20 best college football coaches without a national championship
By Brad Weiss
Earle Bruce
, Tampa, Iowa St., Ohio State, No. Iowa, Colorado State
When the Ohio State Buckeyes fired legendary head coach Woody Hayes, there was no telling how it would affect the program. Hayes was an icon in Columbus, Ohio, and though he was gone, he did leave the team’s new head coach a championship-caliber team. That man was Earle Bruce, who would carve out quite a career as head coach of the Buckeyes during his nine years on campus.
During Bruce’s first season after taking over for Hayes, he led the Buckeyes to an undefeated regular season. Seemingly destined to win the national title, the Buckeyes would lose in the Rose Bowl by one point, which put an end to their championship hopes. That would be the closest he would ever come to winning the big one, as he finished his Ohio State career with an 81-26-1 record.
Bruce’s run at Ohio State was a great one, as he had his teams finish in the top-10 four times. He led the Buckeyes to eight straight bowl games, which finishing in the top-15 for eight straight seasons. Not only did he leave an impact on his players, but also his assistants, which is a list that includes Jim Tressell, Urban Meyer, and Nick Saban.
For his efforts, Bruce was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002. A four-time Big Ten champion, Bruce won the AFCA Coach of the Year Award back in 1979, and finished his coaching career with 154 wins spread over his five stops. For a guy who supplanted a legend at Ohio State, Bruce left his mark on the University, and it is really surprising that he never won the big one.