CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1961 Maryland

7–⁠3 (3–⁠3 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Thomas Nugent.

Team portrait from 1962 Terrapin yearbook
Team portrait from 1962 Terrapin yearbookPhoto: not named, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Schedule and results

Maryland in 1961, game by game: won at SMU 14–6; won at Clemson 24–21; won vs. Syracuse 22–21; lost vs. North Carolina 8–14; won at Air Force 21–0; lost at South Carolina 10–20; won vs. Penn State 21–17; won vs. NC State 10–7; won vs. Wake Forest 10–7; lost at Virginia 16–28+21−12Won 14–6 at SMU+8SMUWon 24–21 at Clemson+3ClemsonWon 22–21 vs. Syracuse+1SyracuseLost 8–14 vs. North Carolina-6North CarolinaWon 21–0 at Air Force+21Air ForceLost 10–20 at South Carolina-10South CarolinaWon 21–17 vs. Penn State+4Penn StateWon 10–7 vs. NC State+3NC StateWon 10–7 vs. Wake Forest+3Wake ForestLost 16–28 at Virginia-12Virginia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 23atSMUW 14–⁠657%
Sep 30atClemsonW 24–⁠2139%
Oct 7vsSyracuseW 22–⁠2141%
Oct 14vsNorth CarolinaL 8–⁠1472%
Oct 21atAir ForceW 21–⁠053%
Oct 28atSouth CarolinaL 10–⁠2064%
Nov 4vsPenn StateW 21–⁠1739%
Nov 11vsNC StateW 10–⁠767%
Nov 18vsWake ForestW 10–⁠774%
Nov 25atVirginiaL 16–⁠2873%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Virginia 28–⁠16; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 44th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 120 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 10

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.

Consensus All-AmericanGary Collins, E

Record
7–⁠3
Conference
3–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 10
Points
156–⁠141
Coach
Thomas Nugent
Elo
1515 +6 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
5.1 No. 43 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—

Drafted in 1962

The 1962 draft
Rd 1Gary Collins WRCleveland Browns
Rd 7Bill Kirchiro OGSt. Louis Cardinals
Rd 1Gary Collins WRBoston Patriots (AFL)

All-ACC

2 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

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

1961 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Duke5–⁠17–⁠320
North Carolina4–⁠35–⁠5
Maryland3–⁠37–⁠3
Clemson3–⁠35–⁠5
South Carolina3–⁠44–⁠6
Wake Forest3–⁠44–⁠6
NC State3–⁠44–⁠6
Virginia2–⁠44–⁠6

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