1961 college football season

The 1961 college football season was the 93rd season of intercollegiate football in the United States. Two teams have a claim to the 1961 major college national championship:

• Alabama (11–0), led by Bear Bryant, won the Southeastern Conference championship and defeated No. 9 Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl. Alabama was ranked No. 1 in the final Associated Press (AP) writers poll and United Press International (UPI) coaches poll and recognized as national champion by nine other selectors, including the National Football Foundation. The team was led on offense by quarterback Pat Trammell. Tackle Billy Neighbors was a consensus All-American.
• Ohio State (8–0–1), led by Woody Hayes, won the Big Ten championship. The Buckeyes were invited to the Rose Bowl, but the university faculty council voted to reject the invitation. Ohio State was ranked No. 2 in the final AP and UPI polls and were rated as the national champion by the Football Writers Association of America. Fullback Bob Ferguson won the Maxwell Award.

1961 college football season
1961 Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis
Preseason AP No. 1	Iowa
Regular season	September 23 – December 2, 1961
Number of bowls	11
Bowl games	December 9, 1961 – January 1, 1962
Champion(s)	Alabama (AP, Coaches, NFF) Ohio State (FWAA)
Heisman	Ernie Davis (halfback, Syracuse)
football seasons

Pittsburg State (11–0) was declared small college national champion by the AP and UPI and also won the NAIA national championship. Florida A&M (10–0) was the black college national champion. Washington and Lee (9–0) won Timmie Trophy as the outstanding small college football team in the country.

Syracuse halfback Ernie Davis won the Heisman Trophy. Wisconsin quarterback Ron Miller won the Sammy Baugh Trophy, and Utah State tackle Merlin Olsen won the Outland Trophy. Individual statistical leaders in major college football for 1961 included Iowa State halfback Dave Hoppmann with 1,638 yards of total offense, San Jose State quarterback Chon Gallegos with 117 pass completions and 14 touchdown passes, Washington State end Hugh Campbell with 53 pass receptions, and New Mexico State halfback Preacher Pilot with 1,278 rushing yards and 138 points scored.

Conference and program changes

School	1960 Conference	1961 Conference
Arizona Wildcats	Border	Independent
Denver Pioneers	Mountain States	dropped program
Marquette Golden Avalanche	Independent	dropped program

Season chronology

September

In the preseason poll released on September 18, Iowa was ranked No. 1, and Ohio State No. 2. SEC teams Alabama and LSU were third and fifth, and Texas was fourth. Rounding out the top ten were No. 6 Michigan State, No. 7 Penn State, No. 8 Kansas, No. 9 Mississippi, and No. 10 Syracuse.

As the regular season progressed, new polls were issued on the Monday following the weekend's games. The Big Ten schools would not kick off until September 30. On September 23, No. 3 Alabama won, 32–6, at Georgia, and No. 4 Texas won at California, 28–3. In Houston, No. 5 LSU lost to Rice, 16–3. No. 9 Mississippi, which had shut out Arkansas 16–0, and No. 10 Syracuse, which had beaten Oregon State 19–8 in Portland, rose into the top five. In the poll that followed, Iowa remained No. 1, followed by No. 2 Mississippi, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Alabama, and No. 5 Syracuse. Texas dropped to sixth place.

September 30 California played a top-ranked team for the second straight week, losing at No. 1 Iowa 28–7. No. 2 Mississippi won 20–6 at Kentucky. Texas Christian University (TCU) tied No. 3 Ohio State 7–7 at Columbus. In a game at Mobile, No. 4 Alabama beat Tulane 9–0. No. 5 Syracuse defeated visiting West Virginia 29–14, but fell to seventh in the next ratings. No. 6 Texas, which beat Texas Tech at home, 42–14, returned to the Top Five, along with previously unranked Georgia Tech, which shut out Rice 24–0. In the poll that followed, Iowa remained No. 1, followed by No. 2 Mississippi, No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 4 Alabama, and No. 5 Texas.

October

October 7 No. 1 Iowa won 35–34 at USC. No. 2 Mississippi won 33–0 against Florida State. No. 3 Georgia Tech lost to LSU 10–0. No. 4 Alabama won 35–6 at Vanderbilt. No. 5 Texas routed Washington State 41–8. No. 6 Michigan State defeated Stanford 31–3. In the poll that followed, Mississippi took over first place from Iowa, which dropped to second. These were followed by No. 3 Alabama, No. 4 Texas, and No. 5 Michigan State.

October 14 No. 1 Mississippi met the Houston Cougars at Memphis and won 47–7. No. 2 Iowa beat Indiana 27–8 at home. No. 3 Alabama beat North Carolina State 26–7 at Birmingham, and No. 4 Texas played its annual game against Oklahoma at Dallas, winning 28–7. No. 5 Michigan State won at No. 6 Michigan, shutting out the Wolverines 28–0. On the next poll, Michigan State took the No. 1 spot from Ole Miss by a margin of only two points (431 to 429), though the Rebels had more first place votes than the Spartans (21 vs. 16). They were followed by No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Iowa, and No. 5 Alabama.

On October 21, No. 1 Michigan State got by No. 6 Notre Dame 17–7 at home, and No. 2 Mississippi shut out Tulane in a game at Jackson, 41–0. No. 3 Texas won at No. 10 Arkansas, 33–7, No. 4 Iowa hosted Wisconsin, winning 47–15, and No. 5 Alabama defeated Tennessee at Birmingham, 34–3. The top three (Michigan State, Ole Miss and Texas) were unchanged, while Alabama and Iowa traded places at 4th and 5th.

October 28 In a week of shutouts, No. 1 Michigan State beat Indiana 35–0, and No. 2 Mississippi had an even bigger blowout, 47–0, against Vanderbilt. No. 3 Texas beat the visiting Rice Owls, 34–7, while No. 4 Alabama won at Houston over the Cougars, 17–0. No. 5 Iowa was on the wrong side of a shutout, losing 9–0 at Purdue. The top 4 stayed the same, while No. 6 Ohio State, which had won at Wisconsin 30–21, took fifth place from Iowa, whom they would play the following Saturday.

November

November 4 No. 1 Michigan State fell to unranked Minnesota, 13–0. At the same time, No. 2 Mississippi lost to No. 6 LSU 10–7 at Baton Rouge. The No. 3 Texas Longhorns beat the SMU Mustangs at Dallas, 27–0. No. 4 Alabama shut out Mississippi State 24–0. At Columbus, No. 5 Ohio State beat No. 9 Iowa 29–13. Texas, Alabama and Ohio State moved up to 1st, 2nd and 3rd, and giant-killers LSU and Minnesota were 4th and 5th. Michigan State and Ole Miss fell to 6th and 7th.

