Debate it: Which Big Ten coach has been most impressive?

There are five remaining undefeated teams in the Big Ten heading into Week 4 of the college football season: Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State, Iowa and Northwestern.

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All five teams have been impressive, but what about the coaches?

I proposed the following question to BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart: Which Big Ten head coach has impressed you the most?

We both gave our takes on that question in this edition of ?debate it.?

Which Big Ten head coach has impressed you the most?

Dienhart: It has to be Iowa?s Kirk Ferentz. He was under the microscope as 2015 dawned. Ticket sales were down, as fans were taking a wait-and-see attitude toward the Hawkeyes, who had gone 19-21 in the Big Ten the previous five seasons. Now, look at the Hawkeyes! Iowa is 3-0 for the first time since the program opened 9-0 to start a magical 2009 season that was punctuated with an Orange Bowl title. The Hawkeyes are getting it done with defense, allowing just 153 yards rushing all season. That is the fewest through the first three games of the season by a Big Ten squad since Penn State in 2009. And QB C.J. Beathard has been a revelation, the first Hawkeye signal-caller under Ferentz to start 4-0 since Nathan Chandler in 2003. All hail Ferentz!

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Merriman: I like your pick of Ferentz, and it's hard for me not to pick Mark Dantonio after leading the Spartans to the No. 2-ranking in the country. But I'm going with Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald. You know why? Because if I had told you Northwestern would beat Stanford, take down Duke on the road, and be ranked in the top 20 heading into Week 4 of the season, you would have called me crazy! Well, don't look now, the Wildcats are rolling, and Fitzgerald deserves the credit for this turnaround. The mastermind of NW's defense has this unit putting up eye-popping numbers through three weeks, as the Wildcats have allowed a nation-low total of 16 points. After back-to-back 5-7 seasons in Evanston, you couldn't help but to wonder how Fitzgerald was going to get his program to bounce back. Well, he's done just that, with a first-year starter at QB and an all-world defense. Go Cats!