The Zeitgeist List · coaching

George Sauer

Followed Bob Woodruff. George Sauer moved Baylor from National Program II to Power Program III in 6 seasons.

The ascent
56–37
1946–1955 · 3 stints
KansasNavyBaylor
← all coaches

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 careerKANSASNAVYBAYLORPower Programperennial contenderNational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelKansas, 1946: 7-2, Regional Program IV1946Kansas, 1947: 8-1, Regional Program III1947+6.1Navy, 1948: 0-8, Power Program III1948Navy, 1949: 3-5, National Program I1949-4.8Baylor, 1950: 7-3, National Program II1950Baylor, 1951: 8-2, Power Program III1951Baylor, 1952: 4-4, Power Program III1952Baylor, 1953: 7-3, Power Program III1953Baylor, 1954: 7-4, Power Program III1954Baylor, 1955: 5-5, Power Program III1955+9.6One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Power Program in his 3rd career season — faster than 46% of the 395 FBS coaches who have ever reached Power Program (rank #194 of 395 by seasons-to-arrival).

Kansas, 2 seasons
+6.1
Regional Program IV → Regional Program III.
Navy, 2 seasons
−4.8
Power Program III → National Program I.
Baylor, 6 seasons
+9.6
National Program II → Power Program III.

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.

10–3 against his rivals. Just 1–2 against Bowden Wyatt.

Rivalry record
10–3–2
66.7% · 5 rivals
One-score games
24–15–8
51.1% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–2
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
TCU3–2–150%
Texas Tech3–0100%
Kansas State2–0100%
Missouri2–0100%
Army0–1–10%
The toughest matchup
vs. Bowden Wyatt1–2
3 meetings, 1950–1954
’50 L’53 W’54 L
33% 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
Dynasty
0–2 0.0%
Blue Blood
0–3 0.0%
Power Program
13–14 48.1%
National Program
31–16 66.0%
Regional Program
6–2 75.0%

Coaching career

1950–1955
Baylorcaretaker
National Program II → Power Program III
George Sauer moved Baylor from National Program II to Power Program III in 6 seasons.

5th-best Baylor tenure of 16 by the numbers.

Followed Bob Woodruff (1947–1949) · succeeded by Sam Boyd (1956–1958).

38–21
1948–1949
Navycaretaker
Power Program III → Power Program III
George Sauer held Navy at Power Program III for 2 seasons.

6th-best Navy tenure of 18 by the numbers.

Followed Thomas Hamilton (1936–1947) · succeeded by Eddie Erdelatz (1950–1958).

3–13
1946–1947
Kansascaretaker
Regional Program IV → Regional Program III
George Sauer moved Kansas from Regional Program IV to Regional Program III in 2 seasons.

16th-best Kansas tenure of 21 by the numbers.

Followed Henry Shenk (1943–1945) · succeeded by Jules Sikes (1948–1953).

15–3