November 11 No. 1 Texas beat Baylor, 33–7. No. 2 Alabama crushed the visiting Richmond Spiders (which would be I-AA later) 66–0 at home. No. 3 Ohio State won 16–7 at Indiana, No. 4 LSU won 30–0 at North Carolina, and No. 5 Minnesota handed Iowa its third straight loss, 16–9. The Hawkeyes, ranked first in the preseason poll, would finish just 5–4. No. 6 Michigan State, too, lost its second straight, falling 7–6 at Purdue. The Top Five remained unchanged.

November 18 Texas Christian University had earlier tied Ohio State 6–6 in Columbus, and bested that with a win over No. 1 Texas in Austin, 6–0. After his team's loss, legendary Texas coach Darrell Royal uttered his immortal description of TCU: "They're like a bunch of cockroaches. It's not what they eat and tote off, it's what they fall into and mess up that hurts."

No. 2 Alabama beat Georgia Tech in Birmingham, 10–0. No. 3 Ohio State defeated visiting Oregon, 22–12, and No. 4 LSU hosted Mississippi State and won 14–6. No. 5 Minnesota defeated No. 7 Purdue, 10–7, at home. Alabama (9–0) rose to No. 1, with Ohio State (7–0–1) at No. 2. Minnesota (7–1) rose to No. 3, LSU (8–1) stayed at No. 4 and Texas (8–1) fell from No. 1 to No. 5.

Post-Thanksgiving (November 25) No. 1 Alabama was idle. No. 2 Ohio State won at Michigan, 50–20. No. 3 Minnesota narrowly lost to Wisconsin 23–21. No. 4 LSU crushed visiting Tulane, 62–0. No. 5 Texas won 25–0 over Texas A&M, wrapping up the SWC title and a berth in the Cotton Bowl. Ole Miss, which was idle, returned to the Top Five: No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Texas, and No. 5 Mississippi.

December

December 2, No. 1 Alabama won its annual Birmingham game against the Auburn Tigers, 34–0, to close the season with a 10–0–0 record, an SEC championship, and a berth in the Sugar Bowl against No. 9 Arkansas. No. 5 Mississippi closed its season at 9–1–0 with a 37–7 win against Mississippi State and prepared to meet Texas in the Cotton Bowl. For the third year in a row, Ole Miss was undefeated and untied against all opponents other than LSU, which had beaten them in 1959 and 1961 and tied them in 1960. The Bayou Bengals would meet the Big 8 champion, No. 7 Colorado, in the Orange Bowl.

With 26 of the 48 first place votes, Alabama was awarded the AP trophy, ahead of Ohio State (by a margin of 26 votes to 20). The point total was even closer, with 16 points separating Alabama and Ohio State (452 to 436). Unbeaten and tied only once, Ohio State University qualified for the Rose Bowl. In a move that stunned the sports world, however, the university's faculty council voted, 28–25, on November 28 not to accept the invitation, declaring that the school's emphasis on sports over academics was excessive. The wire service commented that "A team of 57 Ohio State University faculty members handed the second ranked Buckeyes their only defeat of the season.". Minnesota took the Buckeyes' place in the Rose Bowl, where they would play UCLA.

Conference standings

Major colleges

1961 Athletic Association of Western Universities football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 16 UCLA $ 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 USC 2 – 1 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Washington 2 – 1 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Stanford 1 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 California 1 – 3 – 0 1 – 8 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1961 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 20 Duke $   5 – 1     7 – 3   North Carolina   4 – 3     5 – 5   Maryland   3 – 3     7 – 3   Clemson   3 – 3     5 – 5   NC State   3 – 4     4 – 6   South Carolina   3 – 4     4 – 6   Wake Forest   3 – 4     4 – 6   Virginia   2 – 4     4 – 6   $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1961 Big Eight Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 7 Colorado $ 7 – 0 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 No. 11 Missouri 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 1 Kansas 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 1 Oklahoma 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Iowa State 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Oklahoma State 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Nebraska 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 1 Kansas State 0 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1961 Big Ten Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Ohio State $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 1 No. 6 Minnesota 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 No. 8 Michigan State 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 No. 12 Purdue 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Wisconsin 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Michigan 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Iowa 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Northwestern 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Indiana 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Illinois 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1961 Border Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Arizona State § 3 – 0 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 West Texas State 3 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 New Mexico State 2 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 1 Texas Western 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Hardin–Simmons 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 Ivy League football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Columbia + 6 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Harvard + 6 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Dartmouth 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Princeton 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Yale 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Cornell 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Penn 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Brown 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions
1961 Missouri Valley Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Wichita $ 3 – 0 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 North Texas State 1 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 1 Cincinnati 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Tulsa 1 – 2 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 Skyline Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 10 Utah State + 5 – 0 – 1 9 – 1 – 1 Wyoming + 5 – 0 – 1 6 – 1 – 2 New Mexico 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Utah 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Montana 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 BYU 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Colorado State 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1961 Southeastern Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Alabama + 7 – 0 – 0 11 – 0 – 0 No. 4 LSU + 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 No. 5 Ole Miss 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 No. 13 Georgia Tech 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Tennessee 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Florida 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 1 Auburn 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Kentucky 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Georgia 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Mississippi State 1 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Tulane 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Vanderbilt 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll
1961 Southern Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T The Citadel $ 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Richmond 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 VMI 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 West Virginia 2 – 1 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Furman 2 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 George Washington 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Virginia Tech 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Davidson 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 William & Mary 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 Southwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Texas + 6 – 1 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 No. 9 Arkansas + 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Rice 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Texas A&M 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 1 TCU 2 – 4 – 1 3 – 5 – 2 Baylor 2 – 5 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Texas Tech 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 SMU 1 – 5 – 1 2 – 7 – 1 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Small colleges

