The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Bob Woodruff

Followed Raymond Wolf. Bob Woodruff raised Florida from Regional Program II to National Program I.

The builder
72–52
1947–1959 · 2 stints
BaylorFlorida
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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 careerBAYLORFLORIDAPower Programperennial contenderNational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelBaylor, 1947: 5-5, Regional Program I1947Baylor, 1948: 6-3, National Program III1948Baylor, 1949: 8-2, National Program II1949+7.6Florida, 1950: 5-5, Regional Program II1950Florida, 1951: 5-5, Regional Program I1951Florida, 1952: 8-3, National Program III1952Florida, 1953: 3-5, National Program II1953Florida, 1954: 5-5, National Program II1954Florida, 1955: 4-6, National Program II1955Florida, 1956: 6-3, National Program I1956Florida, 1957: 6-2, National Program I1957Florida, 1958: 6-4, National Program I1958Florida, 1959: 5-4, National Program I1959+19.3One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached National Program in his 2nd career season — faster than 33% of the 675 FBS coaches who have ever reached National Program (rank #402 of 675 by seasons-to-arrival).

Baylor, 3 seasons
+7.6
Regional Program I → National Program II.
Florida, 10 seasons
+19.3
Regional Program II → National Program I.

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.

13–5 against his rivals. Winless in 3 tries against Blair Cherry.

Rivalry record
13–5
72.2% · 4 rivals
One-score games
20–25–8
37.7% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
1–3
25.0%
Rivalry ledger
Georgia6–460%
Texas Tech3–0100%
TCU2–167%
Florida State2–0100%
The toughest matchup
vs. Blair Cherry0–3
3 meetings, 1947–1949
’47 L’48 L’49 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
1–3 25.0%
Power Program
14–32 30.4%
National Program
34–15 69.4%
Regional Program
11–2 84.6%

Coaching career

1950–1959
Floridabuilder
Regional Program II → National Program I
Bob Woodruff raised Florida from Regional Program II to National Program I.

19th-best Florida tenure of 22 by the numbers.

Followed Raymond Wolf (1946–1949) · succeeded by Ray Graves (1960–1969).

53–42
1947–1949
Baylorcaretaker
Regional Program I → National Program II
Bob Woodruff moved Baylor from Regional Program I to National Program II in 3 seasons.

11th-best Baylor tenure of 16 by the numbers.

Followed Frank Kimbrough (1941–1946) · succeeded by George Sauer (1950–1955).

19–10