects all across the country. The days of Notre Dame being penciled in as a top five class before the cycle starts are over. He works hard to land his highly-ranked classes.

8. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma – This year has been a resurgence of sorts for Stoops, especially in the state of Texas, but he pulls kids from the west coast as well as any out-of-state program and his recruiting reach is broad.

9. David Shaw, Stanford – The highest academic restrictions in the country when it comes to Power Five programs, Shaw overcomes and continues to land elite talent all over the country. Based on restrictions alone, he should probably be higher on this list.

10. Charlie Strong, Texas – His work at Louisville was epic in South Florida and while it took him some time to adjust to the state of Texas, the way he closed last year showed he can bring in the top talent. Two highly-ranked recruiting classes at Texas might not impress many, but based on the results there in recent years, it should.

A few guys who just missed the cut? Will Muschamp at South Carolina, Les Miles at LSU and Mark Richt at Miami. Hugh Freeze would certainly be on this list as well were it not for the NCAA investigation.

If I was picking one first-year coach, it would be Kirby Smart. And one final note, Kevin Sumlin at Texas A&M, Jim Mora at UCLA, James Franklin at Penn State, Gus Malzahn at Auburn and Mark Stoops at Kentucky were all guys I had on my list as recently as two years ago.

Penn State fans don’t consider Pitt to be a rival despite the facts that both programs are in Power Five conferences, located in the same state and the Nittany Lions own a slim margin of 50-43-4 in the overall series history. That’s fine. They're welcome to think that if they want, but it was great to see the “rivalry” renewed this past weekend. Fans from both teams can take away many positives.

It is clear that Pitt is a different team with James Conner healthy and active. The Panthers would have won the ACC Coastal last season had Conner not been injured and then sidelined with cancer. Pitt will win the division this year. This is a team with great leadership and some terrific athletes at numerous positions.

For Penn State, it is still rebounding from the scholarship losses but showed great heart in coming back from a double-digit deficit not once, not twice, but three times. The effort was certainly exciting to see. Saquon Barkley is emerging as one of the elite backs not just in the Big Ten but nationally and the Penn State offense is showing signs of life after a couple of rough years.

Pitt has the clearer path to success here, being in the ACC's weaker division while Penn State has to deal with Ohio State, Michigan State and now Michigan, but the game itself was a step in the right direction for both.

And yes, sorry Penn State fans, but it’s a rivalry.

The difference between Alabama and the next highest-ranked SEC team, Tennessee, right now is scary. Name the last time you can remember the SEC just having one team in the top 10 of the AP Top 25. It's been a while.

Alabama, no stunner here, is No. 1 in the country, but you have to go all the way down to No. 15 to find Tennessee. And the Vols haven’t exactly looked stellar through two games. Yes, Tennessee came alive somewhat after falling down early to Virginia Tech, but that offensive line and the passing ability of Josh Dobbs would still scare the heck out of me if I were a fan. Georgia, Texas A&M and somehow Ole Miss and LSU are all in the top 35, but does anyone believe they can upend the depth and talent of Alabama, especially with that defense?

I said yesterday that Jalen Hurts scares me as the quarterback of Alabama and the offensive line didn’t look great against Western Kentucky, but I’m waiting for a team to step up and show me they can compete with an Alabama team that is loaded everywhere else.

Right now, does anyone think Tennessee will have its act together by Oct. 15 and upend the Tide, especially following games against Florida, Georgia and Texas A&M the three weeks before?

It appears Alabama picked a great year to break in a new quarterback, running back and center on offense because the Crimson Tide should still be the best team on the field each week in every SEC contest.