1961 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 17 Arkansas Tech $ 6 – 0 – 1 8 – 0 – 1 Arkansas State Teachers 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Southern State (AR) 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Harding 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Henderson State 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Ouachita Baptist 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 Arkansas A&M 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Ozarks 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA poll	1961 Badger-Gopher Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Lakeland $ 4 – 0 – 0 4 – 3 – 1 Northland 3 – 1 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Bethel (MN) 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Milton 1 – 3 – 0 4 – 3 – 0 Northwestern (WI) 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1961 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3/5 Fresno State $ 5 – 0 – 0 10 – 0 – 0 Cal Poly 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 San Diego State 2 – 2 – 1 7 – 2 – 1 Los Angeles State 2 – 2 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 Long Beach State 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 UC Santa Barbara 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP/UPI small college polls
1961 Carolinas Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 15 Lenoir Rhyne $ 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 1 Appalachian State 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Newberry 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 1 East Carolina 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 1 Elon 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Catawba 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Western Carolina 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Guilford 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA poll	1961 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T North Carolina College $ 5 – 0 – 2 7 – 0 – 2 North Carolina A&T 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Johnson C. Smith 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Winston-Salem State 5 – 1 – 1 6 – 1 – 1 Maryland State 2 – 2 – 1 4 – 2 – 1 Delaware State 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Virginia Union 4 – 3 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Morgan State 5 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Virginia State 3 – 4 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Hampton 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Elizabeth City State 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 St. Augustine's 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Fayetteville State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Howard 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Shaw 1 – 8 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Saint Paul's (VA) 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 Central Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1/1 Pittsburg State $^ 5 – 0 – 0 11 – 0 – 0 Omaha 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Fort Hays State 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 1 St. Benedict's 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Emporia State 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Washburn 0 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA poll and AP small college poll
1961 College Conference of Illinois football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 14 Millikin $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 0 Carroll (WI) 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Carthage 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 North Central (IL) 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Augustana (IL) 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Illinois Wesleyan 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Lake Forest 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA poll	1961 Evergreen Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Central Washington $ 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Whitworth * 6 – 1 – 0 ? – ? – ? Western Washington 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Puget Sound 3 – 3 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Pacific Lutheran 1 – 5 – 1 2 – 6 – 1 Eastern Washington 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion * – on probation; ineligible for conference title	1961 Far Western Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 13/16 Humboldt State + 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 San Francisco State + 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 UC Davis 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Nevada 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Sacramento State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Chico State 0 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from NAIA poll and UPI small college poll
1961 Frontier Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Arizona State–Flagstaff $ 1 – 0 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 New Mexico Western 1 – 1 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 New Mexico Highlands 0 – 1 – 1 3 – 3 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1961 Gulf States Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 7 Southeastern Louisiana + 4 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 No. 10 McNeese State + 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Northwestern State 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Louisiana Tech 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Northeast Louisiana State 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Southwestern Louisiana 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from NAIA poll	1961 Hoosier Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Taylor + 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Anderson (IN) + 4 – 1 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Hanover 3 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Indiana Central 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Franklin (IN) 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Manchester (IN) 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions
1961 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Butler $ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0 Valparaiso 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Evansville 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 DePauw 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Ball State 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 5 – 1 Indiana State 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Saint Joseph's (IN) 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Southern Illinois $ 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Western Illinois 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Illinois State Normal 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Eastern Illinois 3 – 2 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 Northern Illinois 3 – 2 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 Central Michigan 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Eastern Michigan 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 8 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1961 Iowa Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 12 Parsons $ 8 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0 Luther 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Central (IA) 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Upper Iowa 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Dubuque 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Buena Vista 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Iowa Wesleyan 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Wartburg 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Simpson (IA) 0 – 8 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA poll
1961 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 16 Ottawa $ 9 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0 College of Emporia 8 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Southwestern (KS) 6 – 2 – 1 6 – 2 – 1 Baker 6 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Bethany (KS) 3 – 4 – 2 3 – 4 – 2 Kansas Wesleyan 4 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Bethel (KS) 3 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 McPherson 3 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Sterling 1 – 8 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Friends 0 – 8 – 1 0 – 8 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA poll	1961 Lone Star Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Sam Houston State $ 7 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Texas A&I 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Lamar Tech 4 – 2 – 1 8 – 2 – 1 Howard Payne 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 East Texas State 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Southwest Texas State 2 – 4 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Sul Ross 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Stephen F. Austin 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 Mason–Dixon Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Western Maryland $ 4 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Gallaudet * 1 – 0 – 0 1 – 6 – 0 Johns Hopkins 1 – 1 – 0 3 – 4 – 1 Hampden–Sydney 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Randolph–Macon 1 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Bridgewater 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion * – Ineligible for title
1961 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Albion $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 0 Olivet 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Kalamazoo 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Alma 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Adrian 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Hope 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Bowling Green $ 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Western Michigan 4 – 1 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Miami (OH) 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Ohio 3 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Toledo 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Marshall 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 1 Kent State 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 Mid-Ohio League football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Findlay $ 5 – 0 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Ohio Northern 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Bluffton 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Defiance 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Ashland 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Wilmington (OH) 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1961 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T University Division No. 15 Rutgers x 4 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0 Bucknell 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Delaware 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 No. 6 Lehigh 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Gettysburg 2 – 2 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Temple 1 – 2 – 2 2 – 5 – 2 Lafayette 1 – 5 – 1 2 – 6 – 1 Muhlenberg 0 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Northern College Division Susquehanna x 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 1 Albright 4 – 0 – 1 7 – 0 – 1 Moravian 4 – 1 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 Wagner 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Lycoming 1 – 3 – 1 1 – 6 – 1 Wilkes 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 6 – 0 Hofstra * 2 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Juniata * 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 Upsala * 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 7 – 0 Southern College Division Lebanon Valley x 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 1 – 0 Swarthmore 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 Western Maryland 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Dickinson 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Pennsylvania Military 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Johns Hopkins 2 – 3 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Ursinus 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Drexel 1 – 5 – 1 2 – 5 – 1 Haverford 0 – 6 – 1 0 – 6 – 1 West Chester * 0 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Franklin & Marshall * 0 – 3 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 x – Division champion/co-champions * – Ineligible for championship due to insufficient conference games Rankings from major college AP poll for Rutgers and small college AP poll for Lehigh	1961 Midwest Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 13 Tennessee A&I $ 3 – 0 – 0 4 – 4 – 1 No. 14 Central State (OH) 2 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Kentucky State 1 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Lincoln (MO) 0 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from Pittsburgh Courier	1961 Midwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Cornell (IA) + 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Grinnell + 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 St. Olaf + 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Carleton 5 – 2 – 1 5 – 2 – 1 Ripon 4 – 3 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 Coe 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Lawrence 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Beloit 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Knox 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Monmouth (IL) 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions
