Cleo O’Donnell
Cleo O’Donnell went 102–46–9 as a head coach, 1916–1940, at Purdue, Holy Cross and Saint Anselm. Share
17 seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1919–29 at Holy Cross; 1935–40 at Saint Anselm. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 102–46–9 career
- Seasons
- 19
- Schools
- 3
- AP poll
- Began in 1936, after this career
- Best season
- 1917 3–4
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1916 | Purdue | 2–4–1 | T–8th | |||
| 1917 | Purdue | 3–4 | T–8th | |||
| 1918: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1919 | Holy Cross * | 5–3 | ||||
| 1920 | Holy Cross * | 5–3 | ||||
| 1921 | Holy Cross * | 5–3 | ||||
| 1922 | Holy Cross * | 7–2–1 | ||||
| 1923 | Holy Cross * | 8–2 | ||||
| 1924 | Holy Cross * | 7–1–1 | ||||
| 1925 | Holy Cross * | 8–2 | ||||
| 1926 | Holy Cross * | 7–1–2 | ||||
| 1927 | Holy Cross * | 6–3 | ||||
| 1928 | Holy Cross * | 5–3–2 | ||||
| 1929 | Holy Cross * | 6–4 | ||||
| 1930–34: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1935 | Saint Anselm * | 2–3 | ||||
| 1936 | Saint Anselm * | 6–0–1 | ||||
| 1937 | Saint Anselm * | 5–2 | ||||
| 1938 | Saint Anselm * | 6–0–1 | ||||
| 1939 | Saint Anselm * | 4–2 | ||||
| 1940 | Saint Anselm * | 5–4 | ||||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against rivals | 6 | 0–5–1 | 8% |
| Conference games | 9 | 0–8–1 | 6% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 4 | 1–2–1 | 38% |
| At home | 9 | 5–3–1 | 61% |
| On the road | 5 | 0–5 | 0% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 8 | 5–2–1 | 69% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 6 | 0–6 | 0% |
His own 14 games on file, 1916–1917, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| DePauwseries | 2 | 2–0 |
| Wabashseries | 2 | 2–0 |
| Northwesternseries | 2 | 0–2 |
| Chicagoseries | 2 | 0–2 |
| Indianaseries | 2 | 0–1–1 |
| Illinoisseries | 2 | 0–2 |
| Franklinseries | 1 | 1–0 |
| Iowaseries | 1 | 0–1 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1909–15 | Everett HS (MA) high school | Head coach | |
| 1916–17 | Purdue | Head coach | |
| 1918 | Somerville HS (MA) high school | Head coach | |
| 1919–29 | Holy Cross | Head coach | |
| 1935–40 | Saint Anselm | Head coach | |
| 1943–44 | Marlborough HS (MA) high school | Head coach | |
| 1945 | Fitchburg HS (MA) high school | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.