The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Earle Bruce

Followed Leon Fuller. Earle Bruce moved Colorado State from Regional Program IV to Regional Program III in 4 seasons.

Peak, then fade
139–82
1973–1992 · 3 stints
Iowa StateOhio StateColorado State
← 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 careerIOWA STATEOHIO STATECOLORADO STATEDynastythe sport's summitBlue Bloodpermanent top tierPower Programperennial contenderNational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelIowa State, 1973: 4-7, National Program III1973Iowa State, 1974: 4-7, National Program IIIIowa State, 1975: 4-7, National Program IIIIowa State, 1976: 8-3, National Program IIIowa State, 1977: 8-4, National Program IIIowa State, 1978: 8-4, National Program II1978+7.8Ohio State, 1979: 11-1, Blue Blood1979Ohio State, 1980: 9-3, Power Program IOhio State, 1981: 9-3, Power Program IOhio State, 1982: 9-3, Power Program IOhio State, 1983: 9-3, Power Program IOhio State, 1984: 9-3, Power Program IOhio State, 1985: 9-3, Power Program IOhio State, 1986: 10-3, Power Program IOhio State, 1987: 6-4, Power Program I1987-3.5Colorado State, 1989: 5-5, Regional Program III1989Colorado State, 1990: 9-4, Regional Program IIIColorado State, 1991: 3-8, Regional Program IIIColorado State, 1992: 5-7, Regional Program III1992+4.0One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Blue Blood in his 7th career season — faster than 30% of the 100 FBS coaches who have ever reached Blue Blood (rank #68 of 100 by seasons-to-arrival).

Iowa State, 6 seasons
+7.8
National Program III → National Program II.
Ohio State, 9 seasons
−3.5
Blue Blood → Power Program I.
Colorado State, 4 seasons
+4.0
Regional Program III → Regional 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.

7–11 against his rivals. Just 1–6 against Barry Switzer.

Rivalry record
7–11
38.9% · 5 rivals
One-score games
42–38–2
51.2% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–2
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
Michigan5–456%
Wyoming1–325%
Iowa1–150%
Colorado0–20%
Penn State0–10%
The toughest matchup
vs. Barry Switzer1–6
7 meetings, 1973–1983
’73 L’74 L’75 L’76 L’77 L’78 L’83 W
14% win rate across a real, 7-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
5–9 35.7%
Power Program
20–33 37.7%
National Program
41–26 61.2%
Regional Program
67–11 85.9%

Coaching career

1989–1992
Colorado Statecaretaker
Regional Program IV → Regional Program III
Earle Bruce moved Colorado State from Regional Program IV to Regional Program III in 4 seasons.

8th-best Colorado State tenure of 18 by the numbers.

Followed Leon Fuller (1982–1988) · succeeded by Sonny Lubick (1993–2007).

1 NFL Draft pick: Selwyn Jones (1992)

22–24
1979–1987
Ohio Stateinheritor
Blue Blood → Blue Blood
Earle Bruce inherited a Blue Blood Ohio State and won with it.

6th-best Ohio State tenure of 12 by the numbers.

Followed Woody Hayes (1951–1978) · succeeded by John Cooper (1988–2000).

26 NFL Draft picks: Tom Cousineau (1979), Ron Springs (1979), Jim Moore (1979), Jim Laughlin (1980), Mike Guess (1980), Doug Donley (1981), Al Washington (1981), Todd Bell (1981) + 18 more

81–26
1973–1978
Iowa Statecaretaker
Regional Program I → National Program II
Earle Bruce moved Iowa State from Regional Program I to National Program II in 6 seasons.

3rd-best Iowa State tenure of 19 by the numbers.

Followed Johnny Majors (1968–1972) · succeeded by Donnie Duncan (1979–1982).

11 NFL Draft picks: George Amundson (1973), Dave McCurry (1973), George Campbell (1973), Matt Blair (1974), Ike Harris (1974), Keith Krepfle (1974), Barry Hill (1975), Luther Blue (1977) + 3 more

36–32