1961 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 18 Minnesota–Duluth $ 7 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Saint John's (MN) 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 St. Thomas (MN) 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Macalester 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Augsburg 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Concordia (MN) 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Gustavus Adolphus 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Hamline 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA poll	1961 Missouri College Athletic Union football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 19 Missouri Valley $ 4 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 1 William Jewell 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Graceland 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 2 Tarkio 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Central (MO) 0 – 2 – 1 1 – 6 – 1 Culver–Stockton 0 – 4 – 1 1 – 6 – 2 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA poll	1961 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T NE Missouri State $ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 SE Missouri State 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Missouri–Rolla 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 SW Missouri State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 1 Central Missouri State 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 NW Missouri State 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1961 Montana Collegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Western Montana $ 5 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 1 Eastern Montana 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Carroll (MT) 2 – 2 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 Northern Montana 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Rocky Mountain 1 – 4 – 0 ? – ? – ? Montana Mines 0 – 4 – 1 ? – ? – ? $ – Conference champion	1961 Nebraska College Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Peru State $ 5 – 0 – 1 7 – 1 – 1 Kearney State 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Hastings 3 – 2 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 Doane 2 – 2 – 2 5 – 2 – 2 Wayne State (NE) 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Chadron State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Nebraska Wesleyan 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 North Central Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T South Dakota State + 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 State College of Iowa + 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 North Dakota 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Augustana (SD) 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 1 Morningside 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 North Dakota State 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 South Dakota 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions
1961 North Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Mayville State $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 0 Wahpeton Science 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Dickinson State 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Jamestown 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Minot State 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Valley City State 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Ellendale 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 Northern State College Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Mankato State $ 5 – 0 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Moorhead State 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Bemidji State 3 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Winona State 2 – 2 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 Michigan Tech 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 6 – 1 St. Cloud State 0 – 4 – 1 1 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1961 Northwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Linfield $^ 5 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 Lewis & Clark 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 College of Idaho 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Willamette 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Whitman 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Pacific (OR) 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA poll
1961 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Wittenberg $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Akron 6 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Otterbein 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Muskingum 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Capital 5 – 2 – 1 5 – 2 – 1 Wooster 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Ohio Wesleyan 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Kenyon 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 4 – 1 Mount Union 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Denison 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Heidelberg 1 – 4 – 1 1 – 7 – 1 Oberlin 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 5 – 1 Hiram 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Marietta 0 – 5 – 1 0 – 8 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1961 Ohio Valley Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Tennessee Tech $ 6 – 0 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Middle Tennessee 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Western Kentucky 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Eastern Kentucky 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Murray State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 East Tennessee State 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Morehead State 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1961 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 9 Central State (OK) + 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Langston + 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 No. 11 Panhandle A&M 4 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 East Central 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 SE Oklahoma State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Northeastern State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 SW Oklahoma State 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 NW Oklahoma State 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA poll
1961 Oregon Collegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Southern Oregon $ 4 – 0 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Oregon College of Education 2 – 1 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 Portland State 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Oregon Tech 1 – 2 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 Eastern Oregon 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 Pennsylvania State College Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T East Division No. 20 West Chester xy$ 4 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 East Stroudsburg 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Bloomsburg 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Millersville 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Mansfield 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Kutztown 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Cheyney 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 7 – 1 West Division Slippery Rock xy 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 California (PA) 4 – 1 – 1 5 – 2 – 1 Clarion 3 – 2 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 Lock Haven 2 – 2 – 1 5 – 2 – 2 Edinboro 1 – 3 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Indiana (PA) 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Shippensburg 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 Championship: West Chester 21, Slippery Rock 0 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Edinboro forfeited to Clarion. Rankings from NAIA poll	1961 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Allegheny $ 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 1 – 0 John Carroll 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 Western Reserve 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 Case Tech 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 3 – 0 Bethany (WV) 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Thiel 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 4 – 0 Wayne State (MI) 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 5 – 0 Washington & Jefferson 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1961 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Adams State $ 4 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Colorado College 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 1 Western State (CO) 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Colorado Mines 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Colorado State–Greeley 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 6 Northern State $^ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Huron 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Southern State (SD) 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 South Dakota Tech 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Black Hills 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Dakota Wesleyan 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 General Beadle 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA poll	1961 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Whittier $^ 4 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Redlands 3 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Occidental 2 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Pomona 1 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Claremont-Mudd 0 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA poll
1961 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 5 Florida A&M $ 5 – 0 – 0 10 – 0 – 0 Alabama A&M 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Allen 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Bethune–Cookman 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Morris Brown 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Fisk 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Tuskegee 4 – 1 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 Morehouse 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Clark (GA) 2 – 3 – 1 3 – 3 – 2 Lane 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 5 – 1 Benedict 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 South Carolina State 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Alabama State 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Knoxville 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Fort Valley State 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA poll	1961 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Jackson State $ 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Grambling 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Southern 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Texas Southern 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Prairie View A&M 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 1 Wiley 2 – 4 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 Arkansas AM&N 1 – 5 – 1 3 – 6 – 1 Texas College 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Midland $ 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Dana 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Westmar 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Northwestern (IA) 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 4 – 1 Concordia (NE) 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Yankton 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Sioux Falls 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1961 Virginia Little Eight Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Emory and Henry * 1 – 0 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Hampden–Sydney $ 2 – 1 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Randolph–Macon 1 – 1 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Bridgewater 0 – 2 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion * – Emory and Henry did not play enough conference games to be eligible for the championship.	1961 West Penn Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Westminster (PA) $ 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Grove City 2 – 0 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Waynesburg 2 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Saint Vincent 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 3 – 1 Geneva 1 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Carnegie Tech 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Eastern Division Salem x 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 West Liberty State 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Davis & Elkins 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 West Virginia State 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 7 – 0 Western Division West Virginia Wesleyan x$ 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Glenville State 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 Fairmont State 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Concord 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Potomac State 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 3 – 0 West Virginia Tech 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 5 – 1 Non-qualifiers Bluefield State 1 – 0 – 0 3 – 3 – 1 Shepherd 1 – 2 – 0 4 – 2 – 2 Bethany (WV) 0 – 1 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Conference standings based on power ratings
1961 Wisconsin State College Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Stevens Point State $ 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 La Crosse State 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 River Falls State 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Whitewater State 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Superior State 2 – 3 – 1 3 – 4 – 2 Stout State 2 – 3 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Eau Claire State 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Oshkosh State 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 4 – 0 Milwaukee 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Platteville State 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 Yankee Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Maine $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 1 UMass 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Connecticut 2 – 2 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 New Hampshire 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Rhode Island 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 1 Vermont 0 – 2 – 0 3 – 3 – 1 $ – Conference champion

