The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Babe Horrell

Followed William Spaulding. Babe Horrell held UCLA at National Program II for 6 seasons.

24–31
1939–1944 · 1 stint
UCLA
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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 careerUCLANational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelUCLA, 1939: 6-0, National Program II1939UCLA, 1940: 1-9, National Program II1940UCLA, 1941: 5-5, National Program III1941UCLA, 1942: 7-4, National Program III1942UCLA, 1943: 1-8, National Program III1943UCLA, 1944: 4-5, National Program III1944-2.7One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached National Program in his 1st career season — faster than 41% of the 675 FBS coaches who have ever reached National Program (rank #1 of 675 by seasons-to-arrival).

UCLA, 6 seasons
−2.7
National Program II → National 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.

1–4 against his rivals. Just 1–3 against Jeff Cravath.

Rivalry record
1–4–3
12.5% · 1 rival
One-score games
9–10–5
37.5% · margin ≤8
Rivalry ledger
USC1–4–312%
The toughest matchup
vs. Jeff Cravath1–3–1
5 meetings, 1942–1944
’42 W’43 L’43 L’44 T’44 L
20% win rate across a real, 5-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
Power Program
7–14 33.3%
National Program
6–7 46.2%
Regional Program
3–0 100.0%

Coaching career

1939–1944
UCLAcaretaker
National Program II → National Program II
Babe Horrell held UCLA at National Program II for 6 seasons.

20th-best UCLA tenure of 20 by the numbers.

Followed William Spaulding (1936–1938) · succeeded by Bert LaBrucherie (1945–1948).

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