The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Francis Schmidt

Francis Schmidt held Idaho at Regional Program IV for 2 seasons.

Peak, then fade
32–26
1936–1942 · 2 stints
Ohio StateIdaho
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Career arc

His real stature score, season by season, across every program he’s coached — so a stretch that stays in one tier the whole way can still climb or sink on the line, not just flatten out. Node color marks the tier reached. Which program a stretch belongs to is carried by the shaded lane behind it.

Stature score reached, by season of his head-coaching careerOHIO STATEIDAHOPower Programperennial contenderNational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelOhio State, 1936: 5-3, Power Program II1936Ohio State, 1937: 6-2, Power Program II1937Ohio State, 1938: 4-3, Power Program II1938Ohio State, 1939: 6-2, Power Program II1939Ohio State, 1940: 4-4, Power Program II1940+0.0Idaho, 1941: 4-5, Regional Program IV1941Idaho, 1942: 3-7, Regional Program IV1942-1.6One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Power Program in his 1st career season — faster than 57% of the 395 FBS coaches who have ever reached Power Program (rank #1 of 395 by seasons-to-arrival).

Ohio State, 5 seasons
+0.0
Power Program II → Power Program II.
Idaho, 2 seasons
−1.6
Regional Program IV → Regional Program IV.

The big-game ledger

How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.

2–3 against his rivals. Winless in 3 tries against Fritz Crisler.

Rivalry record
2–3
40.0% · 1 rival
One-score games
6–10–1
35.3% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
2–1
66.7%
Rivalry ledger
Michigan2–340%
The toughest matchup
vs. Fritz Crisler0–3
3 meetings, 1938–1940
’38 L’39 L’40 L
0% win rate across a real, 3-meeting series — short of the bar this site uses before badging a series “Nemesis.” Shown here as the toughest matchup on record, not an algorithmic crown.
Performance by opponent class
Blue Blood
2–1 66.7%
Power Program
2–10 16.7%
National Program
14–13 51.9%
Regional Program
6–0 100.0%

Coaching career

1941–1942
Idahocaretaker
Regional Program IV → Regional Program IV
Francis Schmidt held Idaho at Regional Program IV for 2 seasons.

2nd-best Idaho tenure of 7 by the numbers.

7–12
1936–1940
Ohio Statecaretaker
Power Program II
Francis Schmidt held Ohio State at Power Program II for 5 seasons.

12th-best Ohio State tenure of 12 by the numbers.

Succeeded by Paul Brown (1941–1943).

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