Independents

1961 Eastern college football independents records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Middlebury   –   5 – 1 – 1 Villanova   –   8 – 2 – 0 Southern Connecticut State   –   7 – 2 – 0 Alfred   –   6 – 2 – 0 Montclair State   –   6 – 2 – 0 Delaware Valley   –   6 – 2 – 0 No. 17 Penn State   –   8 – 3 – 0 No. 14 Syracuse   –   8 – 3 – 0 Trinity (CT)   –   5 – 2 – 1 Holy Cross   –   7 – 3 – 0 C. W. Post   –   6 – 3 – 0 Army   –   6 – 4 – 0 Merchant Marine   –   6 – 4 – 0 Tufts   –   5 – 3 – 0 Rochester   –   5 – 3 – 0 Hamilton   –   4 – 3 – 0 Cortland State   –   4 – 3 – 0 American International   –   5 – 4 – 0 Colgate   –   5 – 4 – 0 Northeastern   –   4 – 4 – 0 Coast Guard   –   4 – 4 – 0 Ithaca   –   4 – 4 – 0 Boston University   –   4 – 5 – 0 Buffalo   –   4 – 5 – 0 Bridgeport   –   4 – 5 – 0 Norwich   –   3 – 4 – 1 Worcester Tech   –   3 – 4 – 0 Boston College   –   4 – 6 – 0 Union (NY)   –   3 – 5 – 0 Pittsburgh   –   3 – 7 – 0 Nichols   –   2 – 3 – 0 Trenton State   –   1 – 6 – 0 King's (PA)   –   1 – 8 – 0 Springfield   –   0 – 7 – 1 Brockport   –   0 – 7 – 0 RPI   –   0 – 7 – 0 Hobart   –   0 – 8 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll	1961 Midwestern college football independents records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Baldwin–Wallace   –   9 – 0 – 0 Wheaton (IL)   –   8 – 0 – 0 Earlham   –   7 – 1 – 0 St. Norbert   –   7 – 2 – 0 Northern Michigan   –   6 – 2 – 0 Hillsdale   –   6 – 3 – 0 Ferris Institute   –   5 – 3 – 0 Bradley   –   6 – 4 – 0 Xavier   –   6 – 4 – 0 Eureka   –   3 – 2 – 1 Detroit   –   5 – 4 – 0 Drake   –   5 – 4 – 0 Wabash   –   5 – 4 – 0 Youngstown   –   4 – 4 – 1 Notre Dame   –   5 – 5 – 0 Concordia (IL)   –   4 – 4 – 0 St. Mary of the Plains   –   4 – 5 – 0 North Park   –   3 – 5 – 0 William Penn   –   3 – 5 – 1 St. Procopius   –   2 – 4 – 0 Dayton   –   2 – 8 – 0 Elmhurst   –   1 – 6 – 1 Rose Poly   –   0 – 8 – 0 Washington University   –   0 – 9 – 0	1961 Southern college football independents records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Washington and Lee   –   9 – 0 – 0 Tampa   –   8 – 1 – 0 Mississippi College   –   8 – 1 – 0 Mississippi Southern   –   8 – 2 – 0 Memphis State   –   8 – 2 – 0 Delta State   –   7 – 2 – 1 Howard (AL)   –   7 – 2 – 0 South Carolina Trade   –   6 – 2 – 0 Maryville (TN)   –   6 – 2 – 0 Sewanee   –   5 – 2 – 1 Miles   –   5 – 2 – 0 Navy   –   7 – 3 – 0 Arlington State   –   7 – 3 – 0 Louisville   –   6 – 3 – 0 Miami (FL)   –   7 – 4 – 0 McMurry   –   6 – 4 – 0 Houston   –   5 – 4 – 1 Livingstone   –   5 – 4 – 0 Southwestern (TN)   –   4 – 4 – 0 Emory & Henry   –   4 – 4 – 0 Florida State   –   4 – 5 – 1 Norfolk State   –   3 – 4 – 0 Abilene Christian   –   4 – 6 – 0 Chattanooga   –   4 – 6 – 0 Georgetown (KY)   –   2 – 3 – 1 Arkansas State   –   3 – 6 – 0 Austin   –   2 – 7 – 0 Trinity (TX)   –   2 – 7 – 0 Millsaps   –   1 – 5 – 2 Centre   –   1 – 7 – 0
1961 Western college football independents records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 17 Arizona   –   8 – 1 – 1 Westminster (UT)   –   7 – 1 – 1 La Verne   –   7 – 2 – 0 Idaho State   –   5 – 2 – 1 San Francisco   –   4 – 2 – 0 Cal Poly Pomona   –   6 – 3 – 0 San Jose State   –   6 – 4 – 0 Eastern New Mexico   –   6 – 4 – 0 Los Angeles Pacific   –   5 – 3 – 0 Montana State   –   4 – 3 – 1 Pacific (CA)   –   5 – 4 – 0 Azusa   –   4 – 3 – 0 Oregon State   –   5 – 5 – 0 Santa Clara   –   3 – 3 – 0 Oregon   –   4 – 6 – 0 Claremont   –   3 – 6 – 0 Air Force   –   3 – 7 – 0 Washington State   –   3 – 7 – 0 Cal Western   –   3 – 7 – 0 Idaho   –   2 – 7 – 0 San Diego   –   2 – 8 – 0 Southern California College   –   1 – 5 – 0 UC Riverside   –   1 – 7 – 0 Pepperdine   –   1 – 9 – 0	1961 NAIA independents football records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Baldwin–Wallace   –   9 – 0 – 0 Wheaton (IL)   –   8 – 0 – 0 No. 8 Tampa   –   8 – 1 – 0 Westminster (UT)   –   7 – 1 – 1 Earlham   –   7 – 1 – 0 Oklahoma Panhandle State   –   9 – 2 – 0 La Verne   –   7 – 2 – 0 Hillsdale   –   6 – 3 – 0 Eastern New Mexico   –   6 – 4 – 0 McMurry   –   6 – 4 – 0 St. Mary of the Plains   –   4 – 5 – 0 Georgetown (KY)   –   2 – 3 – 1 Austin   –   2 – 7 – 0 Rankings from NAIA poll

Rankings

Major college polls

Main article: 1961 major college football rankings

Tracking No. 1 spot

Week	No. 1 Team	Event
Preseason	Iowa
1 (Sep 23)	IOWA	Did not play
2 (Sep 30)	Iowa	Iowa 28, California 7
3 (Oct 7)	Iowa	Iowa 35, USC 34
4 (Oct 14)	Ole Miss	Ole Miss 47, Houston 7
5 (Oct 21)	Michigan State	MSU 17, Notre Dame 7
6 (Oct 28)	Michigan State	MSU 35, Indiana 0
7 (Nov 4)	Michigan State	Minnesota 13, MSU 0
8 (Nov 11)	Texas	Texas 33, Baylor 7
9 (Nov 18)	Texas	TCU 6, Texas 0
10 (Nov 25)	Alabama	(Idle)
11 (Dec 2)	Alabama	Alabama 34, Auburn 0

Final polls

AP writers poll

Rank	Team	1st	Points
1	Alabama (11–0)	26	452
2	Ohio State (8–0–1)	20	436
3	Texas (10–1)		348
4	LSU (10–1)	1	335
5	Ole Miss (9–2)	1	284
6	Minnesota (8–2)		225
7	Colorado (9–2)		171
8	Michigan State (7–2)		128
9	Arkansas (8–3 )		105
10	Utah State (9–1–1)		33

UPI coaches poll

Rank	Team	1st	Points
1	Alabama	18	318
2	Ohio State	15	311
3	LSU		239
4	Texas		237
5	Ole Miss		219
6	Minnesota		163
7	Colorado	1	124
8	Arkansas		91
9	Michigan State		76
10	Utah State		28
11	Purdue (6–3)		11
11	Missouri (7–2–1)		11
13	Georgia Tech (7–4)		16
14	Duke (7–3)		11
15	Kansas (7–3–1)		10
16	Syracuse (8–3)		8
17	Wyoming (6–1–2)		7
18	Wisconsin (6–3)		6
19	Miami (FL) (7–4)		4
19	Penn State (8–3)		4

Small college polls

Main article: 1961 small college football rankings

In 1961, both United Press International (UPI) and the Associated Press (AP) conducted "small college" polls. The number one selection of both wire services was the Pittsburg State Gorillas, who compiled a regular season record of 9–0 while outscoring opponents 299–25 and registering seven shutouts. The Gorillas went on to win two NAIA postseason games and finished 11–0 for the season.

