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1961 Arkansas

8–⁠3 (6–⁠1 Southwest Conference), coached by Frank Broyles, finished No. 9 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Arkansas in 1961, game by game: lost at Ole Miss 0–16; won vs. Tulsa 6–0; won vs. TCU 28–3; won at Baylor 23–13; lost vs. Texas 7–33; won vs. Northwestern State 42–7; won vs. Texas A&M 15–8; won at Rice 10–0; won at SMU 21–7; won vs. Texas Tech 28–0; lost vs. No. 1 Alabama 3–10+35−26Lost 0–16 at Ole Miss-16Ole MissWon 6–0 vs. Tulsa+6TulsaWon 28–3 vs. TCU+25TCUWon 23–13 at Baylor+10BaylorLost 7–33 vs. Texas-26TexasWon 42–7 vs. Northwestern State+35Northwestern St…Won 15–8 vs. Texas A&M+7Texas A&MWon 10–0 at Rice+10RiceWon 21–7 at SMU+14SMUWon 28–0 vs. Texas Tech+28Texas TechLost 3–10 vs. No. 1 Alabama-7No. 1 Alabama
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 23atOle MissL 0–⁠1629%
Sep 30vsTulsaW 6–⁠071%
Oct 7vsTCUW 28–⁠362%
Oct 14atBaylorW 23–⁠1344%
Oct 21vsTexasL 7–⁠3354%
Oct 28vsNorthwestern StateW 42–⁠796%
Nov 4vsTexas A&MW 15–⁠870%
Nov 11atRiceW 10–⁠046%
Nov 18atSMUW 21–⁠779%
Nov 25vsTexas TechW 28–⁠084%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs1AlabamaSugar BowlL 3–⁠1036%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Alabama 10–⁠3 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 9 in the final AP poll; Southwest Conference champions.

In program history: The 22nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 10
  2. Wk 10: 9
  3. Wk 11: 9
  4. Final: 9

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1961.

Southwest Conference champions6–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Texas

Led the nationLance Alworth: punt return yards (336 yds)

Record
8–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠1 shared first in Southwest Conference
AP final
No. 9 peak No. 9
Points
183–⁠97
Coach
Frank Broyles
Elo
1654 +56 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
16.6 No. 11 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
John Childress, Harold Horton and George McKinney

Drafted in 1962

The 1962 draft
Rd 1Lance Alworth WRSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 2Lance Alworth WROakland Raiders (AFL)

All-Southwest Conference

3 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

  • George McKinneyBAP-2
  • John ChildressOTAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1961 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1961 Southwest Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas6–⁠110–⁠13
Arkansas6–⁠18–⁠39
Rice5–⁠27–⁠417
Texas A&M3–⁠44–⁠5–⁠1
TCU2–⁠4–⁠13–⁠5–⁠2
Baylor2–⁠56–⁠5
Texas Tech2–⁠54–⁠6
SMU1–⁠5–⁠12–⁠7–⁠1

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.