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Another list, another debate — though this one should again have Notre Dame fans pleased following the Irish's 2012 campaign.

The Sporting News' Matt Hayes released his list of college football coach rankings this week, one week after AthlonSports delivered a list of its own. Athlon had Brian Kelly ranked fourth. Hayes has Kelly fifth.

His reasoning:

5. Brian Kelly, Notre Dame: How impressive has Kelly been at ND? The weight of the program hasn’t crushed him like it did every other coach since Lou Holtz retired. The Alabama loss in last year’s BCS National Championship Game was brutal, but he somehow managed to get a team with significant flaws (freshman quarterback, tight-end-oriented passing game) all the way to the big game. He won championships at the NCAA lower divisions, won conference championships at the non-BCS and BCS levels, and will win a national title at Notre Dame.

The usual suspects top this list: Alabama's Nick Saban and Ohio State's Urban Meyer. After that? The debate really begins.

Boise State's Chris Petersen is No. 3, followed by Oklahoma's Bob Stoops.

Athlon's list, meanwhile, had Kansas State's Bill Snyder at No. 3.

There really are no right or wrong answers with any of these, depending on your view. Program-builder? Hard to argue with Snyder, Petersen or Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald, who comes in at No. 8 on Hayes' list. Length of success? Few can doubt Stoops' mark in Norman, though consecutive BCS-bowl-less campaigns have not made him the most popular guy among the die-hards lately.

Then there are the real head-scratchers, guys like Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer, who comes in at No. 34 on Hayes' list but is No. 9 on Athlon's. Les Miles is another one who seems to draw opposing reactions, as the LSU coach is ninth on Hayes' list but 24th on Athlon's.

Most can agree with Saban and Meyer at the top. After proving this past season that Notre Dame can succeed at the highest level, Kelly is making a case for himself to be right up there, too.

Former Notre Dame coaches Charlie Weis and Bob Davie check in at Nos. 57 and 87, respectively.

Much of college football debate is based on lists and rankings. Notre Dame fans know this as much as anyone after a 2012 regular season that did not see the Irish rise from fourth to first in all of the major polls until the three teams ahead of them dropped games.

Those same fans will have a hard time being upset with the list that AthlonSports released this week: College football head coaches, Nos. 1-125.

Brian Kelly's spot? No. 4.

Steven Lassan writes:

Not many coaches in college football can rival Kelly’s resume in four stops as a head coach. Kelly’s first head coaching gig came in 1991 at Grand Valley State, and he stayed in that capacity until 2003. During 13 years with Grand Valley State, Kelly went 118-35-2 and won two Division II titles. After his success with the Lakers, Kelly went 19-16 with Central Michigan, which included a MAC championship in 2006. Kelly moved on to Cincinnati at the end of the 2006 season and guided the Bearcats to back-to-back Big East titles in 2008 and 2009. After back to-back 8-5 seasons with Notre Dame, Kelly led the Fighting Irish to an appearance in the BCS National Championship game at the end of the 2012 season. Despite the blowout loss to Alabama in the title game, Kelly clearly has the program back on track to be an annual top 10-15 team.

The three men ahead of Kelly? Alabama's Nick Saban, Florida's Urban Meyer and Kansas State's Bill Snyder. Few can make a legitimate argument right now against the first two, as each is the owner of multiple national championships at college football's highest level. The Snyder spot could be up for debate, but when you take into account his longevity -- and remember just how bad the Wildcats were before his arrival -- it is tough to top what he has done in his 21-year career, ring or no ring.

How about some of the names above whom Kelly is ranked? South Carolina's Steve Spurrier (No. 5), Oklahoma's Bob Stoops (No. 7), LSU's Les Miles (No. 24) and Texas' Mack Brown (No. 28) are title-winners who finished behind Kelly on the list, though Miles is the only of that quartet whose best years have been among his most recent ones.

Other names of note to Notre Dame fans are UCF's George O'Leary (No. 68), New Mexico's Bob Davie (No. 89) and Kansas' Charlie Weis (No. 106).

Notre Dame's Saturday trip to Norman, Okla., will mark its 10th meeting with Oklahoma. ESPN Stats & Info has 10 interesting tidbits to mark the occasion.

• Notre Dame's 1999 win over Oklahoma was Bob Stoops' first loss as the Sooners' head coach. Oklahoma started the season 3-0 and led 30-14 lead with 10 minutes left in the third quarter before losing 34-30.
• This is the Irish's second true road game of the season, the only other coming Sept. 15 at Michigan State.
• Notre Dame has allowed three first-quarter points, second to only Penn State (zero).
• The Sooners have lost just four home games since Stoops arrived in 1999. They have never lost two in a season under Stoops. (Kansas State already beat them there on Sept. 22.)
• Oklahoma has five Heisman Trophy winners, including two under Stoops (Jason White in 2003, Sam Bradford in 2008).
• Notre Dame has won the last six meetings in this series.
• The Irish have seven different Heisman winners, most all-time. (The last was Tim Brown in 1987.)
• Notre Dame has won eight AP national titles, the most recent coming 24 years ago (1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1988).
• Notre Dame and Oklahoma have met nine times, with the Irish winning eight of those games. The Sooners' only win over the Irish was in 1956. Notre Dame’s most memorable win over Oklahoma was in 1957, when its 7-0 victory snapped the Sooners' 47-game winning streak.
• Notre Dame has not started a season 8-0 in 10 years (2002).

Notre Dame entered the preseason USA Today coaches' poll on Thursday at No. 24, marking the third time in the past four years that the Irish have been ranked in the preseason poll.

Five of the Irish's 2012 opponents appear in the poll ahead of them, led by No. 3 USC and No. 4 Oklahoma. Michigan checks in at No. 8, followed by Michigan State (13th) and Stanford (18th).

Brian Kelly is one of the 59 head coaches who is listed as having a vote in the poll. Seven head coaches who will play Notre Dame this season are also listed as having a vote: Lane Kiffin (USC), Bob Stoops (Oklahoma), Brady Hoke (Michigan), Mark Dantonio (Michigan State), Al Golden (Miami), Bronco Mendenhall (BYU) and Jim Grobe (Wake Forest).

Since 2002, Notre Dame has appeared in the preseason USA Today coaches' poll five times -- 2003 (18th), 2006 (3rd), 2009 (23rd), 2011 (18th) and 2012 (24th). It has appeared in the final poll three times — 2002 (17th), 2005 (11th) and 2006 (19th).

LSU is No. 1 in this year's preseason poll, edging out No. 2 Alabama and the No. 3 Trojans. The Crimson Tide actually had the most first-place votes -- 20 to the Tigers' 18 and the Trojans' 19 -- but LSU had the most points (1,403).