United Press International (coaches) final poll
Published on November 22

Rank	School	Record	No. 1 votes	Total points
1	Pittsburg State	9–0	14	250
2	Baldwin–Wallace	8–0†	1	179
3	Mississippi Southern	7–2	4	163
4	Southeastern Louisiana	9–1		148
5	Fresno State	9–0	8	147
6	Florida A&M	8–0		82
7	Wheaton (IL)	8–0		68
8	Whittier	9–0		59
9	Butler	9–0		56
10	Northern Michigan	6–2		55

†Baldwin–Wallace was 9–0 when the poll was taken.

Associated Press (writers) final poll
Published on November 22

Rank	School	Record	No. 1 votes	Total points
1	Pittsburg State	9–0	5	70
2	Baldwin–Wallace	9–0		60
3	Fresno State	9–0		46
4	Florida A&M	8–0		42
T5	Whittier	9–0		34
T5	Lehigh	7–2		34
7	Linfield	9–0	1	26
8	Southeastern Louisiana	9–1		21
9	Lenoir–Rhyne	7–1–1	1	16
T10	Butler	9–0		13
T10	Mississippi Southern	7–2		13

Postseason

Major bowls

Monday, January 1, 1962

Bowl
Sugar	No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide	10	No. 9 Arkansas Razorbacks	3
Cotton	No. 3 Texas Longhorns	12	No. 5 Mississippi Rebels	7
Orange	No. 4 LSU Tigers	25	No. 7 Colorado Buffaloes	7
Rose	No. 6 Minnesota Golden Gophers	21	No. 16 UCLA Bruins	3

Other bowls

Bowl	Location	Date	Winner	Score	Loser
Sun	El Paso, TX	December 30	Villanova	17–9	Wichita State
Gator	Jacksonville, FL	December 30	No. 17 Penn State	30–15	No. 13 Georgia Tech
Tangerine	Orlando, FL	December 29	Lamar Tech	21–14	Middle Tennessee
Bluebonnet	Houston, TX	December 16	Kansas	33–7	No. 17 Rice
Liberty	Philadelphia, PA	December 16	No. 14 Syracuse	15–14	Miami (FL)
Aviation	Dayton, OH	December 9	New Mexico	28–12	Western Michigan
Gotham	New York, NY	December 9	Baylor	24–9	No. 10 Utah State
Mercy	Los Angeles, CA	November 23	Fresno State	36–6	Bowling Green
Mineral Water	Excelsior Springs, MO	November 25	Kirksville State	22–8	Parsons
All-Sports	Oklahoma City, OK	December 9	Panhandle A&M	28–14	Langston
West Virginia			West Virginia Wesleyan	12–0	Salem
Missile	Orlando, FL	December 9	Fort Eustis	25–24	Quantico Marines
Orange Blossom	Miami, FL	December 9	Florida A&M	14–8	Jackson State

• Prior to the 1975 season, the Big Ten and AAWU (later Pac-8) conferences allowed only one postseason participant each, for the Rose Bowl.

NAIA postseason

The 1961 NAIA season culminated in the sixth annual NAIA Football National Championship, played at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California. During its three years in Sacramento, the game was called the Camellia Bowl (separate from the later Camellia Bowl played in Montgomery, Alabama).

Pittsburg State defeated Linfield in the championship game, 12–7, to win their second NAIA national title and first since 1957.

	Semifinals December 2, 1961					Championship December 9, 1961 Camellia Bowl
	Whittier		7
	Linfield*		18
						Linfield		7
						Pittsburg State		12
	Northern State		14
	Pittsburg State*		28

Award season

Heisman Trophy

The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player

Player	School	Position	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Ernie Davis	Syracuse	HB	179	103	81	824
Bob Ferguson	Ohio State	FB	122	156	93	771
Jimmy Saxton	Texas	HB	81	105	98	551
Sandy Stephens	Minnesota	QB	104	78	68	543
Pat Trammell	Alabama	QB	76	45	44	362
Joe Romig	Colorado	G	55	40	34	279
John Hadl	Kansas	QB	33	25	23	172
Gary Collins	Maryland	E	28	31	21	167
Roman Gabriel	NC State	QB	23	27	32	155
Merlin Olsen	Utah State	DT	13	19	16	93

Source:

All-Americans

Main article: 1961 College Football All-America Team

Main article: 1961 Little All-America college football team

For the year 1961, the NCAA recognizes six published All-American teams as "official" designations for purposes of its consensus determinations. The following chart identifies the NCAA-recognized consensus All-Americans and displays which first-team designations they received.

Name	Position	School	Number	Official	Other
Roy Winston	Guard	LSU	6/6	AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI	CP, Time, WC
Ernie Davis	Halfback	Syracuse	6/6	AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI	CP, Time, WC
Bob Ferguson	Fullback	Ohio State	6/6	AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI	CP, Time, WC
Billy Neighbors	Tackle	Alabama	6/6	AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI	CP, WC
Jimmy Saxton	Halfback	Texas	6/6	AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI	CP, WC
Gary Collins	End	Maryland	5/6	AFCA, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI	CP, Time, WC
Joe Romig	Guard	Colorado	5/6	AFCA, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI	WC
Alex Kroll	Center	Rutgers	5/6	AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, UPI	WC
Sandy Stephens	Quarterback	Minnesota	5/6	AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI	WC
Bill Miller	End	Miami (Fla.)	4/6	AP, FWAA, NEA, SN	Time, WC
Merlin Olsen	Tackle	Utah State	4/6	AP, FWAA, NEA, UPI	Time, WC

Other awards

• Maxwell Award - Bob Ferguson, Ohio State
• Sammy Baugh Trophy - Ron Miller, Wisconsiin
• Outland Trophy (best lineman) - Merlin Olsen, Utah State
• AFCA Coach of the Year Award - Bear Bryant, Alabama
• FWAA Coach of the Year Award - Darrell Royal, Texas

Statistical leaders

Individual

Total offense

The following players were the individual leaders in total offense during the 1961 season:

