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1961 Georgia Tech

7–⁠4 (4–⁠3 Southeastern Conference), coached by Bobby Dodd, finished No. 13 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Georgia Tech in 1961, game by game: won at USC 27–7; won vs. Rice 24–0; lost at LSU 0–10; won vs. Duke 21–0; won vs. Auburn 7–6; won at Tulane 35–0; won vs. Florida 20–0; lost at Tennessee 6–10; lost at Alabama 0–10; won vs. Georgia 22–7; lost vs. Penn State 15–30+35−15Won 27–7 at USC+20USCWon 24–0 vs. Rice+24RiceLost 0–10 at LSU-10LSUWon 21–0 vs. Duke+21DukeWon 7–6 vs. Auburn+1AuburnWon 35–0 at Tulane+35TulaneWon 20–0 vs. Florida+20FloridaLost 6–10 at Tennessee-4TennesseeLost 0–10 at Alabama-10AlabamaWon 22–7 vs. Georgia+15GeorgiaLost 15–30 vs. Penn State-15Penn State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 22atUSCW 27–⁠749%
Sep 30vsRiceW 24–⁠057%
Oct 7atLSUL 0–⁠1046%
Oct 14vsDukeW 21–⁠055%
Oct 21vsAuburnW 7–⁠659%
Oct 28atTulaneW 35–⁠066%
Nov 4vsFloridaW 20–⁠067%
Nov 11atTennesseeL 6–⁠1058%
Nov 18atAlabamaL 0–⁠1030%
Dec 2vsGeorgiaW 22–⁠778%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsPenn StateGator BowlL 15–⁠3043%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Penn State 30–⁠15 in the Gator Bowl; No. 13 in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The tied 42nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 3
  2. Wk 5: 8
  3. Wk 6: 9
  4. Wk 7: 7
  5. Wk 8: 9
  6. Final: 13

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.

Record
7–⁠4
Conference
4–⁠3 tied for 4th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 13 peak No. 3
Points
177–⁠80
Coach
Bobby Dodd
Elo
1611 +67 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
20.2 No. 8 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Chick Graning, Willie McGaughey and Billy Williamson

All-SEC

1 first team, 3 second team

First team

  • Dave WatsonOGAP-1; UPI-1

Second team

  • Harold EricksonOGAP-2
  • Rufus GuthrieOGUPI-2
  • Billy WilliamsonRBAP-3; UPI-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 Southeastern Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama7–⁠011–⁠01
LSU6–⁠010–⁠14
Ole Miss5–⁠19–⁠25
Georgia Tech4–⁠37–⁠413
Tennessee4–⁠36–⁠4
Florida3–⁠34–⁠5–⁠1
Auburn3–⁠46–⁠4
Kentucky2–⁠45–⁠5
Georgia2–⁠53–⁠7
Mississippi State1–⁠55–⁠5
Tulane1–⁠52–⁠8
Vanderbilt1–⁠62–⁠8

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