Best and Worst College Football Coaches Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
2 min
Best and Worst College Football Coaches Quiz
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About This Quiz

Some men become icons -- other become scapegoats. How much do you remember about college football's best and worst coaches? Find out by taking this quiz!
How many national titles did Bear Bryant win as head coach of Alabama?
3
4
6
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In his 25-year career as coach of Alabama, Bryant won a ridiculous six national titles. He also won 13 conference championships.

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For how many different teams did Steve Spurrier have head coaching duties?
3
4
5
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Spurrier was head coach for three teams, including Duke, South Carolina and Florida. He won 228 games in 26 seasons.

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How many head coaching jobs had John Blake held before becoming coach of Oklahoma in 1996?
0
1
2
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Blake had never even been a coordinator, much less a head coach. He had the worst three-season stretch ever in school history, with a record of 12-22.

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At the end of his career, what was Nebraska coach Bob Devaney's winning percentage?
.806
.780
.912
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Devaney's .806 winning percentage made him one of football's winningest coaches. His two championship teams went 24-0-1.

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Under the tutelage of Frank Leahy, how many Notre Dame players won the Heisman Trophy?
4
5
6
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Leahy's Notre Dame squads were dominant in the 1940s. He helped to develop four Heisman winners.

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Notre Dame head coach Knute Rockne helped to revolutionize which aspect of football?
passing
kicking
blocking
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Rockne helped to develop the concept of the forward pass. He also brought Notre Dame into football relevance, with three national titles.

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How did Knute Rockne die?
plane crash
heart attack on the sidelines
terrorist attack
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Rockne died in a plane crash (with seven others) when the plane's wing fell apart in midflight. His death triggered a period of mourning across the country.

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What was Larry Porter's head coaching record at Memphis?
78-23
23-2
3-21
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

His extraordinary recruiting skills didn't translate into head coaching success. Porter went 3-21 in two years as head coach.

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In his 11 years as head coach of Notre Dame, how many games did Ara Parseghian lose?
17
20
22
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Parseghian lost only 17 games in 11 years. Seven of his teams finished the season in the AP top five.

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Bo Schembechler was head coach of Michigan and what other school?
Wisconsin
Miami of Ohio
Cornell
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Schembechler was head coach at Miami of Ohio (his alma mater) from 1963-68. As Michigan's coach, he won or shared 13 Big Ten championships.

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After winning a national championship as coach of LSU, which NFL team did Nick Saban join?
Seattle Seahawks
New York Jets
Miami Dolphins
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Saban became coach of the Miami Dolphins in 2005. Saban's second team there finished 6-10. He later became head coach of Alabama.

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What was Nick Saban's record in his first year as head coach of Alabama?
12-1
6-7
7-6
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Alabama beat Colorado in the Independence Bowl, going 7-6. The following year, Saban's team went 12-2, and he won Coach of the Year honors.

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How many national championships did Darrell Royal win during his tenure at Texas?
1
2
3
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Royal had one of the best runs in football history. He won three national titles in 20 seasons with Texas.

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Who was the head coach of Kansas during the 2010-11 seasons?
Turner Gill
Charlie Weis
Mark Mangino
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Turner Gill was considered a hot hire when he took over the job, but he won just five games in two years and his teams were often humiliated.

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For how many years did Ellis Johnson coach Southern Miss?
1
20
25
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Johnson's single season with Southern Miss was a disaster. He won zero games and lost 12.

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For which NFL team did Nebraska head coach Tom Osborne play?
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Washington Redskins
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Osborne played wide receiver for both San Francisco and Washington. He immediately went into coaching as an unpaid assistant at Nebraska in 1964 and eventually became one of the game's most revered leaders.

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Tennessee coach Bob Neyland's team once held opponents to how many consecutive scoreless (regular season) quarters?
71
31
27
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

That's right, for 71 futile quarters, no team scored on Tennessee. Neyland was also a brigadier general and served in the Army during wartime.

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What was Rich Rodriguez's record in his first year as head coach of Michigan?
3-9
2-10
1-11
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Rodriguez's first team went 3-9. It was Michigan's worst season in nearly half a century, and Rodriguez never found real success.

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In what decade did Pop Warner lead the University of Pittsburgh to three national titles?
1910s
1920s
1930s
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Pittsburgh won titles in 1915, 1916 and 1918. Warner also led Stanford to a title in 1926.

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In addition to football, Pop Warner was also a head coach in what other sport?
basketball
baseball
hockey
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Warner coached baseball at Cornell, the same place that he served as head football coach for several years.

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How many national titles did John McKay win as head coach at USC?
2
3
4
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

McKay won four titles in 16 years as coach of USC. He won 127 games and lost only 40, with eight ties.

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After leaving USC, which NFL team did John McKay coach?
New York Jets
New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

McKay became the coach in Tampa Bay, a rather hapless expansion team. But under McKay's direction, the Bucs made the playoffs three times, including a trip to the 1979 NFC Championship game.

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In three seasons as head coach of Kansas, how many games did Charlie Weis win?
3
6
9
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

He was fired four games into his third season, meaning he won only six games total.

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Nebraska coach Bill Callahan's poor performance resulted in the end of which streak?
sellout streak
bowl streak
streak of winning seasons
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Nebraska's 5-6 season in 2004 meant the team missed going to a bowl game for the first time in 35 years.

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How many college coaches have won major national football titles at two different schools?
3
4
5
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Only three coaches have accomplished this feat. They are Pop Warner, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer.

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How many seasons did Howard Schnellenberger coach at Oklahoma?
1
5
8
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Schnellenberger was only coach for one year, and his record was just 5-5-1, leading to his dismissal.

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At which university did Mike Locksley win his first head coaching job?
New Mexico
San Diego State
Western Kentucky
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Locksley was head coach at New Mexico in 2009. He proceeded to go 2-26 and then lost his job in 2011.

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How many national titles did Urban Meyer win as head coach of the Florida Gators?
1
2
3
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Meyer won two national titles, in the 2006 and 2008 seasons. He's also won a title as coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes.

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Mike DuBose had a winning record during his head coaching stint at Alabama.
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

DuBose compiled a record of 24-23, but more notable was the record of NCAA violations he left in his wake.

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How many bowl games did Jim Walden win in his career?
0
2
4
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Walden was head coach at Washington State and Iowa State, and his career record was 72-109-7, and he never managed to win a bowl game.

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