Major college

Rank	Player	Team	Games	Plays	Total Yds	PtR
1	Dave Hoppmann	Iowa State	10	320	1638	80
2	Pat McCarthy	Holy Cross	10	283	1509	128
3	Ron Miller	Wisconsin	9	234	1449	86
4	Chon Gallegos	San Jose State	10	237	1388	100
5	Eddie Wilson	Arizona	10	181	1377	120
6	John Furman	Texas Western	10	255	1334	89
7	Pat Trammell	Alabama	10	208	1314	108
8	Sandy Stephens	Minnesota	9	252	1281	96
9	Preacher Pilot	New Mexico State	10	191	1278	138
10	Jerry Gross	Detroit	9	189	1250	69

Small college

Rank	Player	Team	Games	Plays	Total Yds
1	Denny Spurlock	Whitworth	10	224	1760
2	Jan Lloyd	Occidental	9	264	1750
3	Tom Gryzwinski	Defiance	8	314	1749
4	Roy Curry	Jackson State	10	258	1511
5	Doug Olsen	Southern Oregon	9	259	1464
6	Halsey	Carthage	9	181	1379
7	Cavalli	Wagner	9	229	1354
8	Giles	Louisville	9	208	1346
9	Nunes	Slippery Rock	9	221	1345
10	Connors	Salem (WV)	9	163	1333

Passing

The following players were the individual leaders in pass completions during the 1961 season:

Major college

Rank	Player	Team	Games	Compl.	Att.	Pct. Compl.	Yds.	Int.	TDs
1	Chon Gallegos	San Jose State	10	117	197	.594	1480	13	14
2	Ron Miller	Wisconsin	9	104	198	.525	1487	11	11
3	Roman Gabriel	NC State	10	99	186	.532	987	6	8
4	Ron Klemick	Navy	10	86	183	.470	1045	13	6
5	Bill Canty	Furman	10	84	168	.500	884	12	8
6	John Furman	Texas Western	10	84	180	.467	1026	10	10
7	Matt Szykowny	Iowa	9	79	139	.568	1078	15	7
8	Eddie Wilson	Arizona	10	79	154	.513	1294	7	10
9	Pat McCarthy	Holy Cross	10	76	165	.461	1081	11	11
10	Pat Trammell	Alabama	10	75	133	.564	1035	2	8

Small college

Rank	Player	Team	Games	Compl.	Att.	Pct. Compl.	Yds.	Int.	TDs
1	Tom Gryzwinski	Defiance	8	127	258	.492	1684	17	14
2	Jan Lloyd	Occidental	9	122	234	.521	1748	8	11
3	Denny Spurlock	Whitworth	10	115	189	.608	1708	16	26
4	Bill Thorp	Cornell (IA)	9	108	199	.543	1231	10	15
5	Doug McClary	Pacific Lutheran	105	208	.505	966	19	4
6	Hermann	Bradley	10	104	201	.517	1372	12	15
7	Doug Olsen	Southern Oregon	9	103	195	.528	1379	16	10
8	Jim Kuplic	Beloit	8	95	178	.534	827	8	6
9	Norm McKinley	Los Angeles Pacific	9	93	156	.596	1220	4	11
10	Earl Little	Gettysburg	9	90	172	.523	797	10	4

Rushing

The following players were the individual leaders in rushing yards during the 1961 season:
Major college

Rank	Player	Team	Games	Yds	Rushes	Avg
1	Preacher Pilot	New Mexico State	10	191	1278	6.69
2	Pete Pedro	West Texas State	10	137	976	7.12
3	Bob Ferguson	Ohio State	9	202	938	4.64
4	Dave Hoppmann	Iowa State	10	229	920	4.02
5	Jimmy Saxton	Texas	10	107	846	7.91
6	Ernie Davis	Syracuse	10	150	823	5.49
7	Tommy Larscheid	Utah State	10	121	773	6.39
8	Tom Campbell	Furman	10	157	767	4.89
9	Bobby Lee Thompson	Arizona	10	103	752	7.30
10	Earl Stoudt	Richmond	10	162	704	4.35

Small college

Rank	Player	Team	Games	Yds	Rushes	Avg
1	Bob Lisa	St. Mary's (KS)	9	156	1082	6.94
2	Nelson Guthrie	Winston-Salem	9	194	1077	5.55
3	Joe Iacone	West Chester	9	170	1059	6.23
4	Steve Beguin	Linfield	9	163	1058	6.49
5	Bob Roma	Wofford	11	130	1054	8.11
6	Dan Boals	Iowa State College	9	162	1003
7	John Knight	Valparaiso	9	158	998
8	Grill	Lewis & Clark	9	162	960
9	Thorne	South Dakota State	10	174	958
10	Hauser	Westminster (UT)	9	139	943

Receiving

The following players were the individual leaders in receptions during the 1961 season:

Major college

Rank	Player	Team	Games	Receptions	Receiving Yards	Touchdowns
1	Hugh Campbell	Washington State	10	53	723	5
2	Pat Richter	Wisconsin	9	47	817	8
3	Bill Miller	Miami (FL)	10	43	640	2
4	Al Snyder	Holy Cross	10	38	558	5
5	Oscar Donahue	San Jose State	10	35	527	5
6	Larry Vargo	Detroit	9	32	601	8
7	Tom Hutchinson	Kentucky	10	32	543	4
8	Buddy Iles	TCU	10	479	2
9	Gary Collins	Maryland	10	30	428	4
10	Royce Cassell	New Mexico State	10	29	519	7
10	Joe Borich	Utah	10	29	486	5

Small college

Rank	Player	Team	Games	Receptions	Receiving Yards	Touchdowns
1	Martin Baumhower	Defiance	8	57	708	4
2	Howard Hartman	Southern Oregon	9	51	611	6
3	Ken Fisher	Cornell (IA)	8	46	402	6
4	John Murio	Whitworth	10	45	811	13
5	Jerry Griffin	Louisiana Tech	9	45	435	3
6	Dean Mack	Beloit	8	44	311	2
7	Dave Bottemiller	Pacific Lutheran	9	43	381	2
8	Karl Finch	Cal Poly Pomona	9	41	767	8
9	Davis	Bethune-Cookman	8	40	670	9
9	Houtz	Pepperdine	10	40	590	4
9	Ed Burton	Chico State	10	40	566	5

Scoring

The following players were the individual leaders in scoring during the 1961 season:

Major college

Rank	Player	Team	Pts	TD	PAT	FG
1	Preacher Pilot	New Mexico State	138	21	12	0
2	Pete Pedro	West Texas State	132	22	0	0
3	Tom Larscheid	Utah State	96	15	6	0
4	Ernie Davis	Syracuse	94	15	4	0
4	Wendell Harris	LSU	94	8	28	6
6	Bobby Smith	UCLA	85	10	16	3
7	Bobby Thompson	Arizona	82	13	4	0
8	Nolan Jones	Arizona State	77	8	20	3
9	Butch Blume	Rice	74	6	20	6
10	Sam Mudie	Rutgers	70	10	10	0
11	Bob Ferguson	Ohio State	68	11	2	0
12	Earl Stoudt	Richmond	67	9	10	1
13	Carter	Memphis State	65	4	38	1
14	Tom Haggerty	Columbia	62	10	2	0
15	Greg Mather	Navy	61	1	22	11
16	Billy Ray Adams	Ole Miss	60	10	0	0
17	Paul Allen	BYU	58	9	4	0
17	Jim Turner	Utah State	58	3	34	2

