Sports season
The 1961 Big Ten Conference football season was the 66th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1961 college football season .
The 1961 Ohio State Buckeyes football team , under head coach Woody Hayes , compiled an 8–0–1, won the Big Ten championship, and was recognized as the national champion by the Football Writers Association of America . Fullback Bob Ferguson was a consensus first-team All-American and won the Maxwell Award and the UPI and Sporting News College Football Player of the Year awards.
The 1961 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team , under head coach Murray Warmath , compiled an 8–2, was ranked No. 6 in the final AP Poll, and defeated UCLA in the 1962 Rose Bowl . Quarterback Sandy Stephens was a consensus first-team All-American and won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football award as the Big Ten's most valuable player. As of 2017, Stephens is the most recent Minnesota player to win the award.
Ron Miller of Wisconsin received the Sammy Baugh Trophy as the nation's top collegiate passer.
Season overview
Results and team statistics
Key AP Poll of the 1961 season[ 1] [ 1] [ 1] [ 1] Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy; trophy winner in bold[ 2]
Preseason
On November 20, 1960, hours after the final game of the 1960 season, Iowa announced that Forest Evashevski would be replaced as head football coach by Jerry Burns . Evashevski remained at Iowa as the athletic director. Burns, who signed a three-year contract, had been an assistant coach under Evashevski since 1954 and had played at Michigan from 1947 to 1950.[ 3]
In the preseason AP Poll, Iowa was ranked No. 1, and Ohio State was No. 2.[ 1]
Regular season
Bowl games
Post-season developments
There were no changes in the conference's head football coaches between the 1961 and 1962 seasons.
Statistical leaders
The Big Ten's individual statistical leaders for the 1961 season include the following:[ 1]
Passing yards
Rank
Name
Team
Yards[ 1]
1
Ron Miller Wisconsin
1,487
2
Matt Szykowny
Iowa
1,078
3
Sandy Stephens Minnesota
869
4
Ron DiGravio
Purdue
861
5
Pete Smith
Michigan State
630
Rushing yards
Receiving yards
Rank
Name
Team
Yards[ 1]
1
Pat Richter Wisconsin
817
2
Cloyd Webb Iowa
425
3
Jack Elwell
Purdue
343
4
Chuck Bryant
Ohio State
270
5
Lonnie Sanders
Michigan State
247
Total yards
Scoring
Awards and honors
All-Big Ten honors
The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1961 All-Big Ten Conference football team .
All-American honors
At the end of the 1961 season, Big Ten players secured two of the 11 consensus first-team picks for the 1961 College Football All-America Team .[ 4]
Position
Name
Team
Selectors
Fullback
Bob Ferguson Ohio State
AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, TSN, UPI, CP, Time, WCFF
Quarterback
Sandy Stephens Minnesota
AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI, WCFF
Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:
Position
Name
Team
Selectors
Tackle
Bobby Bell Minnesota
AFCA, FWAA, TSN, CP
Guard
Dave Behrman Michigan State
AP, FWAA
Center
Bill Van Buren
Iowa
TSN, CP
End
Pat Richter Wisconsin
UPI
Tackle
Fate Echols Northwestern
Time
Other awards
Ohio State fullback Bob Ferguson won the Maxwell Award and the UPI and Sporting News College Football Player of the YearHeisman Trophy behind Ernie Davis .[ 5]
Ron Miller of Wisconsin received the Sammy Baugh Trophy as the nation's top collegiate passer. He was the first Big Ten player to receive the award.
1962 NFL Draft
The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 picks in the 1962 NFL draft :[ 6]
Name
Position
Team
Round
Overall pick
Bob Ferguson Back
Ohio State
1
5
Fate Echols Tackle
Northwestern
1
6
Bennie McRae Back
Michigan
2
21
Sandy Stephens Back
Minnesota
2
25
Chuck Bryant
End
Ohio State
3
34
Larry Ferguson
Back
Iowa
4
52
Stan Sczurek
Guard
Purdue
4
53
Bill Tunnicliff
Running back
Michigan
5
63
Jon Schopf
Guard
Michigan
5
70
Larry Bowie Tackle
Purdue
6
73
John Elwell
End
Purdue
6
75
Sam Tidmore
End
Ohio State
6
81
Sherwyn Thorson
Guard
Iowa
7
87
Jim Bakken Quarterback
Wisconsin
7
88
Ed O'Bradovich End
Illinois
7
91
Tom Hall End
Minnesota
7
94
John Havlicek Wide receiver
Ohio State
7
95
Ron Hatcher Running back
Michigan State
8
99
References
Current teams Championships & awards Seasons
