CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1961 BYU

2–⁠8 (2–⁠4 Skyline Conference), coached by Hal Mitchell.

Schedule and results

BYU in 1961, game by game: lost vs. San José State 13–14; lost at West Texas 8–55; lost at North Texas 30–41; won vs. Montana 7–6; lost at Utah 20–21; lost at Wyoming 8–36; lost vs. Utah State 8–31; won vs. Colorado State 30–16; lost at Oregon State 0–35; lost at New Mexico 6–34+14−47Lost 13–14 vs. San José State-1San José StateLost 8–55 at West Texas-47West TexasLost 30–41 at North Texas-11North TexasWon 7–6 vs. Montana+1MontanaLost 20–21 at Utah-1UtahLost 8–36 at Wyoming-28WyomingLost 8–31 vs. Utah State-23Utah StateWon 30–16 vs. Colorado State+14Colorado StateLost 0–35 at Oregon State-35Oregon StateLost 6–34 at New Mexico-28New Mexico
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 16vsSan José StateL 13–⁠1449%
Sep 23atWest TexasL 8–⁠5539%
Sep 30atNorth TexasL 30–⁠4130%
Oct 7vsMontanaW 7–⁠646%
Oct 14atUtahL 20–⁠2117%
Oct 21atWyomingL 8–⁠3611%
Nov 4vsUtah StateL 8–⁠3118%
Nov 11vsColorado StateW 30–⁠1661%
Nov 18atOregon StateL 0–⁠3522%
Nov 25atNew MexicoL 6–⁠3421%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to New Mexico 34–⁠6; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Skyline Conference.

In program history: The 97th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 102 on file).

Led the nationPaul Allen: kickoff return average (40.1)

Record
2–⁠8
Conference
2–⁠4 tied for 5th in Skyline Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
130–⁠289
Coach
Hal Mitchell
Elo
1307 −68 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−17.2 No. 101 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—

1961 Skyline Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Utah State5–⁠0–⁠19–⁠1–⁠110
Wyoming5–⁠0–⁠16–⁠1–⁠2
New Mexico3–⁠37–⁠4
Utah3–⁠36–⁠4
Montana2–⁠42–⁠6
BYU2–⁠42–⁠8
Colorado State0–⁠60–⁠10

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