Schmidt's teams were known for trick plays involving multiple laterals and non-standard tackle-eligible, and even guard-eligible, formations.

He earned a varsity letter with the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 1905 and received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Law a few years later.

The Columbus press asked Schmidt about the team's chances of beating rival Michigan.

"[citation needed] This phrase had previously been a Texas regionalism, but because of the press attention given to Schmidt, it soon became an internationally known cliché.

Schmidt finished his football coaching career with a two-year stint at Idaho (1941–1942),[2][3][4] then a member of the Pacific Coast Conference, with a 7–12 record.

With male civilian enrollment extremely curtailed due to World War II, Idaho (and four of the five other northern division teams) discontinued football before the 1943 season.

He spent his last three weeks at St. Luke's Hospital in Spokane, Washington, where he died on September 19 at age 58.