The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Ray Alborn

Followed Homer Rice. Ray Alborn slid Rice from Regional Program III to Regional Program IV in 6 seasons.

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1978–1983 · 1 stint

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.

Reached Regional Program in his 1st career season — faster than 20% of the 925 FBS coaches who have ever reached Regional Program (rank #1 of 925 by seasons-to-arrival).

Rice, 6 seasons

−3.9

Regional Program IV → Regional Program V.

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.

1–11 against his rivals. Winless in 6 tries against Fred Akers.

Rivalry record

1–11

8.3% · 2 rivals

One-score games

9–7

56.2% · margin ≤8

vs. Blue Blood or better

0–5

0.0%

Rivalry ledger

SMU0–60%

Houston1–517%

The toughest matchup

vs. Fred Akers0–6

6 meetings, 1978–1983

’78 L’79 L’80 L’81 L’82 L’83 L

0% win rate across a real, 6-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

0–5 0.0%

Power Program

4–24 14.3%

National Program

4–15 21.1%

Regional Program

5–9 35.7%

Coaching career

1978–1983

Ricecaretaker

Regional Program III → Regional Program IV

Ray Alborn slid Rice from Regional Program III to Regional Program IV in 6 seasons.

10th-best Rice tenure of 16 by the numbers.

Followed Homer Rice (1976–1977) · succeeded by Watson Brown (1984–1985).

1 NFL Draft pick: Earl Cooper (1980)

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