Small college

Rank	Player	Team	Pts	TD	PAT	FG
1	John Murlo	Whitworth	129	15	33	2
2	Jerry Domescik	Millikin	120	20	0	0
3	John Nachtsheim	Minnesota Duluth	112	17	10	0
4	Steve Beguin	Linfield	108	18	0	0
5	Bobby Lisa	St. Mary's (KS)	98	15	8
6	Frank Melos	Wagner	96	14	12	0
7	Fred Fugazzi	Missouri Valley	92	15	2	0
7	Bill Winter	St. Olaf	92	14	8	0
9	Jim Pribula	West Chester	91	8	28	5
10	Toby Barkman	East Stroudsburg	90	15	0	0
10	Dave Arends	Cornell (IA)	90	15	0	0

Team

Total offense

The following teams were the leaders in total offense during the 1961 season:

Major college

Rank	Team	Games played	Total plays	Yards gained	Yards per game
1	Ole Miss	10	674	4187	418.7
2	New Mexico State	10	631	4009	400.9
3	Utah State	10	669	3911	391.1
4	Texas	10	700	3831	383.1
5	Arizona	10	588	3782	378.2
6	Penn State	10	706	3691	369.1
7	Memphis State	10	610	3690	369.0
8	Ohio State	9	612	3142	349.1
9	Arizona State	10	658	3353	335.3
10	West Texas State	10	575	3290	329.0

Small college

Rank	Team	Games played	Total plays	Yards gained	Yards per game
1	Florida A&M	9	531	3722	413.6
2	Whitworth	10	659	4078	407.8
3	South Dakota State	10	676	4061	406.1
4	Wittenberg	9	669	3608	400.9
5	Linfield	9	607	3549	394.3
6	Cal Poly Pomona	9	562	3528	392.0
7	St. Mary's (KS)	9	572	3504	389.3
8	Lewis & Clark	9	640	3484	387.1
9	Carthage	9	501	3482	386.9
10	West Chester	9	572	3409	378.8

Scoring offense

The following teams were the leaders in scoring offense during the 1961 season:

Major college

Rank	Team	Points per game
1	Utah State	38.7
2	New Mexico State	34.1
3	Memphis State	33.2
4	Ole Miss	32.6
5	West Texas State	30.9
6	Texas	29.1
7	Arizona	28.8
8	Arizona State	28.7
8	Alabama	28.7
10	Rutgers	27.3

Rushing offense

The following teams were the leaders in rushing offense during the 1961 season:

Major college

Rank	Team	Yards per game
1	New Mexico State	299.1
2	Texas	285.8
3	Utah State	281.8
4	Ohio State	271.9
5	West Texas State	247.5
6	Wyoming	245.0
7	Michigan State	237.2
8	Bowling Green	236.9
9	Ole Miss	236.0
10	Memphis State	234.1

Small college

Rank	Team	Yards per game
1	Huron	313.1
2	Lewis & Clark	287.9
3	St. Mary's (KS)	282.4
4	Central State (OH)	280.7
5	Carthage	278.4

Passing offense

The following teams were the leaders in passing offense during the 1961 season:

Major college

Rank	Team	Yards per game
1	Wisconsin	188.4
2	Ole Miss	182.7
3	Detroit	182.1
4	Holy Cross	162.5
5	Washington State	156.1
5	San Jose State	156.1
7	Navy	154.5
8	Iowa	146.6
9	Maryland	146.4
10	Arizona	145.6

Small college

Rank	Team	Yards per game
1	Cal Poly Pomona	244.1
2	Defiance	227.9
3	Occidental	202.9
4	Bethune-Cookman	185.0
5	Whitworth	174.2

Total defense

The following teams were the leaders in total defense during the 1961 season:

Major college

Rank	Team	Games played	Total plays	Yards gained	Yards per game
1	Alabama	10	524	1326	132.6
2	Utah State	10	512	1393	139.3
3	Ole Miss	10	527	1453	145.3
4	Bowling Green	9	460	1456	161.8
5	Wyoming	9	438	1511	167.9
6	LSU	10	564	1703	170.3
7	Villanova	9	470	1559	173.2
8	Texas	10	577	1761	176.1
9	Missouri	10	560	1769	176.9
10	Arkansas	10	548	1774	177.4

Small college

Rank	Team	Games played	Total plays	Yards gained	Yards per game
1	Florida A&M	9	429	768	85.3
2	East Stroudsburg	8	405	863	107.9
3	John Carroll	7	342	766	109.4
4	Washington & Lee	8	428	927	115.9
5	Wittenberg	9	479	1065	118.3
6	Edward Waters	9	438	1117	124.1
7	Delta State	10	514	1282	128.2
8	J.C. Smith	9	536	1157	128.6
9	Washington & Lee	9	482	1163	129.2
10	Winona State	8	405	1086	135.8

Scoring defense

The following teams were the leaders in scoring defense during the 1961 season:

Major college

Rank	Team	Points per game
1	Alabama	2.2
2	Ole Miss	4.0
3	Bowling Green	4.7
4	LSU	5.0
4	Georgia Tech	5.0
6	Michigan State	5.6
7	Missouri	5.7
8	Texas	5.9
9	Miami (FL)	7.0
10	Memphis State	7.5

Rushing defense

The following teams were the leaders in rushing defense during the 1961 season:

Major college

Rank	Team	Yards per game
1	Utah State	50.8
2	Alabama	55.0
3	Villanova	71.1
4	LSU	79.4
5	Ole Miss	80.4
6	Minnesota	84.3
7	Bowling Green	86.7
8	Wyoming	89.2
9	Texas	90.2
10	Georgia Tech	94.9

Small college

Rank	Team	Yards per game
1	Florida A&M	20.1
2	John Carroll	37.4
3	Washington & Lee	37.4
4	Hampton Institute	58.3
5	Parsons	58.4

Passing defense

The following teams were the leaders in passing defense during the 1961 season:

Major college

Rank	Team	Yards per game
1	Penn	56.9
2	Yale	58.1
3	Arkansas	62.9
4	Ole Miss	64.9
5	Dartmouth	65.7
6	Columbia	65.8
7	USC	66.6
8	Brown	66.7
9	Oregon	67.2
10	Kansas State	68.7

Small college

Rank	Team	Yards per game
1	Westminster	24.8
2	Principia	31.8
3	Ursinus	37.6
4	Western Maryland	40.3
5	Middlebury	43.3